![Dying Light: The Beast Pulls a Lost Legacy as DLC Turned Full PS5 Game Impresses Preview 1](https://images.pushsquare.com/770be81877045/dying-light-the-beast-pulls-a-lost-legacy-as-dlc-turned-full-ps5-game-impresses-preview-1.900x.jpg)
While it only has a single marketing beat to its name in the form of a Gamescom Opening Night Live reveal trailer, studio Techland might be selling its Dying Light 2 DLC turned full game a little short. Based on a demo played to us live at the German expo, Dying Light: The Beast wouldn't raise many eyebrows if it had been announced and pitched as a fully-fledged spin-off to the main series. It essentially is that, with its own standalone open world, story, direction, mechanics, and more.
In the same way Naughty Dog spun Uncharted: The Lost Legacy out into its own game and didn't charge owners of the Uncharted 4 season pass anything to play, Ultimate Edition players of Dying Light 2 don't need to pay a penny for The Beast. A roughly 30-minute demo of what the spin-off has to offer suggests Techland is really going above and beyond.
Picking up early on in the campaign — which is said to last around 18 hours — our demo follows returning protagonist Kyle Crane as he tracks down a scientist who helped keep him captive for more than a decade. They're also running experiments on zombies that are giving rise to more types of undead called Freaks, and the session concludes with a boss fight against one.
![Dying Light: The Beast Pulls a Lost Legacy as DLC Turned Full PS5 Game Impresses Preview 2](https://images.pushsquare.com/2cd458e6c7749/dying-light-the-beast-pulls-a-lost-legacy-as-dlc-turned-full-ps5-game-impresses-preview-2.900x.jpg)
As Kyle sprints through the new, currently unnamed city, the PS5, PS4 spin-off feels more like the first game than the second. While Techland representatives at the show never spelt this return of direction out, The Beast comes across more like a sequel to the original game than what the actual Dying Light 2 was. The city looks a lot denser and more tightly compact, allowing for a lot more parkour between buildings and fights in claustrophobic spaces with zombies.
It's the Dying Light gameplay that put the series on the map in the first place, except more refined. There's once again a grappling hook to expand your movement capabilities, which helps you get about a play zone Techland is suggesting looks like a lasagne: "multi-layered and stuffed with tasty goodies," as franchise director Tymon Smektala put it.
On the combat side, brutal melee weapons remain the focus, but it appears guns will play a significantly bigger role in The Beast. The Techland employee leading our demo started with a pistol, but as main character Kyle is being hunted down by his former captives, he can get assault rifles and shotguns a lot more easily than any other Dying Light title in the past. Gunfights seem pretty common now, representing a shift in the focus of action. Melee weapons could be reserved for the undead while human enemies invite bullet spray — you still have the option of reversing those roles for the right occasion, however.
![Dying Light: The Beast Pulls a Lost Legacy as DLC Turned Full PS5 Game Impresses Preview 3](https://images.pushsquare.com/cec151d5a7385/dying-light-the-beast-pulls-a-lost-legacy-as-dlc-turned-full-ps5-game-impresses-preview-3.900x.jpg)
Building on the buggy seen in Dying Light DLC The Following, there are now drivable cars in The Beast. The demo sees Kyle transporting a gas canister out to a nearby forest to draw the attention of a new zombie type, with fuel management necessary for getting it to run. It's an extra wrinkle on top of a new combat focus and beast powers that help to make The Beast stand apart from its predecessors, achieving a slightly different spin on the Dying Light formula.
Those new beast powers were only utilised once during our demo, but as a Freak threatened to become the victor in a boss fight, they were activated to hand Kyle more strength, a higher jump, extra damage, and the ability to throw much heavier objects like cinder blocks. He's also able to perform an execution-style finishing move that rips the heads off of enemies; the fate the Freak in question met. It wasn't clear in the hands off session whether these abilities could be quickly recharged to be used again a few minutes later, but it's clear they provide exceedingly powerful buffs that'll help rescue you from difficult situations.
As the demo closes, and the dangers of night turn into day, Kyle awakes to a rainstorm. Techland says better weather effects are just one of the tech improvements it's packing into The Beast under the hood, which will play out across multiple biomes in the open world: a town area, swamp, and industrial section are a few places listed off by the Polish developer.
