The DLC That Became the REAL Dying Light 2
You’ve probably heard this a dozen times by now,
but it’s the most important piece of context for this game: Dying Light: The Beast was never
intended to be a standalone title. It began its life as a simple story DLC for Dying
Light 2, a follow-up to the game’s ending, and something to compensate for the disappointment
most players felt with the Bloody Ties expansion. It was supposed to take us to a new region as
Aiden Caldwell, offering a fresh location, new enemies, and possibly, a new ability. Couple
that with all the hype created thanks to the hidden messages left by Techland across
Villedore, and fans were expecting to see the return of major characters from Dying Light
1. So People were genuinely excited for this DLC. But then its entire plot got leaked online. It
confirmed most of the speculations that Kyle Crane would finally return to the series, this
time as a beast, someone who can’t control his beast form, and players would finally learn what
happened to him after the events of the following, and help him take down a certain Baron. With the
plot out in the wild, Techland knew they couldn’t release that. It’s already spoiled, and they
wanted to do the game and its fans justice, so they had a choice: scrap it for good or completely
reinvent it. Naturally, they chose the latter. They scrapped the DLC idea and turned the whole
thing into a standalone game. The plot was rewritten, putting you in the shoes of Kyle Crane
instead of Aiden. Crane was once the heart and soul of the franchise, and this shift, from Aiden
to him, made The Beast feel less like a sequel’s side story and more like a true continuation of
the original hero’s journey. This decision allowed the team’s ambition to grow so much that the game
was internally treated like “Dying Light 3” and, for many fans, myself included, The Beast feels
like the true successor to the first game in spirit. An occurring theme throughout the entire
experience of the game that I will talk about as we proceed through the video together
But before its launch, Dying Light: The Beast was riding on a lot. It had to fix the
mistakes of Dying Light 2 while also appealing to the fans who longed for the uniqueness of the
original. While the studio tried fixing Dying Light 2 with incredible support and listened
to feedback, some issues are still there. I think Techland looked at what needed to be
done to fully fix Dying Light 2 and realized it would be easier to just build a new game
from the ground up that addressed those core complaints and start anew. Note that The
Beast isn’t just a fix for Dying Light 2; it’s kind of a foundation for the series. And
to understand that foundation, you have to start with the atmosphere of the world itself.
Dying Light: The Beast takes us to the rural setting of Castor Woods, which was partly
inspired by shows like Twin Peaks. The game heavily relies on the sounds of nature and the
environment, alongside zombies with moody woods, chaotic streets, and obsolete factories full
of dead people to create a unique, tense, and immersive atmosphere that keeps players on edge.
It’s a stark contrast to Villedore’s post-fall vibrant world or Harran’s apocalyptic vibes.
Castor Woods is a fictional European setting inspired by the Swiss Alps. The name Castor
actually comes from the Latin word for beaver, and you can even find tons of beaver imagery scattered
throughout the world. What makes this new area more interesting is its mysterious, moody vibe,
with threats, opportunities, secrets, and horrors. Techland just nailed everything about it.
Also, the nights are genuinely terrifying again. Turning off your flashlight plunges you into a
pitch-black abyss, just like in the first game, and turning it on, thanks to the advanced
graphics of today’s hardware, creates a realistic, almost life-like effect. The improved lighting
system and realistic shadows make everything feel just “RIGHT”. So we no longer have to deal
with those bluish-tinted nights of Dying Light 2, where you could practically see everything without
a flashlight, though the darker nights mode did improve that somewhat. Oh, and our beloved
Volatiles roam the streets and nature during the nighttime, which only increases the horror
factor… not to mention that if one notices you, a chase will start, similar to the previous game.
