The One Killer Reason We're Dying to Play 'Dying Light 2'
This game could really be something special.
It may have made a small splash at E3 2018, but Dying Light 2 is poised to make a much bigger impact when it actually releases… whenever that might be.
The game, a follow-up to Techland’s niche success with Dying Light is set to arrive sometime next near. Since Dying Light 2 is part of a niche franchise, it’s most likely to avoid the fall season and release sometime between January (after the competitive holiday season) and July (when fewer games are traditionally released). That’s a long ways off, but what we know about Dying Light 2 so far makes me think it will be worth the wait.
If you haven’t played the first Dying Light, don’t worry. Dying Light 2 takes place 15 years after its predecessor and in a different city. So any connection to the first game will be more referential than necessary. A mysterious epidemic has turned a bunch of people into zombies, transforming parkour from a fun hobby to an essential survival skill.
The agile player will be dealing with survivors (friendly and hostile) during the day and zombies at night. Your actions will also determine the future of civilization. But no pressure, right?
The Peacekeepers run a pretty tight ship. Unfortunately, they also execute all dissidents.
The independents are very laissez-faire. Uhh, maybe a little too laissez-faire, though.
It’s basically Mirror’s Edge with zombies, which would be a pretty bland concept, but luckily, it’s being designed by Chris Avellone and the writers behind the highly praised Bloody Baron questline in The Witcher 3.
Avellone has a prestigious track record, which includes Fallout 2, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and Fallout: New Vegas. He’s a big part of why New Vegas is so widely praised for its exploration of different world views and tough moral choices, and why Caesar was such a compelling asshole.
That means we can expect some damn interesting factions, characters, and stories in Dying Light 2. It’s aiming to be more than a game about running from zombies this time because the focus is on the survivors.
The world has ended, but how should we rebuild it? Do we resurrect how things were before the fall or should we head for a totally different direction? How do we balance the need for security with personal freedom?
I’m dying to find out.
Dying Light 2 is set to release on 2019.
