Delays and much-anticipated titles are all coalescing into a few months

Last year saw a good deal of games get moved, delayed, and pushed around. They all had to go somewhere. And as it turns out, many of those games landed in the February to April windo????w.

I've alluded to it a ??few times in past news posts, but well, this is a very busy month for games. It really didn't even start with February, but last week with the launch of a new Pokemon game. And it continues on through an end-of-February triple-header, right on into a stacked March, and tapering off into the spring months.

Between Dying Light 2 Stay Human, Elden Ring, and Horizon Forbidden West, there are some heavy hitters launching early this year. And that's not even counting indies like Sifu or OlliOlli World. So how'd February turn out like this?

Well, to tell it succinctly, delays. Both Dying Light 2 and Horizon Forbidden West pushed out from 2021 launch dates into 2022. Industry heads like Xbox's Phil Spencer had indicated back in 2020 that the effect of COVID-19 on game development would start to be felt in ear??ly 2021. The impact has reached further with each month though, as studios ar?e taking a little extra time to get things right.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_03kFqWfqs

Shifting release dates haven't just been limited to big year-over-year moves, either. Elden Ring was first set for January, before it got pushed back to Feb. 25. In a personal favorite, Sifu actually moved its release date back up. After being delayed from 2021 into 2022, developer Sloclap then moved from the end of February up to Feb. 8. Fans of specific genres get some heavy hitters in The King of Fighters XV, Total War: Warhammer III, Sol Cresta, and Monark. And of course, Destiny 2 takes on the Witch Queen.

Even February itself has to contend with stacked month-neighbors for games released. January closed out with Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and once we get into March, then we're looking at games like Gran Turismo 7, Triangle Strategy, and Babylon's Fall.

Square Enix in particular has March on lockdown, with the latter two games plus Stranger of Paradise and Chocobo GP all lined up for the month. Add in a new WWE 2K, a Rune Factory port, and a new Borderlands game, and well, March is just as packed with new games. Suddenly Saint's Row looks prescient for dodging this window.

With so many games coming out, it's hard to imagine how to keep up with everything. And honestly, the best option might be to just go with the flow. The more I look at the months ahead for games and the flood that's coming, the more compelled I feel to focus in ??on what appeals to me. Bigger-budget games are probably going to fall by the wayside for me, in favor of niche appeals to my favorite styles of game, like fighting or tactics.

So, with a daunting lineup ahead, that's my advice to you: follow your heart. Or at least, your? brain and what appeals most to it. Be comfortable missing out on a big game if it's not your jam. Indulge in your creature comforts. Or even take the time to deep dive into something that's passed you by instead.

For us on the? coverage side, it'll be a hectic few months. But there certainly won't be a dearth of new games to talk about.

The post This February ?kicks off a pretty busy couple of months for games appeared first on Destructoid.

Early copies now out in the wild

Like Beauty and The Beast, it's a tale as old as time. An expensive, brand new release is approaching its big launch day, but already copies of the game have found their way into the hands of lucky players the world over. 'Tis the way it has always been and always will be, and 'tis the way of Dying Light 2: Stay Human.

But while lucky survivors might already be gagging to leap into the long-awaited sequel's world of undead horrors and death-defying acrobatics, developer Techland, (who has been pretty finicky in its marketing of the entire release) is respectfully asking players not to take a running jump into the new sequel until launch day, whe?n they will receive the benefits of a day one patch.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MD4gTitmzw

"Fellow survivors," wrote Techland on its official Twitter. "We see that some of you got access to the retail copies of Dying Light 2 before the release date... We understand you wan??t to start exploring the City ASAP and we couldn't be happier!"

"That being said, we kindly ask you to wait until Feb 4th as by that time you’ll also get access to all improvements and fixes we’ve implemented within last weeks and will introduce with the day 1 patch. That’s the way to experience Dying Light 2 the way it’s meant to be played."

Frankly, it's pretty unlikely that anybody picking up a title pre-launch will be setting it aside until the big day rather than dive headfirst into the action. Hell, often the whole reason people want to grab these games pre-launch is for those sweet internet bragging rights. Patience is a virtue, but the world ain't too virtuous. Still, for those of you who DO have a copy of Techland's latest, be assured that the developer wants you to see Dying Light 2 in its most up-to-date form,?? so perhaps hold tight for now??.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human launches February 4 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. A Nintendo Switch edition is also in the works. You can check out Chris Carter's review right here.

The post Techland a??sks eager Dying Light 2 players to hold off for launch day patch appeared first on Destructoid.

'Zombies'

Hold out your hands in front of you like Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and say "zombies." Now go run toward the wall and do a little kick off of it. You pretty much got the idea behind Dying Light 2.

Not that the combination of those ideas is automatically a bad thing! Dying Light 2 more or less l??eans into the marriage of parkour and zombies, just ?like the first game, but it does it in such a fluid way that you'll forget about some of its issues.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Nintendo Switch (cloud version), Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Developer: Techland
Publisher: Techland
Released: January 28, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

Dying Light 2 is going to be very familiar �not just for folks who played the first game or have watched a lot of zombie media, but familiar in general.

So the setup here is a time jump between games, with two main storytelling goals. It's simply a bit all over the place, trying to balance both the personal plight of our hero Aiden, and the lore of the world (chie?fly the city of Villedor): it gets about halfway there on both. This story is set two decades after the original, taking place in the 2030s, and things are a bit different now in terms of zombie world tech.

