After more than three years of waiting, we finally got our hands on Dying Light 2, the sequel to Techland’s horror-apocalyptic game. And the studio proves to us once again that it completely masters its subject.
[Mis à jour le 03 février 2022 à 12h44] What could be better than a little apocalypse to start the month of February? Only a few hours separate us from the release of Dying Light 2, Techland’s long-awaited open-world. The Polish studio behind Dead Island and Call of Juarez gratifies us with the second opus of its license combining zombies and parkour, more than seven years after the release of the first part, and almost four years after its first appearance at the E3 2018 show Initially postponed, this titanic project experienced a turbulent development, disrupted among other things by the coronavirus pandemic. Between immersive action-RPG, terrifying survival-horror, impact of player choices on the environment, cooperation and greatly in-depth gameplay, the promises surrounding the release of Dying Light 2 were numerous. And we can say that Techland knew how to respect them. Our detailed test.
After a year 2021 marked by many disappointments on the side of the biggest video game licenses, needless to say that we approached the release of Dying Light 2 gropingly. And for good reason, Dying Light first of the name had offered us an exhilarating and unique experience, despite its sometimes flagrant lack of depth. Add to that an intense promotional campaign on the part of Techland and a long and complex development, you will obtain a cocktail mixing excitement and doubt, having refreshed the ardor of an undisputed fan of the action-RPG and survival-horror genres. Only, from the first minutes of play, Dying Light 2 took our breath away by immersing us in its sinister universe where humanity clings to existence, more than 15 years after the epidemic which transformed the largest part of our fellow insatiable undead.
Because in terms of artistic direction, Dying Light 2 offers us everything that is expected of post-apocalyptic horror. We feel an influence of The Walking Dead in its stagnant urbanism, of Romero in its menacingly slow zombies and of Mad Max in its ruthlessly surviving humanity. The universe of Dying Light 2 takes us to the body, offering visions of horror and permanent drama skillfully contrasted by the good nature of veteran survivors, who have become almost accustomed to the surrounding carnage. Even the children seem jaded, ruthless, entirely ignorant of the “life before” and the “old world”. The writing and direction of the characters and dialogues is perfectly adapted to this unique universe, presenting us with a range of personalities that are, to say the least… surprising. What could be more normal after fifteen years of survival and trauma? It’s everyone for their own skin in Villedor, the unity of the different communities and factions only depends on mistrust and fear of the other. And the other is you, the stranger, the pilgrim.
Speaking of you, you play as Aiden on his quest across the world to find his sister. And, importantly, in any video game, Aiden is a likeable character who leaves enough room for you to play as him without issue, without being entirely devoid of personality and humor. The choices you will have in the dialogues are not always white or black, an extremely refreshing bias in the narration. In addition, your decisions have a real impact on the rest of your adventure, so be careful. You will be accompanied in your epic by Hakon, embodied by the creator of parkour, the Frenchman David Belle, who offers us a captivating performance of realism. A nice nod to discipline from Techland which once again proves its respect for the foundations of its universe. You will also cross paths with Lawan, this formidable fighter that you too will learn to fear, as well as many other personalities.
On the gameplay side, (we played the PC version with a controller) Dying Light 2 offers us an effective formula. The combat, primarily based on melee weapons (no firearms fifteen years after the apocalypse), bows and on the movement is devilishly satisfying, especially since the progression in the skill trees gives you new ways to overcome your opponents. Because there are adversaries, ranging from the simple bandit to the colossus of putrefied flesh, not to mention the countless “Biters” who approach you slowly, inexorably. The game offers quite tough challenges, especially in hard mode.
The gameplay duality between day and night is perfectly executed by the Techland teams. During the day, everything is easier, but out of the question to set foot inside, where the amorphous zombies watch until the night, and where you will find the rarest objects and artifacts. At night, the undead are out, giving you the opportunity to explore indoor locations free of their cannibalistic occupants, while trying to avoid the real danger of the streets. This is also the time for you to monitor your virality gauge, because you too are contaminated. This gauge condemns you to death after a certain time without exposure to UVs. This timer offers an interesting dynamic, forcing you to urgently in already very precarious situations and adding permanent pressure to your night or indoor expeditions.
