The first zombie parkour game gets an update for newer consoles

Hot off its sequel's release last month, the first Dying Light is getting some next-gen updates. The Dying Light PlayStation 5 patch is out now, with an Xbox Series X??|S coming soon.

The PS5 Dying Light patch adds several new modes for playing. Performance will target 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution, while High-Resolution will go for 30 FPS at 4K. Balanced strikes the middle, with a 60 FPS target at 1??440p.

The PS4 Pro also gets an update, bumping it?? up to a 30 FPS cap. As for Xbox, the patch is "just a few days away" according to Techland. The Xbox Series X will target similar resolutions and frame rates to the PS5 with its modes,  ?while Series S and Xbox One will get a Performance mode (1080p and 30 FPS) and Resolution mode targeting 1440p and 30 FPS.

The full patch notes for the update are available on Techland's blog.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C9NFL6j44c

The first Dying Light launched back in 2015 for previous generation consoles, so it getting a next-gen patch is pretty interesting. The sequel, Dying Light 2: Stay Human, came out just last month.

Now it looks like both installments of the undead parkour adventure are both available and tuned for the newer generation of consoles. Between both, it sounds like there's a lot of game to play through if you're looking to maximize hour counts too. It's a busy spri??ng, but there's at least anot?her reason to jump back into the streets and rooftops of Harran.

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It's still alive!

After the success of the first Dead Island game, players expected and looked forward to a sequel relatively soon. Instead, we've gotten radio silence for the better part of ten years. Dead Island 2 was first announced at E3 in 2014, and has been in development hell for around a decade. We finally got an update last week though, bringing to a close the years-long silence we had been enduring from Deep Silver, the game's developer. At an earnings presentation last week from Deep Silver's parent company, Embracer Group, we finally got some information that could point to a launch for Dead Island 2 as early as 2023, as reported by VGC.

The comment in question came from the event's host: “It [Dead Island 2] very clearly is [still alive], and I a??t least expe??ct the release this financial year, or sorry next financial year, I should say. So, is that reasonable, and what can we expect from a title that has been in development for probably 10 years or so?"

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST262ZbNcos

Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors responded that the company does have an "unannounced AAA project" that the host thought might be Dead Island 2, but that he couldn'??t comment further. For context, the company's financial year ends on March 31, 2023. It's a cryptic comment at best, but it's also the first we've heard of anything about the game for years. I understand why Winge??fors had to deflect, but he also can't blame us for wanting any bit of information we can get about a game we've been looking forward to for this long.

For a long time, fans had given up any hope for the game, and thought that plans for its release would slowly fizzle out. Techland developed the first Dead Island game, so naturally they planned to make the sequel. After deciding to focus their attention on Dying Light, however, Dead Island 2 was going to be helmed by Yager Development, who are best known for creating Spec Ops: The Line. Sumo Digital took over after a while, but Dead Island 2 finally landed with Dambuster in 2019, a s?tudio owned by?? Deep Silver.

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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, when they will receive the benefits o?f 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 ?want 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.

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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 session 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 St?eam 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 PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox? One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam 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 Xbox are still on track f?or 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 past, this one will only affect the Switch ver??sion 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 after a graphi?c 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.

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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 increasing??ly approaching February 4 launch.

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

The dramatic preview, titled "The Reason" offers a look at some of t??he locations, communities, and characters that protagonist Aiden Caldwell will encounter on their journey through t?he 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 �for himself and others �that he will make to uncover her whereabouts.

Oh, and at one point, Aiden actually?? says "Stay Human." DiCaprio f??inger point.

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 a??s a video comparison 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 sure looks to be a real survivalist epic, one that will gladly scratch the itch of monster mashers, rooftop runners, and dy??stopia die-hards everywhere.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human launches February 4 on PlaySta?tion, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch (via clou??d).

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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 extre?me to another.

According to the studio, the main story completion should clock in at "about 20 hours" for a "focused playthrough of Dying Light 2," while "comple??ting all the side quests, learning about the world's history, and engaging with all characters can e??asily 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 whopping 500 hours t?o complete. At least for the m??ost 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 th??e litany of massive games lined up for t?he 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 fa?vorite 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.