It's all serviceable. While I would have preferred another hero entirely and more detail on some specific elements of the lore, this is far from a cringe-worthy zombie tale, which is so easy to ease into these days. Characters are generally lively with their? performances, especially in the more intimate moments of the story.

That aforementioned familiarity comes into play in several respects. Dying Light 2 has a detective vision mechanic. There's crafting and lockpicking. And radio towers (windmills). There's also crafting and gathering, and even the materials are going to elicit memories of trouncing around Techland's own open-world romps. But once you act??ually play it, a lot of what the game is trying to do comes together.

The parkour system really is the highlight of Dying Light 2, and carried the game across the finish line: I can't stress that enough. If the narrative is on a downbeat, a bug pops up, or a mission is too generic, my blank stare is replaced with a smile right after doing a bit of platforming. The way everything flows �and how the parkour upgrades slot into one another �is a treat. Successfully running and chaining together spots feels like the best moments of a Tony Hawk game, especially ?when you're creating "lines" in the moment as you're moving.

It's all facilit??ated through leveling up, which follows the "you gain experience when you actually do something" design philosophy. Big fan! Having two trees branching off of combat and parkour keeps things wonderfully simple, which are communicated with on-screen "you got [this much XP]" prompts. Both work in tandem with one another and open up combo actions, which are some of the strongest parts ??of the game.

The ability to riposte a melee attack, then jump on someone's head, then do a 360-degree windmill turn off of a roof and grab an open window ledge is silly, in a real good way. Movement gets cleaner and crazier the more you play too, including wall-running shenanigans. We need more games that riff on Mirror's Edge, and I'll take it where I can get it. The gamification of these skills works to its benefit, especially when they come out naturally during some intense chases; because it's easy for Dying Light 2 to take itself way too seriously.

Picturesque areas, set to the backdrop of trees and mountains, are stunning on a current-generation machine. Performance was not an issue for me on PS5, and as cliché as it sounds, I stopped to admire the scenery several times in Dying Light 2 �especially in the opening hour before you get ??to the city. The day and night cycle, which impacts how zombies and the player character interact, is smart, and done better than many other games that waste it.

For the sake of transparency, there was one game-breaking issue with a quest that was patched during the review period (that I did not encounter), and one very unclear questline that did impact me (a main story quest that asks you to simply visit a settlement and chat with the inhabitants, but it didn't pop for me until I finished multiple seemingly optional sidequests). I also got stuck in a wall several times and had to load an autosave. Part of the issue is that there seems to be only one autosave in total: so if you encounter a glitch, you can't rewind to a previous state on console by default. I wouldn't call Dying Light 2 "messy" ??or "unpolished" by any m?eans, but it has your bog-standard open-world baggage.

Dying Light 2 is safe in some respects, and bold in others; like its propensity to lean into some arcadey notions. The sandbox is the true heart of Dying Light 2. Not the characters, or the story, but the mere act of running around like an idiot, whether you're doing errands or not. Whether it keeps you busy for "500 hours" or 20, open-world fa?natics will probably find a lot to love ?here.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher. Co-op was not tested for this review.]}

The post Review: Dying Light 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Cross-platform and cross-gen console co-op won't be up at launch, though

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is right around the corner, and those picking it up on older consoles won't need to worry about buying it again when they upgrade. Techland confirmed today that both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will? have free upgrades available to their next-gen console counterparts.

So if you buy Dying Light 2 on PlayStation 4 and manage to get a PS5 down the line, there will be a free upgrade. Same goes for Xbox, where Dying Light 2 will have Smart Delivery for Xbox Series X|S. Though this has come up once in the past,?? Techland confirming it just ahead of launch is good news for those who still haven't nabbed a next-gen console.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MD4gTitmzw

Techland confirmed a few other tidbits about the new game, too. Dying Light 2 will be fully playable in co-op, aside from the prologue. All s??e??ssion guests, a.k.a. players, keep their acquired items and progression, and choices can be voted on by the players in the session, though the host has final say.

Cross-platform and cross-gen console co-op will not be available at launch, however. Hopefully with that wording, it means that those features are part of Techland's planned long-term support for Dying Light 2. There will be cross-play between the ??Steam and Epic Games Store versions at launch, though.

Dying Light 2 is set to launch soon, after going through several delays. And though the Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as well as PC, are set to arrive in February, the Switch cloud version won't launch until later on this year. Once it does arrive however, it sounds like there will be plenty of content to sift through.

Well, gear up folks. It's about time for the big February games rush, and Techland's leading the charge. Dying Light 2 Stay Human launches on PlaySta??tion 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via S??team and Epic on Feb. 4, 2022.

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Techland is aiming for within six months of the original launch date

Dying Light 2 Stay Human's launch is just around the corner, but one of its platform versions won't be making the date. The Nintendo Switch version of Dying Light 2, which would use cloud streaming technology, will not launch on Feb. 4??, 2022 with the other platforms.

Techland has confirmed that the Switch version of Dying Light 2 is delayed. The publisher is now aiming for a date sometime within six months of the original launch date. The other versions of Dying Light 2 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbo?x are still on?? track for Feb. 4.