But unlike Dying Light 2, the skybox is phenomenal with dynamic sun and moon movement, and
the lighting, despite the temporary lack of raytracing, is astonishing. Everything about
the look of the game feels eerie and isolating, which is exactly what the franchise should feel
like. Actually, Techland’s major goal with The Beast’s nights was to “recapture” the fear and
oppressive atmosphere of the first Dying Light, to bring that psychological horror and tension
back, and they’ve been successful at doing so. The dense forests, dynamic weather, tight
alleyways, and the gory nature of the game all help amplify those feelings. Castor Woods
is dense, diverse, and feels handcrafted. Its handcrafted nature means the map no longer suffers
from the repetitive nature of Dying Light 2’s design, which especially became a bigger problem
indoors and in the central loop area. Castor Woods features multiple biomes, from a dense city called
the old town, with lots of enterable buildings, to a national park, and an industrial zone. This
makes every part of the map feel distinct. But the most important element of its design is that
it was built completely with parkour in mind. The Beast features a set of smart design
changes compared to Dying Light 2. Most of the map is designed with an almost obsessive focus
on continuous, grounded parkour. This was an issue in the second game’s central loop, where your
movement got cut off constantly due to the extreme verticality of the map and an over-reliance on the
use of external tools such as the grappling hook, jump pads, and the parachute. None of that is in
the beast, and instead, Buildings are smaller, with plenty of handholds and paths connecting
them together. There are plenty of routes and sequences to follow, in the city, as well as
the natural environments where you can find climbing routes on rocks, outcrops for horizontal
wall-run, and tree branches as monkey bars. This actually brings us to the parkour system.
The Beast’s parkour system is based on Dying Light 2. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
It improves the already improved parkour system of Dying Light 2, nearly to perfection.
The jumps are completely physical now, and you even have the option to lower the jump
height even further, making it more challenging to go around the map. You have to carefully
scale buildings and obstacles up, similar to the first game, and much like the sequel,
you have cool puzzle platforming challenges. The parkour music system from Dying Light 2,
where as you started moving, music would accompany your movement, is also removed, which instantly
amplified the game’s atmosphere. You see, I really loved that system’s idea and implementation,
but it better matched the heroic feeling of a game like Insomniac’s Spider-Man, not the
vibes a game like Dying Light should have. This time around, instead of the progression
system used in the sequel to gradually unlock the movesets, Kyle can perform most of the moves
right from the get-go. As a result, the high-risk and reward, fun, nuanced parkour system you
experienced in the original game is finally back because they designed the entire world with
that completed parkour skill set from the start. One returning tool from the previous games is
the grappling hook. The problem with this in the original game was that it zipped you to your
destination, making parkour feel redundant and escapes way too easy. The sequel tried fixing
this by making the tool more physics-based. It could also pull you in slightly toward the point
you hooked onto, but nowhere near as extreme as the original. The beast is a mix of the two games.
Once upgraded, the grappling hook can pull you in a little, not completely, but more than Dying
Light 2, unless you’ve activated Beast Mode, which temporarily changes how it works. And
just like in the second game, you can also swing with it by holding the grappling button.
The Beast’s progression system is different than previous games. In the original, you had to unlock
skills to increase your stamina and health bar. In the sequel, you had to find inhibitors to increase
Aiden’s health and Stamina, but in this game, they increase naturally as you level up by
playing the game and completing quests. Similar to the past, there are multiple skill
trees. But this time, we also have a beast-like skill tree whose skills are unlocked by defeating
the Chimera boss fights you encounter during the story, so there’s basically no side content grind
to unlock them. And speaking of grinding, the game’s progression and level system is absolutely
fair, allowing you to explore most of the map early on, and you level up rather easily by doing
the main quests and a few side quests at one point, and you’re basically good to experience the
rest of the story almost uninterrupted. Actually, the game isn’t bloated with repetitive content.
