Dying Light: The Beast
Dying Light: The Beast | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Techland |
Publisher(s) | Techland |
Director(s) | Nathan Lemaire |
Artist(s) | Katarzyna Tarnacka |
Platform(s) | |
Release | Q2/Q3 2025 |
Genre(s) | Survival horror |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Dying Light: The Beast is an upcoming survival horror video game developed and published by Techland. Originally envisioned as a downloadable content pack to Dying Light 2: Stay Human, The Beast is set to be released for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S in mid 2025 as a standalone game.
Story
[edit]Kyle Crane. the protagonist of the first game, returns as the protagonist of The Beast. After escaping captivity, Crane seeks revenge on the Baron, a mysterious villain who had experimented on him for 13 years.
Gameplay
[edit]Dying Light: The Beast is an action-adventure video game played from a first-person perspective. The game is set in a Castor Woods, a popular rural tourist destination overrun by zombies. Players can explore this open world using Crane's parkour skills, or driving a 4x4 vehicle.[1] Like the first game, the zombies are slow when exposed to sunlight, but they become more aggressive and hostile at night. Crane can use a variety of melee wepaons and firearms to defeat enemies.[2] After being subjected to years of experimentation, Crane can utilize superhuman abilities, allowing him to run and sprint faster than typical human beings. He can also enter "Beast Mode", which allows him to launch powerful bare-handed attacks and hurl environment objects at enemies to greatly damage them.[3] As players progress, they will be able to unlock more skills for Crane to further boost his combat prowess. As with its predecessors, the game supports 4-player cooperative multiplayer.
Development
[edit]The Beast was originally intended to be the second downloadable content pack for Dying Light 2: Stay Human. After the pack's main story was leaked by hackers in 2023, the team pivoted to turn it into a separate game.[4][5] Techland described the game as a compact experience, being shorter than both Dying Light and Dying Light 2. The game also had a linear narrative, as opposed to the branching structure introduced in Dying Light 2. According to Tymon Smektala, Techland's franchise director, the decision to bring back Crane as the game's protagonist was met with enthusiasm within the studio. Crane, who was "older, more haunted, and driven by a strong desire for revenge", was voiced by Roger Craig Smith.[6] Smith added that he was surprised when Techland asked him to return to the role due to the character's fate in Dying Light and its expansion, The Following.[7]
According to Techland, the game had a larger emphasis on survival when compared with Dying Light 2, with the team seeking to "recapture" the fear players may have experience when they first played Dying Light.[6] Weapons and vehicles were not durable in the game, forcing players to adapt to different combat scenarios.[8] Castor Woods was described by the team as a "rural, forested valley" inspired by Twin Peaks.[6][9] While the natural setting provided less opportunities for players to use parkour skills for transversal, landmarks and buildings in the game were designed to ensure players must use the agility of Crane to reach their objectives.[6]
The Beast was officially announced by Techland at Gamescom 2024.[10] The game is set to be released for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S in mid 2025. Players who owned the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2 will receive The Beast for free, as Techland "wanted to show appreciation for the community who patiently waited for the DLC".[11] The Ultimate Edition, however, was removed from sale in September 2024.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Livingston, Christopher (August 21, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast is a standalone game starring Kyle Crane that started out as DLC, and will be free for owners of Dying Light 2 Ultimate Edition". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Purslow, Matt (August 23, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast Literally Brings Out the Big Guns for a Shooting-Heavy Spin-Off". IGN. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Oloman, Jordan (August 24, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast is more of the same, but with superpowers". Polygon. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Batchelor, James (August 23, 2024). "Techland: Shorter standalones like Dying Light: The Beast are "the future of games"". Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Carter, Justin (August 22, 2024). "Turns out Dying Light: The Beast started out as leaked Dying Light 2 DLC". Game Developer. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Parijat, Shubhankar (November 8, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast Interview – Story, Map, Parkour, and More". Gaming Bolt. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Vitelli, Jesse (September 24, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast dev says the smaller spinoff is a dream game that "remotivated us to work" on the Dying Light series". Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Bergin, Lauren (August 23, 2024). "Dying Light The Beast is "bringing survival back," and I'm excited". PCGamesN. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Francis, Bryant (October 1, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast reflects Techland's passion for games players will finish". Game Developer. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Hornshaw, Phil (August 20, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast Announced With A Trailer Teasing The Return Of The First Game's Protagonist". GameSpot. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (August 20, 2024). "Dying Light: The Beast is a new 18-hour standalone game that began life as DLC". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (August 28, 2025). "Techland Removing Dying Light 2 Ultimate Edition From Sale After Saying Dying Light: The Beast Comes Free With It". IGN. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Upcoming video games scheduled for 2025
- Action-adventure games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- Mutants in fiction
- Nintendo Switch games
- Open-world video games
- Parkour video games
- PlayStation 4 games
- PlayStation 5 games
- Post-apocalyptic video games
- Survival horror video games
- Techland games
- Video game sequels
- Video games about viral outbreaks
- Video games about zombies
- Video games developed in Poland
- Windows games
- Xbox One games
- Xbox Series X and Series S games