According to a press release, Techland says the delay was made to provide players with the level of experience it wants to provide. While Dying Light 2 has been delayed a few times in the pas??t, this one will only affect the Switch version of the game, which was set to use cloud tech to bring the parkour action onto Nintendo's console.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iku4GQCYAz4

While Dying Light made for a surprisingly good port to the Nintendo Switch, it looks like those who want to explore the city on their Nintendo will need to wait a little while longer. No firm date for the Nintendo Switch version of Dying Light 2 Stay Human has been set.

For other platforms, the first-person adventure arrives at the start of February. Dying Light 2 will kick off a pretty stacked February gaming lineup, and with a fair bit of content too. Techland recently had to clarify the exact length of Dying Light 2??'s campaign and content a??fter a graphic about 500 hours of content made the rounds, saying that main story completion is "about 20 hours."

Dying Light 2 Stay Human launches on Feb. 4,?? 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One,?? and Xbox Series X|S. The Nintendo Switch cloud version arrives sometime later in 2022.

The post Dying Light 2’s Switch cloud version has been delayed appeared first on Destructoid.

And the reason is you

Techland �who really wants you to know that Dying Light 2: Stay Human is not necessarily "500 hours long" �has released a cinematic story trailer for the survival horror sequel, ahead of its in??creasingly approaching February 4 launch.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MD4gTitmzw

The dramatic preview, titled "The Reason" offers a look at some of the location??s, communities, and characters that protagonist Aiden Caldwell will encounter on their journey through the devastation that is The City, a fictional European metropolis laid siege by terrifying mutants and even scarier human beings. The trailer focuses on Aiden's hunt for his missing sister, and the sacrifices �f??or himself and others �that he will make to uncover her whereabouts.

Oh, and at one point, Aiden actually says "S??tay Human." DiCaprio finger p?oint.

Additionally, Techland released the final chapter of its dev diary "Dying 2 Know," which this time around takes a sneak-peek at Dying Light 2's incoming four-player co-op mode, as well as a video com??????????????????????????parison showing? off the claret-covered sequel's console ports. To be honest the thing I liked most about this video is Leah Alexandra's rad jacket.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYSNAwikBTo

Dying Light 2, which has been in the oven for quite some time now, looks to recapture the open-world exploration, acrobatic parkour antics, and grim 'n' gory combat of the original title, but with everything turned up to 11. Packed full of new weapons, characters, skills, and survival abilities, while boasting a brand new storyline, new protagonist, and an open world four times the size of the original Dying Light, Stay Human s??ure ??looks to be a real survivalist epic, one that will gladly scratch the itch of monster mashers, rooftop runners, and dystopia die-hards everywhere.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human launches February 4 ??on PlaySt??ation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch (via cloud).

The post Dramatic Dying Light 2 trailer gives us ‘The Reason’ to survive the night appeared first on Destructoid.

Please, not another fetch quest

So there's been a lot of talk going around about Dying Light 2 supposedly having up to 500 hours worth of content, if not more, and this wasn't exactly news I was jumping up and down about. Not because of the game itself, necessarily, but the way it plays into the trends of the industry as a whole away from sh??ort, linear games. In the past few years, it feels like completion times that clock in at hundreds ??of hours have become something of a badge of honor, and the discourse surrounding it has seemed to lean toward the idea that the longer a game is, the better.

Listen, I'm all for getting the best bang for my buck. When I see that I've played a game for hundreds of hours, ??there's a sense of pride there, because that was money well-spent. But at this point it feels like players keep pushing for games to be longer and longer, and that's not always a good thing.

For one thing, a super long game with ambitious scope usually (not always, but usually), means more work and crunch for game teams that are already burned out. The prime example here is Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red promised that the game would be one of the most detailed open-world RPG experiences ever while it was still in early development, and the game then suffered from multiple delays as the team tried to keep up. Ultimately, Cyberpunk was a massive disappointment on release (although recent updates have helped), and it all co?uld have been avoided if CD Projekt Red had maintained realistic expe?ctations.

[caption id="attachment_304152" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{[Image Source: cyberpunk.net]}[/caption]There's also th??e fact that shorter games can also mean less time in development. In theory, if the bigger studios dedicated themselves to making shorter, more polished experiences, you could chop a good year or two off of th??e development cycle, at least. I always wondered what it would be like if a studio that had the talent and money of a CD Projekt Red dedicated themselves to an indie-style project that had a three-to-four-hour runtime. But, because those aren't nearly as lucrative, I guess we'll never know.

Then you just have the content of the games themselves. When you scale up a game to be so big and nonlinear, it's almost impossible to keep the content interesting. The world, the quests, and the characters can all start to feel repetitive and hollow. In creating a game that's hundreds of hours long, developers simply don't have time to put the time and attention into many details of the game �they're just trying to fill out the biggest map they can in a way that doesn't make it feel entirely empty. But there are so many games that I've played that do feel empty, in spite of everything that the game puts in my way, and I'm not alone in this sentiment.

In contrast, I've been playing through BioShock Infinite again recently. It's obviously very different from a big, hundred-hour endeavor, with an average run time of about twelve hours. But when I started playing it again, I realized how much I've missed these short linear games. For example, I seriously cannot get over the environments in BioShock Infinite. Every room you walk into has ?this perfectly composed setting that looks like it's straight out of a concept art painting. That's because the devs know that the player will be entering a room from exactly one position, and they're able to compose the en?vironment around that, and to great effect.