Parkour is also extremely developed, offering you a whole range of modes of movement enriched with the level of your character, and allowing you to gradually access new platforms, new roofs, and new treasures. Because of course, who says RPG says loot. In Dying Light 2 you are constantly on the hunt for weapons, clothing and valuables. But there is also a whole range of resources to collect in order to make different tools essential to your survival. This aspect of the game is enjoyable without being too demanding. It immerses you in the shoes of a looter, a scrap dealer and ultimately a survivor, as it is useful for immersion. Game progression is neither too fast nor too slow, dividing up high-level content without making it undoable, and providing many hours of gameplay beyond the main quest.
As you will have understood, there is no question of praising this new creation from Techland. The studio proves to us that it has total control of its score, showing its years of experience in terms of survival-horror and affirming its skills in the open-world genre. Because the world of Dying Light 2 is as dead as it is alive. Nature is gradually reclaiming its rights there. Trees and bees thrive outside of areas contaminated with chemical horrors spread by utterly overwhelmed and long gone authorities. The collapse would be good? Not really, but Techland leaves room for doubt, and subtly tackles this almost political theme, leaving it open to all interpretations. Ultimately, in addition to its relatively disappointing optimization on PC (it will really be necessary to move towards the recommended configuration to obtain its 60 fps in 1080p) and the crossplay absent on its release, Dying Light 2 is an undeniable success. It’s an island of satisfaction after a year 2021 too rich in disappointments, a game that makes you want to dive into it again and again. Add to that the fact that all of its content is playable in cooperation, a feature of the game that unfortunately we have not yet had the opportunity to test, and you will know that the year 2022 is off to a strong start in terms of video games.
Although versions of the game are already in circulation, the official release date and time for Dying Light 2 is still set for Friday, February 4 at 1:00 a.m. on PC, and at midnight on PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. This is also the date on which Techland officially called on Internet users to discover the games, so that they can take advantage of the open-world launch patch. The game is still available for pre-order, allowing you to benefit from bonuses and in-game cosmetics, including if you register on the Techland site and enter a code received when you first launch the game. pre-downloads start them today.
In view of the ambition of Dying Light 2, it is necessary to question the ability of your machine to run it in good conditions. To have put your hands on it, you should know that the PC optimization of this new open-world is very far from being its strong point. You will need to have at least the recommended configuration to enjoy 60 frames per second in 1080p. Techland has also claimed to deploy a correction patch at the time of the game’s release, so that players “enjoy the best possible experience”. In the meantime, here are the recommended and minimum configuration to discover the post-apocalyptic world of Villedor.
Minimum requirements
- Processor: Intel Core i3-4160 / AMD FX-6300
- Graphics Card: AMD R9 390 / Nvidia GTX 970
- RAM: 8GB of RAM
- Disk Space: 65GB Storage
- Windows 10
Recommended Setup
- Processor: Intel Core i7-4790K / AMD FX-9590
- Graphics Card: AMD RX 5600 XT / Nvidia RTX 2060
- RAM: 16GB of RAM
- Disk Space: 65GB Storage
- Windows 10
In Dying Light 2, you play as Aiden, a pilgrim looking for his sister. His quest from town to town leads him to Villedor, one of humanity’s last strongholds against the virus that has turned most of humanity into the living dead. This first-person open-world offers you an experience mixing action-RPG and survival-horror, with bloody hand-to-hand combat and very important narration. Combining parkour and combat, its gameplay offers a unique cocktail with the Dying Light formula, offering us the possibility of influencing the world around us through our choices. It also includes a cooperative mode allowing you to enjoy the story with up to four players.
As we have seen, the good news is that Dying Light will be released on all platforms. It is already available for pre-order. Additionally, players who pre-order the game on PS4 and Xbox One will be able to upgrade their versions on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S for free. Three versions can already be pre-ordered, Normal, Deluxe and Ultimate, each including different bonuses. The pre-order bonus is an exclusive skin pack, while the Deluxe and Ultimate versions include access to one and two future scripted DLCs, respectively, and additional in-game skins and bonuses.