I’ve performed quite a lot of zombie video games, and whereas I typically take pleasure in them a terrific deal, hardly ever do I discover myself stopping to gawk on the surroundings. However I’ve been doing that so much in Techland’s newest open-world zombie RPG, Dying Light: The Beast. Setting a recreation like this within the Swiss Alps is improbable. However even when this recreation was set in a a lot much less fairly locale, I’d nonetheless be tremendous into it because it feels just like the fruits of a decade-plus of Techland making these sorts of RPG zombie adventures. Simply don’t pay too shut consideration to the primary story.
Dying Light: The Beast was initially envisioned and pitched as a giant DLC growth for 2022’s Dying Light 2. But it surely received greater and greater, and ultimately Techland made the decision to show it into its personal standalone journey. The sport, out now on Xbox, PS5, and PC, continues the story of Dying Gentle’s OG protagonist, Kyle Crane. So much has occurred to our gruff mercenary who can also be surprisingly good at parkour.
Now, after over a decade of torture and experimentation, Crane is a half-human/half-zombie monster super-dude who can rip the undead limb from limb. And with this newfound energy and a few allies, Crane plans on taking down the bastard who was answerable for experimenting on him and others. And within the course of, perhaps saving some individuals stranded within the Swiss Alps in an space generally known as Castor Woods.
After spending about 7 hours with the brand new recreation, I can say the primary plot of Dying Light: The Beast is definitely the weakest a part of the bundle. It’s very goofy and dumb and feels prefer it was created merely to elucidate Kyle’s new “Beast Mode” powers. It will get the job executed, but it surely ain’t something to put in writing residence about. Fortunately, virtually every part else in Dying Gentle: The Beast is far, significantly better.
Hoppin’ And Choppin’ All Day
As with the earlier Dying Gentle video games, The Beast is a first-person open-world zombie RPG centered on melee fight and parkour-inspired exploration and platforming. And it’s clear that Techland has constructed on its years of expertise making this sort of recreation on this engine, as The Beast is only a pleasure to play. Working, sliding, leaping, climbing, and hopping round Castor Woods is a deal with. It’s a type of video games by which traversing from one quest marker to the subsequent is such a pleasure that you simply don’t thoughts how mundane or foolish the precise goal on the finish is.
This new map, which is roughly the scale of the OG Dying Gentle’s world, is stuffed with issues to seize onto or mantle over or hop off of or slide by means of. It’s like a continuing and really satisfying puzzle to determine how you can attain your subsequent goal or keep away from some huge crowd of zombies who need to kill you. It’s additionally simply so rattling fairly. The snowy mountains and fall-like vibes are virtually cozy, till a giant zombie monster assaults and ruins the vibes.
The melee fight in Dying Gentle: The Beast isn’t a lot completely different than what will be present in Dying Gentle 2 or the unique recreation, however I’m very completely happy about that. These previous video games nailed first-person melee motion, and The Beast simply tweaks just a few issues to make the expertise higher. For instance, weapons now visually deteriorate as you utilize them extra, one thing that was misplaced in Dying Gentle 2. In the meantime, swings can knock enemies again farther and really feel extra gnarly, too. Slamming a zombie’s head off with a sledgehammer by no means will get outdated.
I nonetheless discover the crafting in Dying Gentle: The Beast, which returns from previous video games, to be a bit finicky and annoying. But it surely’s price coping with so you possibly can craft a flaming machete that tears by means of undead as rapidly and as disgustingly as I eat a bag of Taco Bell quesadillas.
I’m Shifting Into Beast Mode
The large new characteristic in Dying Gentle: The Beast is Crane’s skill to activate his latent monster powers and go full beast mode on zombies and human enemies alike. You earn beast juice—that’s what I name it—by attacking enemies and taking injury. Get sufficient, and Crane can flip right into a hyper-fast, super-powerful, and intensely lethal killing machine, capable of rip zombie arms off and punch clear by means of their chests. Going beast mode is all the time a blast on this recreation, particularly if you use it to tear aside a giant horde of zombies that had been about to kill you.
As you play by means of the primary marketing campaign, you go toe-to-toe with particular contaminated bosses that every supply distinctive fights. I fought considered one of these bosses that lined the realm in fog and used different zombies to her benefit. These {powerful} foes present Crane with Beast Factors (cease laughing), which allow you to improve the Beast powers even additional. I’m solely about seven hours into the sport, and I already really feel like, in my Beast type, I might tackle any risk. Nicely, perhaps not the tremendous zombies that come out at evening.
Sure, as soon as once more, the deadliest enemies within the recreation return to chase Crane round as he tries to finish facet quests and loot priceless areas after the solar has gone down. These encounters and moments by which the sport forces Crane into darkish, creepy caves and buildings are genuinely scary and switch Dying Gentle: The Beast right into a pseudo-horror recreation, full with some bounce scares. Watch out at evening.
Although I haven’t completed the sport, from what I’ve performed up to now, Dying Gentle: The Beast feels just like the fruits of a decade-plus of Techland growing open-world zombie video games. Its open world is attractive and a lot enjoyable to discover. Fight feels nice, and shifting world wide is best than ever. Techland has even brought back some smaller elements from Dying Gentle 1, like how enemies react to attacks, making The Beast really feel just like the studio’s strongest swing at any such recreation. The storyline is foolish, however I do take pleasure in going full wild mode and killing a dozen zombies, so I’ll ignore how typically it’s made me roll my eyes.
Regardless, if the remainder of Dying Gentle: The Beast is pretty much as good as what I’ve performed up to now, this can doubtless be on my Sport of the Yr checklist.