[caption id="attachment_304149" align="aligncenter" width="600"] _{[Image Source: Reddit]}[/caption]The pacing is excellent too, because they obviously planned out exactly how much and for how long you'll be interacting with combat, story sections, and explor??ation. Sometimes I don't want to have to go out of my way to find combat or a quiet space to enjoy the scenery, and linear games just have them lined up, ready to go wh?en you need them. Like a perfectly balanced screenplay, the game knows exactly what you want, when you want it, and gives it to you.

Maybe I'm not being fair by comparing games that are meant to provide such different experiences, but I really can't seem to find any big-budget AAA studios that haven't succumbed to this formula. I mean, look at what happened to The Last of Us series. The first one also had a runtime of about twelve hours, and in my opinion?, was pretty perfectly paced from both a gameplay and storytelling standpoint.

[caption id="attachment_304150" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{[Image Source: IGN]}[/caption]Then you have the sequel, which is over twice the length,? with huge open areas that grind the pacing to a halt. I'm not saying Naughty Dog isn't capable of making a good o??pen-world game, I just don't understand why they deviated from what they did so well when it came to the scope, especially within a beloved franchise that used its small-scale linearity to great effect.

Long story short, I just really miss short linear games with?? a focus ??on story.

I can certainly go back and play through all my old favorites like BioShock, The Last of Us, and Portal 2, but it's hard to find any games like this that are newer than around ?2015. Sometimes I don't want choic??e �sometimes, I just want to be taken on a ride, a thrilling, bombastic ride that only the resources of a AAA studio can provide, but they seem to be fewer and further between these days.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post I miss short, linear games appeared first on Destructoid.

I probably don't have that many hours left

[Update: In the aftermath of the "500 hours" tweet, Techland has spoken more about Dying Light 2's length and noted how it'll vary from one extreme to anoth??er.

According to the studio, the main story completion should clock in at "about 20 hours" for a "focused playthrough of Dying Light 2," while "complet??????????????????????????ing all the side quests, learning about the world's history, and engaging with all characters can easily take 80 hours or more, depending on playstyle.??" So to reiterate, the 500-hour figure is really just meant for the exhaustive, die-hard, gotta-see-literally-everything fans �nothing more.]

Cheeky Dying Light 2: Stay Human developers certainly managed to bag the lion's share of publicity this weekend, rolling out a tweet boasting of the long-coming sequel's playtime. According to the team, Dying Light 2 will take somewhere in the region of a whoppi??ng 500 hours to complete. At least for the most hardcore?? of players.

Now, to clarify, the mighty figure represents the entire exhaustion of the rooftop-running, head-mashing survival title. So that's 500 hours to explore the whole world, bust out all of the grinds, complete all main campaign stories and side-quests, find all the collectibles, bag the achievements, etc, etc. Some players took severe umbrage to this, with some unleashing the full power of "I'm canceling my pre-order" mode �convinced that all this announcement achieved was revealing that Dying Light 2 is fluff-packed.

And so, realizing that the announcement might not have had quite the intended impact, the team sent out a succinct update noting that anyone looking to simply complete the campaign, its side stories, and other activities should be able to do so in "less than 100 hours." I mean, that's still pretty much Persona length, but hopefully has done something to alleviate the raised eyebrows of players already eyeing up both their current backlog and the litany of massive games l??ined up for the year.

Ultimately, it comes down to what an individual wants from a game. I personally don't want 100 hours out of any adventure title, even a favorite franchise. But I'm an old man and have been at this shit for over 30 years now. Younger players and genre enthusiasts might ??squeal with delight at triple-figure playthroughs �and that's fine too. You buy a game, you play it as long as you want, and then you hit the bricks. I do think a good developer will respect a player's time, but I also understand Survival titles are "the long haul" by default. Either way, it's nothing worth getting infuriated over. It's your call.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human launches February 4 on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Dying Light 2 suggests setting aside 500 ?hours for 100% completion (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

In today’s contest, you can win a Dying Light 2 "Scents of the City" kit!

The release of Dying Light 2 Stay Human is creeping ever closer as we approach the new year. Many of us are still wondering if it will be able to live up to the original, but Destructoid’s very own Eric Van Allen seemed to have a positive experience during his hands-o?n preview with the game. It sounds like things are shaping up nicely.

I’ve recently been accosted with a somewhat more disturbing question regarding the franchise. Have you ever wondered what the world of Dying Light sm??ells like? I can’t imagine it’s super pleasant. There are rotting corpses everywhere, some of them even running towards you, and many of the characters I met in the first game looked like they hadn’t bathed in months. However, two of our lucky readers will get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to find out themselves!

So, what exactly is a Dying Light 2 "Scent??s of the City" kit? That’s a great question! I’m still not entirely sure myself. It’s a box containing a bunch of bottles with, presumably smelly, liquid inside. One of them has the word “blood�on it, so I don’t even know if this is totally legal. Can you just ship bottles of blood? I guess this could end up as a learning experience for all of u??s.