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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 C?ity 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 while. 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 survivors, many of whom gathered in a communit?y dubbed 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 draw for me was in the side stories and individual characters.

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

Even 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 vertical, 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; the Bazaar itself is walled off on the ground, but even internally, it turns all the empty vertical space into roo??m for more rafters and lofts.

And once you leave those walls, you're on streets dominated by the infe??cted. 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 down 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-est?ablished windmill. These havens end up providing a nice respite from the undead, and a way to turn the clock from day to night or vice 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, li?ke the 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 bringing power back to this section of the city, using cables to solve some neat puzzles, she gave Aiden a pers??onal glider. And let me tell you, gliding is a blast.

The Central Loop area is even more vertical by nature, as it takes?? place 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 using 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 long until I was leaping from one skyscraper, comfortably naviga??ting 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 con??tinue 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 loc??al 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 wer??e small, like who gets 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.

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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 prot?agonist Aiden Caldwell will evolve over the course 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 risks her life to save othe??rs?" 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 characters we'll be dealing with wi??ll 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 ju??st a few weeks 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 lau?nches on Feb. 4, 2022 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch via cloud.

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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 delays for t??he 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 an??d honest communication with our community, fans, and gamers. Every day, ??we strive to grow in this element.

The team is steadily progressing with the production and the game is nearing the finish line. The game is complete and we are curr??ently playtesting it. It is by far the biggest and 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 decided 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 creators will get their hands on PC an?d console versions of the game during the upcoming series of preview events around the world. They’ll be able to 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 exciti??ng 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 Februar?y 4, 2022.

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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 turn enemies into springboards for attacks. Stagger a dude? Great, his back is now your platform to leap up an??d do a ground pound. See a dude way down be??low? Time to use gravity to your advantage.

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

Techland al?so showed some general parkour, including 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 fact??ions 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 ?m??elee combat.

Dying Light 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, X??box 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 any ?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 strea??m. What they might ?show this time should be interesting to see, as we're still plenty of months away from that target.

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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 story and a whole lot of gameplay. The sequel will keep the first game's use of parkour for traversal, utilizing even more vertica?lity 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 world and mechanics of? th??e 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&??mdash;a standard, deluxe, and Collector's Edition.

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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 something concrete here, but I'm personally eager to see more gameplay, 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 s?uppose?

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They left us all the clues

There's more to come about Dying Light 2 later this week. Developer Techland has teased a new Twitch stream with the catchp??hrase?? "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, pape??r, letter, and what looked like a flashlight. The letter 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 nee??ds your help.

Want to know more?

You will, but you'll have to hunt. I had to hide the info—this? place isn't safe. Track dow??n 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 showed a message:

That's the 27th of May, at 9 p.m. CEST—or 12:00 p.m. PDT. A neat little detective game to go with the announcem?ent, 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 conventi??ons.

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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 starting 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 co?mmon 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 bow?s, 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. Here's hoping for a new look at the expansive game soon.

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Developer admits it announced sequel 'a little early'

[Update: Techland's March status update for Dying Light 2 showed a few gameplay sni??ppets, an unnecessary Mean Tweets-style bit, and a notice 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 toug??h to believe that release win?dow will stick, but we'll see.]

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 sequel was not in ??any fo??rm of "development hell."

Originally announced for PS4, PC, and Xbox One, Dying Light 2 was initia??lly scheduled for launch in spring 2020, before being pushed 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 th??e 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.

It's a symbiotic relationship

Techland is still having the time of its life with Dying Light. After hosting a cool but mostly weapon-focused Left 4 Dead crossover event last year, the team is back with something even better for H??alloween 2020: an update that lets you? play as Bill and use Gnome Chompski as a skull-crusher.

Starting today on PC – and coming to Dying Light "a few weeks later" on consoles – this free in-game event also involves an "extremely challenging" Viral Rush survival mode and lo?ts of incendiary shotgun ammo. If you take out 50 Virals, you'll pick up the Go?ld Gnome Gear. Consider it your civic duty.

