Dying Light’s Developers Still Aren't Finished With Their Zombie Masterpiece
A decade with the undead.
It’s been a decade since Techland released Dying Light, their parkour-infused zombie apocalypse game, to critical acclaim. Now, the Polish developer will commemorate the occasion the best way they know how: with a series of free, meaty updates for players old and new to sink their teeth into.
This week, Techland spilled its guts regarding the franchise’s milestone celebration, which will include new playable content for both the 2015 original and its 2022 sequel. The first game will see the return of fan-favorite community events, new rewards to collect, and a graphical update that will “focus on improving the visual quality.” The update will also add a remastered soundtrack that includes new tracks from the game’s original composer, Paweł Błaszczak.
The sequel’s update won’t be as elaborate, although Dying Light 2: Stay Human’s prologue will be updated. Techland is also making the seasonal Tower Raid, a co-op roguelike mode where players fight to the top of a skyscraper for rewards, a permanent addition to the game. The decision to revisit both games is nothing new for Techland, as it’s habitually supported the Dying Light titles with free content drops, crossovers, and story expansions for years after release, but this latest update is still nice to see.
“Players’ dedication has helped the franchise cement its place in the annals of gaming history,” the developer said in a message to fans. “It’s their feedback that continues to help us improve the overall experience for everyone through the requested features like the introduction of finishers to Dying Light 2.”
The festivities will go well beyond the two updates. Following the release of the standalone expansion Dying Light: The Beast later this year, multiple unannounced projects are slated for release, including a webcomic series and a board game.
“Our goal is to bring the world of Dying Light to even more people,” the developer said.
Dying Light has found tremendous success since its 2015 debut. More than 45 million players have played the open-world game, according to the above video from the developer breaking down statistics related to the franchise. Combined, those players have squashed over 75 million zombies, and have played both games for over 1.2 billion hours.
This summer’s Dying Light: The Beast is intended to be an entry point for new players.
For new players looking to try the series, both games are currently on sale across all digital platforms. The standard edition of the first game is just $5.99, while its sequel has dropped to $19.79, the cheapest it’s been since release.
Players looking for a new way into the series won’t have to wait too long. This summer, Dying Light: The Beast will bring back the first game’s protagonist, Kyle Crane. The upcoming game will give Crane superpowers that allow him to tackle his objectives in all new ways, which feels like a perfect, Saints Row-type evolution for the franchise. Techland has said the standalone expansion will be free for owners of Dying Light 2 and is intended as an entry point for new players, so get ready to wade through even more zombie gore.