There are seven more liquid-filled bottles within, as well as a beaker, four empty long glass tubes, and a couple of plastic droppers. The box also contains fo?ur recipes to conc??oct different fragrances. Whatever our lucky winners do with it, I feel like I’m legally obligated to say, please, don’t drink the smelly liquids in the somewhat sketchy-looking cardboard box that you get in the mail from internet strangers. Don’t do it. It might be really funny for a few minutes, but it’s almost certainly a terrible idea. Also, maybe wear gloves and safety goggles while handling it. Or don’t. I’m not your dad.

How To Win

To celebrate Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s upcoming release next year, two lucky winners will get a Scent??s ??of the City kit! Both winners must have either a US or Canadian shipping address.

To enter to win, use this contest widget to leave?? your name and email address. You can en?ter daily. Click around in the widget for ways to earn bonus opportunities too.

Good luck, y’all!

Destructoid Contest: Win a Dy??ing Light 2 Scents of the City kit

Dying Light 2 Stay Human launches February 4, 2022 on PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox

The post Contest: Win a Dying Light 2 ‘Scents of the City’ kit appeared first on Destructoid.

After a few hours with Dying Light 2, we've seen some new heights, but still have a few questions.

The world of Dying Light 2 Stay Human isn't quite the usual zombie post-apocalypse. Most zombie worlds involve survivors moving from place to place, holing up in whatever building might provide a moment's refuge from roaming zombie hordes. But in a hands-on with Dying Light 2, we got to see the Ci??ty for all it entails: a struggle not just for survival, but also to decide who gets to build over the rubble.

In the world of Dying Light 2, the infection has been around for a w?hile. It's not that zombies aren't a threat; it's just that they're an understood danger factored into daily life. And in the City, there's still plenty of real estate to expand to and even inhabit, especially if you stop looking out and start looking up.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsueKX0Vlk

We got to go hands-on with Dying Light 2 Stay Human for a few hours, playing two sections of the game over a cloud connection. My gameplay section started in Old Villedor, as protagonist Aiden was searching for a way deeper into the city, negotiating with the Peacekeepers (or 'PKs') and local surviv??ors, many of whom gathered in a community du??bbed the Bazaar.

Being dropped directly into the story, it was a little hard to track what the broader narrative beats of Dying Light 2 are. Aiden is clearly on the hunt for something, and whatever it is involves his sister in some way. Depending on certain dialogue choices, I was able to subtly coax some details out. But the real d??raw for me was in the side st?ories and individual characters.

The Bazaar's plot follows Sophie and Barney, a pair of siblings who struggle to lead, both against the Peacekeepers' domineering command of the region and working in the shadow of their mother. Their personal beats end up driving the main story in Old Vil??ledor, and they work very well.

Ev??en further off the path are side quests, found both during the day and at night. While the sun was out, one of the first characters I ran into while playing was a singer with not so much talent. She was trying to croon from the rooftops, but had stopped performing in the bazaar after losing her mink-fur stole to the wind. So, I volunteered to recover it.

The ensuing chase led me further and further up a massive building, until I was literally perched atop an antenna. I had the ??stole, and I got a pretty good look around the area while I was there. It was massive. And it was ve??rtical, in ways I'd soon become quite familiar with.

One of the coolest things about Dying Light 2 to me so far is the actual world ?itself. The survivors living in the city have built up, constructing rooftop settlements and resources. As I ran along the roofline, I'd breeze by a garden, supply cache, or several survivors talking around a fire. This isn't to say the streets are barren; t??he Bazaar itself is walled off on the ground, but even internally, it turns all the empty vertical space into room for more rafters and lofts.

And once you leave those walls, you're ??on streets dominated by the infected. It can, at times, feel like a game of "the floor is lava," as it usually benefits Aiden to stay off the roads. But it also makes the moments you dip do??wn to ground level feel really tense, heightened even further if it's because you've missed a jump from one platform to another.

The first-person parkour-platforming works, for the most part. Due to the cloud-based nature of my play session, there were a few times I definitely chalked up to latency. In other instances, I did still feel a bit frustrated with trying to get Aiden to do what I wanted him to do. As parkour abilities stack up, I'd sometimes run into situations where I was wall-running when I just wanted to jump, or other stutters. When the traversal flows well though, it really does click like it did in the first Dying Light.

Windmills offer some of the best moments for this parkour action, as they each provide small vertical challenges to overcome. The reward for solving the moving platforms and tricky jumps is a new settlement, established under the newly re-established windmill. These havens end up providing a nice respite from the undead, and a way to turn the clock from day to night or vi??????????????????????????ce versa.

When the sun sets, the undead become much more than mere obstacles. They'll start to inhabit more areas, chase you farther, and can even initiate dangerous attacks from heightened, more powerful undead. Combat is important here, as it is everywhere else. Dying Light 2 focuses a lot on melee combat, with a wealth of close-range weapons to choose from with improvised attachments. There are still a few ranged options, like th?e stealthy bow and javelins, but I spent most of my time in frantic melee combat, parrying and dodging, using my parkour skill to occasionally grab the upper-hand when I'm outnumbered. Or, at night, simply fleeing out and away from the scene when things got too hot.

The benefit to heading out at night is, as always, more rewards. Nighttime brings the infected out of their own safe spots inside, which opens them up for looting if you're stealthy and fast. Some side quests also appear at night. One I played involved searching for a woman's lost lover, who she feared was in danger from her overbearing brother. The resolution of that side plot was surprising, and one of the highlights of my time in Dying Light 2.

