Early in Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Aiden Caldwell (voiced by Jonah Scott) has a chance encounter with a distraught person who’s been the victim of a robbery. In the City, the game’s zombie-infested post-apocalyptic open world, water is a precious resource, and this survivor has had his water and fish stolen by a bandit. Aiden, a mercenary and survivalist, gears up to track down the culprit, but the victim stands in his way, explaining that he’d be happier to just go on living peacefully than take part in revenge, and then simply leaves. This concludes the morally reflective side quest, one that hints at the refreshing ideas and directions that makes Dying Light 2: Stay Human such a uniquely exceptional sequel.
Set 20 years after the events of Dying Light, the sequel finds Aiden coming to the City in order to find information about the sister he was separated from during childhood. Outside of the City’s walls, Aiden is a Pilgrim, a courier in the Death Stranding mold, employed by survivors to deliver packages between the last human settlements. But within those walls, he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between warring factions trying to take control of the City and its resources. Aiden’s skills are invaluable to each faction, and each are willing to trade information for his help, leaving the player to decide who to ally with in pursuit of his quest.
Outside of the branching narrative, Dying Light 2’s core gameplay is divided between traversal and combat. Parkour has been so thoroughly refined here that the game laps not only the original Dying Light but both Mirrors Edge titles, which are built solely around freerunning. Running and jumping as Aiden is effortless, as every movement feels precise and powerful, boasting an amazing sense of weight as, say, he bounds from one rooftop to the next.
While some pathways between locations are sign-posted very well, Dying Light 2 frequently presents alternative paths and parkour puzzles where the player must decide the best route while running, sometimes from dangerous enemies that will kill Aiden if he makes a misstep. As the narrative unfolds and more of the City becomes accessible, these mechanics are further developed and new abilities become available, including a grappling hook and a kind of glider that allows access to higher and potentially more dangerous areas, including skyscrapers.
This variety is key to the success of Dying Light 2, which is constantly evolving and rewarding the player with new experiences. While a lot of conflict can be resolved with pacifism and trade, Aiden is a skilled fighter often backed into a corner. Combat is tense and bloody, with the same sense of weight as the traversal, forcing the player to get close to strike enemies, then dodge out of their way to avoid attacks. You feel every hit, as limbs are cut off and heads bashed in, and the experience is joltingly visceral and often more than a little disgusting.
Throughout, Aiden battles both humans and different forms of the infected, and with an abundance of unique weapons and tools. It’s a system that consistently rewards planning where possible, but all too often Aiden will find himself in the middle of unpredictable chaos, where escaping involves fighting for his life with whatever is available to him in the moment. Entering a potentially volatile situation with the right combination of weapons and tools can negate difficult encounters, as can utilizing stealth to get around dangerous enemies. But the environment is also littered, almost generously, with bricks and broken glass that can be used as a last resort, and sometimes have to be in order to flee an unwinnable fight.
Dying Light 2 is consistently tense and satisfying. It’s also a rare example of ludonarrative harmony, as every element in the game, from its setting to its gameplay mechanics to its story beats, moves together in unison to expound on its themes. Here, conflict isn’t always the solution, but some individuals—especially those in power—cannot be left to freely carry out their actions unchecked. Early in the campaign, Aiden’s guide tells him that he’s free to abandon his quest and just explore the City as a playground, which, yes, is an option that’s available to players. But doing so is irresponsible, as it would leave many to suffer as a result of his lack of intervention, while limiting the gameplay variety that the player can experience.
Dying Light 2 is constantly introducing new abilities through its missions, and in such clever ways that players become naturally acclimated to them. Consistently, the world here overwhelms us in lockstep with the dazzlingly dense gameplay. This is game about choice and consequences, and it rewards the player for exploring and engaging with the City’s environments. Unlike the derivative setting of last year’s Far Cry 6, the City is a character of its own, alive with lived-in detail and a refinement of the use of environmental storytelling. And it’s all the more incredible for making us feel as if we can change it for the better.
The game was covered with a review code provided by Stride PR.
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