It has a manageable number of side quests with interesting stories, and optional dark zones that
reward you with high-quality loot. The progression feels natural, without any of the aggressive
level gating that plagued Dying Light 2. Another small but impactful change is the fast
travel system. I’m calling it impactful because… There is none, almost like the first game. While
it encourages you to engage with the world and truly appreciate its size and detail, and actually
explore everywhere you come across, the quest design often sends you across very long distances
only to return to the quest giver’s original location. Since this happens repeatedly, the lack
of a fast travel system can become frustrating. One of the best changes in The Beast is
the return to the original game’s survival experience. You have to actively loot for crafting
materials and blueprints, and since weapons have a limited number of repairs, you can’t rely on
just one item forever. This scarcity forces you to be resourceful, and it makes every new weapon
you find feel like a genuine reward. Something Dying Light 2 struggled with forever, since it
rewarded you with good items left and right, and made looting almost unimportant, and ended
up damaging the survival feeling of the game. Speaking of survival elements, earlier I mentioned
the nights being scarier, which is still true, but unfortunately, they’re also a bit less
rewarding, with fewer night-specific missions to do. This is a minor issue for some, as
ALMOST everything can be done during the day, unless the game specifically tells you otherwise,
but the true potential of the nighttime activities is almost completely lost, which is a
shame given how well they’ve designed it. The combat itself is a huge step up. The weapon
feel is weighty and satisfying, but the most significant improvement is the physics. The new
ragdolls and enemy hit reactions are incredible. Hitting a zombie feels brutal and visceral, making
your attacks feel real and powerful. And that beast-like ability that Kyle has is insanely fun
to use. It makes you basically unstoppable for a brief moment, and it’s a joy to see his beast
meter fill up every time you combat enemies. You’re not gonna believe it, but according to
Tymon Smektała, the idea for the “Beast Mode” was partly inspired by Pac-Man. As the team viewed
Pac-Man as a survival horror game in a way, where you are initially chased (like by Volatiles),
but then a power-up allows you to temporarily become the hunter and turn the tables on your
pursuers, which is the dynamic of the Beast Mode. And yes, guns are back. But they’re not as
unbalanced as in Dying Light 2. Ammunition is scarce, so you have to manage your resources
carefully. Firing a gun is a tactical choice, not a constant solution. The game doesn’t
have any spongy, bullet-absorbing enemies. If you prefer to stick to melee combat, it’s more
engaging than ever. You have to constantly dodge and be aware of your surroundings. The weapons,
the stamina, the enemy type; it all matters. While the stealth AI can be a little inconsistent,
like a human enemy might walk away after a fight and say something like ‘must have been the wind’
right after you’ve taken out his friend in front of him, they fare much better in combat. They
actually feel smarter since they use cover, try to flank you, and act like a real threat. The zombie
AI, at least when it comes to stealth, is what you’re typically used to seeing from the previous
games. However, the Volatiles are slightly smarter this time and can detect you more easily, which
makes encounters with them more engaging. Moving on to the story, I’m not going to spoil
anything about the story of either game, but the Dying Light series has never been known for its
groundbreaking stories, and The Beast doesn’t really change that. The plot is predictable,
but it’s solid and well-paced. The villain has a memorable presence, similar to Rais or Waltz
from the previous games. More importantly, the narrative finally answers the questions fans have
had for years about Kyle Crane’s whereabouts and lays the groundwork for the future.
The side quests are a highlight. They aren’t filler content; they’re interesting,
memorable stories that expand on the lore and the characters. Also, unlike Dying Light 2,
don’t expect any RPG elements such as narrative choices throughout the experience, as there
aren’t any of them in The Beast. There are dialogue options at times, but they only
explain the details, without changing the story. And the animation quality, as well as the
voice acting, is satisfying, but to be honest, none of these had issues in the previous titles.
My only real complaint is that the game ends on a cliffhanger that clearly sets up more content,
and you’re left wanting more story, more of Kyle, and more of the world while also leaving so
many things unanswered. I really am interested to know whether it’ll receive DLCs or straight-up
follow-ups, like a possible Dying Light 3 or not. In my opinion, Dying Light: The Beast is
what Dying Light 2 should have been. It’s a game that takes the best parts of both
titles and fuses them into a brilliant experience that feels like a spiritual successor.
The parkour is perfect, the combat is brutal, and the atmosphere is a return to form.
While the mission design can be a little tedious at times with all the back-and-forth
travel, and the nights could use more content, these are minor gripes in an otherwise excellent
game. Simply put, The Beast is the perfect fusion of Dying Light 1, The Following, and all the best
parts of Dying Light 2. A game that feels like the real follow-up to the original entry, and
possibly a blueprint for the series’ future. It’s a must-play for fans of the franchise and
a promising sign for the series’ future. Hey, if you’ve come this far into the video,
I really want to thank you for watching. I’d appreciate it if you could leave a like and
hit the subscribe button if you’re not already, and tell me which Dying Light is your favorite
and what you think about the beast?
0:00 – From DLC to Full Game
2:31 – Atmosphere and Design
6:05 – The Parkour
7:55 – Progression and Combat
12:22 – A Promising Future
13:36 – Conclusion…
Dying Light The Beast is the REAL Dying Light 2 we’ve been waiting for. It feels like the true continuation of Dying Light 1 and Dying Light The Following while also laying the foundation for the series’ future.