There were still some hitches, however, that pulled the experience down a bit. Some voice lines just didn't play out, leaving some awkward moments of standing there waiting for the next line. Undead and inanimate objects would sometimes clip into the environment, in ways that aren't too uncommon for open-world games. It's nothing major though, and certainly points I'd hope Techland hits with the extra time they've allotted themselves.

Most of the Old Villedor section felt like a continuation of Dying Light 1. I spent most of my time doing lots of parkour action, searching for supplies, and managing the local politics as Aiden tried to play both sides for his own advantage. It was all very solid and fun, but Central Loop—the second section of my Dying Light 2 preview—felt like a slice of what Dying Light 2 is doing differently this time around.

First off, it strongly features Lawan, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Yes, it's a celebrity in a video game, but she didn't seem overly utilized and fit naturally into the story beat. As we ventured around br??inging power back to this section of the city, using cables to solve some neat puzzles, she gave Aiden a personal glider. And let me tell you, gliding is a blast.

The Central Loop area is even more vertical by nature, as it takes pla?ce in the skyscraper section of the city. Here, massive buildings with glass windows tower up overhead. Navigating this area was less about building-to-building parkour, and more about usin?g the glider to navigate large swathes of land, using wind gusts and careful handling to not plummet into the ground below.

It felt incredibly rewarding, and melds in with the parkour very well. It wasn't lo??ng until I was leaping from one skyscraper, comfortably navigating treacherous winds to touch down in another. Once inside, I'd have to wall-run and leap my way around a horde of infected who were now acutely aware of my presence, and then leap out the other side to continue on my way.

This section culminates in a really fun rooftop defense segment, where you're leaping from building to building in order to take out cannons that are firing on a local settlement?. And again, what surprised me is how natural it felt. It didn't feel like I'd ditched free-running for the glider, but like my world had expanded a bit more to accommodate new movement into the mix.

I'm still curious to see how the whole package of Dying Light 2 actually comes together. The pre-demo blast of story that got us up to speed for our slice of the game raised a lot of questions. And I'm really curious about how all these areas will be linking together, and what the long-term ramifications of choices will be. Some I made were small, like who g??ets to control a power substation. Others seemed much larger, with broader implications.

My main takeaway is that Dying Light 2 Stay Human certainly doesn't feel like a retread. Old Villedor gave me a big slice of an improved blueprint, and Central Loop let me peer a bit into the new future. There's some tuning to be done, but the world of Dying Light 2 definitely has my attention.

The post Dying Light 2 hands-on: Leaping, gliding, ??surviving appeared first on Destructoid.

Meet Lawan

Rosario Dawson will be joining the survivors running across the rooftops of Dying Light 2 Stay Human. Today, Techland revealed that the Sin City and The Mandalorian actress will be portraying a new character, Lawan, in Dying Light 2.

Shown during an episode of their stream series Dying 2 Know, Dawson will portray Lawan, a major character whose relationship with protagonist Aiden Caldwell will evolve over the cou?rse of the game.

"Is she going to be this rage-filled killer who is obsessed with her goals? Or will she be a night runner who r??isks her life to save others?" said Dawson of her character during today's stream.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ys60RmldTg

In terms of celebrity video game cameos, it's a pretty cool surprise. And it's also a solid, recurring character in this universe, which I've been looking to see more of from Dying Light 2 as it builds up to the launch date. We've heard about factions and choices, but I'm keen on who the ch??aracters we'll be dealing with will be too.

Techland also shared some insight into the recording process for Dying Light 2's music, which took place at Abbey Road Studios, and into how music will be implemented in-game. Plus, we got a reminder that the Dying Light Platinum Edition is arriving in just a few week?s on Oct. 19 for the Nintendo Switch.

The recently pushed-back launch date still feels a ways off for Dying Light 2 Stay Human, but I'm interested to see how this particular celebrity cameo shakes out. It's always a bit of a gamble, but Rosario Dawson is a neat choice for Dying Light 2 that I could see potentially working well. We'll find out more when Dying Light 2 Stay Human launches on Feb. 4, 2022 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintend??o Switch via cloud.

The post Rosario Dawson will be in Dying Light 2 Stay Hum?an appeared first on Destructoid.

Stay Human a little bit longer

This morning, developer Techland announced that open-world survivalist RPG Dying Light 2 Stay Human will no longer meet its previously stated release date of Decem??ber 7, 2021, it will now launch on ??PC and consoles in February 2022.

Techland's full statement on this, the latest in several de?lays for the sequel, reads as follows:

Today, we have important news to share with you about the development progress on Dying Light 2: Stay Human. It has always been our company’s goal to build transparent and ??honest communication with our community, fans, and gamers. Every day, we strive to grow in this element.

The team is steadily p?rogressing with the production and the game is nearing the finish line. The game is complete and we are currently playtesting it. It is by far the biggest an??d the most ambitious project we’ve ever done. Unfortunately, we’ve realized for us to bring the game to the level we envision, we need more time to polish and optimize it.

That is why we have deci??ded to move the release date to February 4, 2022.

