Dying Light 2 Preview – Seven Big Takeaways After Playing For Four Hours

My initial preview of Dying Light 2 at E3 2019 was titled “Choice and Consequences are Everything.” I was further affirmed by my hands-on experience with the game. I decided who I would align with and which city benefits to give during the story content. My character was able to have a lot of control over how the story and city develops, even though I wasn’t able to make sweeping changes like the 2019 demo.

According to Smektała, this was a directive delivered straight from creative director Adrian Ciszewski as the team began work on Dying Light 2. Ciszewski was also a director for the original Dying Light. He noted that the game gave players the ability to use the combat and parkour mechanics to get around obstacles in the game. The story was too scripted for players to engage with, and it didn’t allow them much control over how the events actually unfolded.

“Our goal for the second game is to try to give players the same amount of freedom in the story that they have in the gameplay,” Smektała says. It’s not an easy task with the story; there are only so many ways to tell a story. But we accepted that challenge and tried our best to succeed. That’s what I feel we accomplished, but we also did something more than simply branching narratives.

Techland encouraged choice and consequence on three levels in order to accomplish this. The first level, according to Smektała, consists of all the major decisions you make in the main story. The world, characters and city are affected by these decisions, which can change the course of the story. While I won’t spoil the story, I saw it firsthand. I was following one questline all the way through to the final, and opted to support one main character I met, which brought their story to a satisfying close.

The second level stems from the side content, where you make decisions with characters and you will later notice something related to that choice in the future; Smektała gives the example of an opera singer you can choose to help, and if you do, she’ll appear in one of The City’s hubs, singing arias. 

City alignment mechanics are the final level of choice. You can align your interests and those of any of The City’s factions by making choices. In my demo, the Survivors were a group that tries to rebuild civilization. The Peacekeepers are a militia with well-armed weapons who favor strategy and blunt force. In my playthrough I sided for the Survivors. This allowed them to change the location of the district in order to have more control. This allowed me to open more ziplines in that part of The City. It also gave me more options for traversing the city, even if I’m not feeling like going down into the streets full of zombies. For the sake of the Peacekeepers I would have opened up car traps to assist in controlling the hordes. Although less effective than ziplines but still helpful. 

Techland says that players must weigh the advantages of each area before making their final decisions. These decisions can be made in seven different zones, with seven levels offering rewards to each faction. You can get more benefits if you align yourself with one faction, but you will also receive benefits if you choose to join the other. You get a city which is responsive to your actions, even if they don’t align with the main narrative.

The best thing about any game is how it develops your character. Dying Light 2 offers multiple skill tree options depending on your play style. You can also find a type of collectible that you can use to improve your stamina or health.