Whether you have time to spare this week for the Halloween event or you're planning to get back into the game eventually, feel free to grab the L4D2 Bill & Gnome Chompski Pack just so you have it.

Claiming di?gital content that I realistic??ally won't ever use is my favorite pastime.

Left 4 Dead 2 crossover event is back! [Steam]

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For ten bucks, I see the appeal

Wait, what? Hellraid, an unreleased Techland game about slicing and dicing skeletons, is going to see the light of day in Dying Light, the stud?io's unstoppable, still-hanging-in-there zombie title from 2015.

Dying Light - Hellraid releases July 23, 2020, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Folks who pre-order the DLC (it's ??$9.99) can try a weekend-long beta on Steam that's running from June 26 to June 29.

The maniacs actually did it!

After messing with a suspicious-as-hell arcade cabinet, players will have to survive a "demon-infested dungeon." During runs, you'll be able to accept bounties for "additiona??l prizes" and "improve your Hellraid rank to access new weapons you can also wield outside of the infernal realm."

Hellraid is a separate mode with its own progression system – playable alone or in co-op – and it lets you kick the shit outta skeletons, so that's pretty fantastic. Officially, this DLC is "based on Techland's currently-on-hold first-person dark?? fantasy slasher." Maybe it has a bright future ahead of it?

For now, I'm just glad the original concept work on Hellraid didn't go to waste.

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Back from The Beyond

Techland has released a brief trailer teasing new DLC for zombie-smasher Dying Light. The new content, which will arrive this summer, seems to reference Hellraid, a first-person Techland title that never saw the light of day, ultimately being abandoned mid-development.

While the teaser doesn't show much in the way of gameplay, the accompanying blurb suggests that a possessed arcade machine will be bringing the underworld to Dying Light, offering a brand new dungeon, filled with brand new enemies, waiting for a howdy from your brand new weaponry. More information on Hellraid will be announced at a later date.

Dying Light is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

Dying Light DLC "Hellraid" announced [Gematsu]

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Eggceptional

Which came first: The zombie or the egg? ??Or t?he chicken ninja? Or the katana? That headline is a lot to parse.

Dying Light's annual Harran Egg Hunt is live, and it's the same as it always is. Hunt down the bunny-skinned zombies, steal their Easter egg? ??grenades, unlock rewards. Finding 10 eggs nets you a golden weapon, and finding 30 eggs gets you the Cock-a-Doodle-Do outfit, which is ostensibly some chicken ninja garb. If the community collectively gathers 1.5 million eggs, everyone gets three golden weapons.

The Harran Egg Hunt runs April 10 through April 13. Get t??o scrambling so??me bunny zombie brains.

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Celebrating five years since launch

Five years after launch, Dying Light is still hanging in there (and then some). Techland is celebrating the parkour zombie survival game's fifth birthday with a month of in-game events including new weapon DLC, a new difficulty option below Normal called Story Mode, and a free weekend promo on Steam.

Dying Light is free to play on PC until 10:00 a.m. on February 23, 2020. It's also discounted.

Story Mode plays around with a handful of factors to make life easier. Zombies deal less damage, yo?u deal more, the impact of falls has been cut in half, and you won't run out of ?stamina nearly as much.

The best part? You'll lose 50% less XP if you die, days are 25% longer, nights are 25% shorter, and traders will pay 20% more for your ??wares. On the ?flip side, Story Mode dishes out 50% less Legend experience.

Out of curiosity, I checked today's most-played games list on Steam – Dying Light is in the top 50 with just over 15,000 concu?rrent players at the time of wri?ting this post. The legs on this game!

I know Dying Light 2's production hasn't been the easiest – reminder: it slipped out of its spring 2020 launch window and no longer has an estimate – but Techland has to be feeling good about the sequel. This series has done nothing but grow its fan base?? over the past five years. It'll hit the ground running.

Dying Light's 5th Anniversary and Free Weekend [Techland]

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