We are sorry to keep you all waiting a little longer, but we want the game to meet your highest expectations on release and we don’t want to compromise on this. However, you won’t have to wait too long to get a deeper look at Dying Light 2: Stay Human. Next month, both press and content creat??ors will get their hands on PC and console versions of the game during the upcoming series of preview events around the world. They’ll be able t?o share their experiences of The City with you.

In the meantime, we would like to thank all of our fans around the world—without your support? and feedback, we would never have come so far on this journey. In addition to our regular updates, we’ll be gearing up to share some exciting news about the game later this month. Stay Safe and Stay Human?.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human will now launch on PlayStation, Xbox,?? and PC February 4, 20??22.

The post Dying Light 2 delayed to February 2022 appeared first on Destructoid.

Hardcore parkour

Part of what set the first Dying Light apart from its other post-apocalyptic zombie brethren was its movement. The protagonist could freerun through the city, both to just get around and to evade some seriously dogged zombie pursuers. Today, Techland showed what Dying Light 2 has in store for its parkour.

Shown off in the latest trailer, Dying Light 2's vaulting moves will let you t??urn enemies into springboards ?for attacks. Stagger a dude? Great, his back is now your platform to leap up and do a ground pound. See a dude way down below? Time to use gravity to your advantage.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KvZxjlCdlI

Techland also showed some general parkour, includ?ing one pretty rad shot of jumping out of a building and rappelling back into it. We also got a look at some of the denizens of the city, hailing from different factions and wearing some seriously post-apocalyptic attire. They don't all seem friendly, either.

Following a series of delays and setbacks, Dying Light 2 has locked in a December release date. It's also got a subheading now of "Stay Human," and the devs have also elaborated on some of what's to come in the sequel. Basically, don't expect a bunch of guns. Seems like the parkour is gonna come in handy for dealing ??with all the melee combat.

Dying Light 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on? Dec??. 7, 2021.

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Dying 2 Know 2

Another installment of Techland's "Dying 2 Know" series of showcases discussing the upcoming Dying Light 2 Stay Human is on its way. The studio announced today that a new stream will air on ?July 1.

The new Dying Light 2 showcase will go live on Techland's Twitch channel, starting at 3 p.m. ET. We got a heads up about this from a tiny press blast, though it didn't have a??ny mystery to solve like the last one.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwJAAy7tPhE

Dying Light 2 was locked in for a Dec. 7 launch date last month as part of the first Dying 2 Know stream. What they might show this time should be interesting to see, as we're still ple??nty of mont?hs away from that target.

The post Dying Light 2’s next showcase is set for July 1 appeared first on Destructoid.

Stay Human, human

The City will be filled with zombies this holiday season. Techland announced today that Dying Light 2 Stay Human will arrive on Dec. 7, 2021.

Developer Techland showcased more gameplay of Dying Light 2 today during a previously teased livestream, featuring some hints of s??tory and a whole lot of gameplay. The sequel will keep the first game's use of parkour for trav??ersal, utilizing even more verticality in a city that builds up over the dangerous streets.

The first Dying Light also had this interesting mix of zombies and Mirror's Edge, though this new game seems to be taking things even further with more parkour options and tools like the glider that appeared in a previous gameplay preview. It also comes with the subtitle Stay Human, indicating the thin line between staying human and becoming infected, as well as more emphasis on choice and consequences. You can hear more from the Techland devs in today's panel segments here, where they talked about the w?orld and mechan??ics of the new game.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human will be coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X|??S on Dec. 7 in three retail editions&md?ash;a standard, deluxe, and Collector's Edition.

The post Dying Light 2 Stay Human arrives this December appeared first on Destructoid.

Keeping the light alive?

It's time to (hopefully) get some more details about the parkour zombie action game Dying Light 2.

Following a mysterious tease earlier this week that had me pointing a small UV flashlight all over my apartment, we're getting a new stream today at 3 p.m. ET that will hopefully give us a few more details about what's to come for Techland's zombie series. You can watch along here.

It's been quite a while since Dying Light 2 was first unveiled at E3 2018. Its E3 2019 gameplay demo was fairly impressive, but the studio went quiet for a while following an indefinite delay.

No doubt there are hopes for som??ething concrete here, but I'm personally eager to see more gamepl??ay, and if the lofty ambitions of that 2019 preview are still holding strong in 2021. We'll find out together during today's stream, I suppose?

The post Let’s watch this mysterious Dying Light 2 stream appeared first on Destructoid.

They left us all the clues

There's more to come about Dying Light 2 later this week. Developer Te?chland has teased a new Twitch stream with the catchph?rase "Dying 2 Know More?"

The stream is currently set to air at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT on May 27, over on Techland's Twitch channel.

And how did we find out about this? Well, they—Techland—sent me a package with a poster, ?paper, letter, and what looked like a flashlight. The let??ter reads: 

Hello, survivor!

Remember Harran?

Of course you do. But all that—that was just the beginning... Now?? The City is our refuge, and it needs your help.

Want to know more?

You will, but you'll have to hunt. I h??ad to hide the info—this place isn't safe. Track down the clues and remember, it's all for your eyes only. This message cannot fall into the wrong hands.

You're our last chance, survivor!