We can't speak to how the game actually feels to play and control due to the hands off nature of the Gamescom demo, but based on experiences with the two previous Dying Light games, a sense of familiarity and progress in the right places was conveyed throughout our press appointment. This is still the Dying Light its fanbase loves — especially those who swear the first one is best — but with some tweaks here and there, it generates the same sort of excitement and potential that fuelled Dying Light 2 pre-release — despite the fact it's an expansion now separated into a standalone game. That caveat shouldn't be seen as a deterrent. Dying Light: The Beast shows just as much promise as any other, numbered instalment in the franchise. Subscribing to the structure and tone of the first game slightly more than the second, it could just be the best one yet.
Dying Light: The Beast doesn't have a confirmed release date yet, but it will be free for owners of the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2. The standalone price hasn't been announced yet. Are you happy to hear this spin-off is shaping up nicely? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments 21
I played the demo via PS Plus when DL2 came out years ago.. didn’t really click with me.. is it better now? I’m kind’ve out of RPGs to play and it’s my birthday today so my wife wouldn’t say anything about me buying the Ultimate Edition.. Don’t wanna waste money like I did with Elden Ring (not my thing apparently) 😬
I loved the first Dying Light but I didn’t play the 2nd. This upcoming release looks fantastic, though, and I’m excited to play it once it releases.
@WolfyTn Happy Birthday.
I just got Dying Light 2. I am hoping I enjoy it more than most. I love the first game.
Sounds good. Shorter runtime and an environment more like the first game sounds like a winner to me
Btw did they say something about being infected again? I hated that part of DL2..
@Kraven
I finally played DL2 after the mixed reviews, got it for dirt cheap as well.
It's one of those games where you wish you got home to play more of. It really clicked for me and I think it's seriously underrated and fun.
This one's definitely another buy!
Is it anything like dead island 2? I tried getting into it and i don't know maybe its the card system but it doesn't really click and i really want to like it.
For me the first game was a hidden gem & absolute classic. 2nd game was ok, but this dlc sounds amazing. Looking forward to this
@WolfyTn I’ve started it a few weeks now and I’m enjoying it. It’s just good fun. Nothing groundbreaking
@WolfyTn I wasn’t a fan of the 2nd game, for me it deviated too much to what made the 1st game great. But this dlc sounds like it’s going back to the 1st games roots. I would say to start off with the 1st game-should be very cheap wherever you get it from. Also with the 1st game, I’m sure techland made all dlc free-the standard version of the game, becomes the enchanced version for free, with the excellent The following dlc aswell. As crane is the protagonist in the 1st game-you’ll understand the story better for this dlc aswell.
@pharos_haven Nothing like it, in a good way. Much more story focused.
Everything I read about The Beast gets me more excited by it. Techland really making up for past mistakes. Having said that I actually enjoyed Dying Light 2. Think it was hated on unfairly.
"feels more like the first game than the second."
You can't even begin to imagine how much this make me happy.
I know it doesn’t really matter… but are the trophies still broken for DL2?
I just wish there was 3rd person view. Parkour and first person view are really bad match.
@WolfyTn I’m thinking of buying ultimate as well, it’s on sale on humble store although I assume you would be playing on PS5? Happy Birthday!!
@Wallace80 @husker42c Thanks guys!! I’m 35 today 💀.. just bought the basic physical edition from GameStop today I guess I’ll upgrade if it clicks this time
This game appears that it will be good, I loved the first one and haven't touched the second one yet, maybe will be getting the ultimate edition to play the Beast later.
DL1 was a phenomenal game. I'll sometime buy 2 as well with all the expansions.
@WolfyTn When the game released it was wildly different than what it is today. The developer took all criticizing at hart and changed it a ton. I thought the original was okay but I played it again a month ago and liked it more. It's cheap so give it a try.
@mrbone Have you played the first Dying Light? It is surprisingly quite fun if done right. Mirrors Edge was one of the first games to really show there was more to first person than just walking and running.
@captainsandman Yes I have played both, only the beginning, and not finished. Can’t stand the camera movement. I really enjoyed dead rising co-op and want something similar but both dead island and dying light are unfortunately first person view.
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