Techland recently announced Dying Light: The Beast, a new standalone title in the franchise that came about when the team was working on the second expansion for 2022’s Dying Light 2. As it grew to epic proportions, Techland decided to simply make it an entirely new game, creating a fresh region to explore, fusing the title with new mechanics, and bringing back a fan-favourite character.
In The Beast, players once again assume control of Kyle Crane, the protagonist from the first game that was released way back in 2015. At Gamescom, I caught up with Roger Craig Smith who walked me through what it has been like to step back into the role of Kyle Crane for Dying Light: The Beast.
Unleash The Beast
Dying Light: The Beast is an 18-hour standalone game that’s less expansive than a full Dying Light title but way meatier than ‘just’ a DLC. It introduces players to a new region that’s diverse and made up of ‘biomes’, bringing back vehicles, boosting some in-game mechanics, and offering up fresh weather systems, along with other elements.
It stars Kyle Crane, who has escaped years of experimentation and is out on a revenge mission, fuelled by new ‘beast-like’ abilities.
I sat down with Roger Craig Smith, the voice of Kyle Crane, to find out what it’s like coming back to that role after so many years away.
To come back to a character like Kyle Crane after ten years is an honour. It’s really kind of neat, you just go, ‘Man, who would have thought?’ This game that kind of came out of nowhere and just exploded and has had such strong replayability that fans spent a ton of time in that world.
It’s a blast – it’s absolutely surreal, it’s an honour, and it also makes me feel old.
One element that we talked about is how Kyle Crane has aged or grown as a character. In the first game, he was a bit more happy-go-lucky and sarcastic despite being in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Now, he’s on the tail-end of years of suffering and is much more grizzled.
But how did this translate into Roger’s acting of Kyle Crane?
This Kyle is a much darker Kyle. He’s suffered so much trauma at the hands of the antagonist, and so we have to implement that while trying to thread the connection between Dying Light 1’s Kyle Crane and this version of Kyle Crane that’s taking place many years later.
So, it’s a fun challenge – and I really did enjoy it… Dying Light 1’s Kyle is more sarcastic, and it’s fun to try and pepper some of that in.
Having that creative freedom and undergoing what we named a ‘cathartic’ experience assuming the more ‘beastly’ and guttural role of this new Kyle Crane means that players are in for a wonderful performance by Roger Craig Smith.
Dying Light: The Beast doesn’t have a release date just yet, but keep an eye on Insider Gaming for all the latest news when it does drop.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out our preview of Atomfall