So I grabbed the flashlight out of the tube, assuming it to be a little more than your average flashlight, and sure enough it didn't cast normal light—it's a little UV light, similar to the one in the original Dying Light. And by shining it on the poster, it sh??owed a message:

T?hat's the 27th of May, at 9 p.m. CEST—or 12:00 p.m. PDT. A nea??t little detective game to go with the announcement, though I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with this UV light now. I'm definitely not taking it to any conventions.

The post A new Dying Light 2 stream ??is?? airing later this week appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't expect a ton of guns

Dying Light 2 recently resurfaced after a quiet spell, and with it, the devs behind the game are start?ing to answer some questions fans have had about the parkour-infused action game.

In the first of a new AMA series, Dying Light 2's lead game designer Tymon Smektała addressed a number of common inquiries, including ?the ?size of the game's map and the impact of choices on the narrative.

One point that's come up a few times before but is still pretty interesting is the lack of guns. As Smektała says, "There are no firearms in the world of Dying Light 2." While the zombie action game will have ranged ?weapons, like bows, more modern or? conventional weaponry looks to be out of the question.

He does describe an additional weapon the player can craft that's like a cobbled-together shotgun, which will offer a shotgun blast but with low durability. Basically, it sounds like traditional guns won't be littering the zombie-infested world of Dying Light 2.

The action sequel bounced back earlier this year with some new updates, following a reveal it determined was a little early. There have been some delays, as well as the departure of Chris Avellone over allegations last summer,? but it sounds like Techland is now ramping up towards some more news. He??re's hoping for a new look at the expansive game soon.

The post Dying Light 2’s lead game designer answers some community questions, including the lack of firearms appeared first on Destructoid.

Developer admits it announced sequel 'a little early'

[Update: Techland's March status update for Dying Light 2?? showed a few gameplay snippets, an unnecessary Mean Tweets-style bit, and a n??otice to "stay tuned" with a "2021" closer – you good?

"This is a huge and complex project, and we needed time to make sure it will live up to our vision," the team said in the video. "All of us here are putting our hearts into delivering a game that you will keep playing for months. We will be ready to start talking about Dying Light 2 very very soon."

It's tough to believe th?at release window will stick, but we'll s??ee.]

Techland is finally ready to offer new information on the development of Dying Light 2. The developer will release an update pertaining to the long-in-limbo sequel on Wednesday, March 17, giving patient fans a little more insight into the current state-of-play regarding the survival-horror release. The new info will be first announced via the official Dying Light Discord channel.

In a follow-up to Techland's update announcement on Twitter, the developer admitted that it had jumped the gun on Dying Light 2's reveal, which took place way back at E3 2018. However, Techland said that production has been continuously moving forward since the initial reveal, and as such the se?quel was not in any form of "development hell."

Originally announced for PS4, PC, and Xbox One, Dying Light 2 was initially scheduled for launch in spring 2020, before being push??ed back to an as-yet-undisclosed release date. Hopefully this week's update will shed a little more (dying) light on the release, lest fans continue to consider the sequel dead and buried.

We've got a few words to share with you about the Dying Light 2 development process.
Be sure to be with us next Wednesday.

Want to see it first? Join our discord server now at //t.co/Iyivc8uFWx pic.twitter.com/gkfcGLgsdV

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) March 12, 2021

The post (Update) We’ll finally get a fresh update on Dying Light 2 this week appeared first on Destructoid.

Still at the end of the tunnel

Techland has just announced that its first-person survival horror sequel Dying Light 2 will not make its target release window of spring 2020, and has been pushed back to an unspeci??fied date in the future.

In a statement on the grim game's official Twitter, Techland CEO Pawel Marchewka wrote: "We were initially aiming for a Spring 2020 release with Dying Light 2, but unfortunately we ne?ed more development time to fulfill our vision. We will have more details to share in? the coming months, and will get back to you as soon as we have more information." You can read the complete statement below.

Dying Light 2 is the latest major release to slip from its expected launch date. Other titles pushed back include Sony's The Last of Us Part II, Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Remake and The Avengers, CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077, and Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Quarantine and Watch Dogs Legion.

Dying Light 2 is currently in ??development for PS4, PC and Xbox One.

Hey Survivors!
Here's the Dying Light 2 Development Update. pic.twitter.com/CKMkAe2eD7

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) January 20, 2020

The post Dying Light 2 delayed from spring 2020? to unspecified date appeared first on Destructoid.

Launching with around 100 hours of content

Dying Light 2, a video game that doesn't yet have a firm launch date, is already promising years and years worth of add-ons. Assuming it launches ?so?metime in spring 2020, Techland's open-world zombie survival sequel will be supported through 2024.

In an interview with Prankster101, Dying Light 2 lead designer Tymon Smektala shares Techland's DLC approach. ""Dying Light was supported for four years after its release, and the plan for Dying Light 2 is exactly the same," Smektala says. However, it's worth noting that Techland doesn't necessarily have an add-on roadmap ready to go. The Polish developer just wants to stick to that level of support because it kept the community thriving?????????????????????????? through the life of the first game.

Besides, it doesn't sound as though Dying Light 2 will be hurting for content when it launches. Smektala estimates that it'd ?take around 100 hours to see everything in the sequel, even though the critical path tops out at 15 to 20 hours. This is a game that's designed to be big and to keep people playing, 

Interview with Tymon Smektala of Dying Light 2 [Prankster101]

The post Dying Light 2 already plans on four years of DLC appeared first on Destructoid.