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Dying Light 2 has seemingly been in development for the last six hundred years. I know that is a slight exaggeration, but the first Dying Light was one of those rare games that took us all by surprise. It was damn good! And after Dying Light 2 went into an “indefinite delay” a few years ago, it was starting to look like a grim future. Originally slated for a 2019 release, then being pushed back to a springtime 2020 release, we are now a year later and seemingly back on track.
Last week Techland finally broke radio silence by announcing that they would have an update for us on the development of Dying Light 2. This would be a timed exclusive for those on their Discord server and was to take place on the 17th of March and was accompanied by a second or two of inconsequential footage.
I am a relic in terms of technology. I did not even realise Discord was used for news updates or anything other than a platform for chatting. But that is neither here nor there, and definitely not why you found yourself here I am sure.
STOP F*!%$^G ABOUT!
The update video started with a series of developers reading out a run of comments and ‘tweets’ from fans using somewhat vulgar language to express their impatience and concerns about the development of Dying Light 2. This was all taken in stride. The team finished each line with a well-rehearsed stoic stare into the camera, with a little twinkle in their eyes. It was clear that they are eager to share with us everything that we have been impatiently waiting for.
Choice of Words
Throughout the short monologue, I took note of some very interesting phrases that were said. Namely: “huge and complex project” “needed time to make sure it will live up to our vision” and “playing for months”. If you have seen the trailers, then you will already be aware of the scope of the game. We know that the team have been trying to craft a truly adaptive world that changes from your choices. Hundreds of games have tried in the past. They never really amounted to much more than a “good ending” or “evil ending” with mostly no more than the illusion of choice when it comes to dialogue options. But after hearing these words, I am filled with excitement!
Another thing to note is that they will “start talking about DL2 very soon” this was said with a somewhat stifled grin. This makes me believe that more news on the game is coming incredibly soon. Much sooner than we may imagine. My fingers, toes, arms, and eyes are all crossed!
New Trailer
The new trailer for Dying Light 2 follows in much the same fashion. Sneaky little nuggets of new info tied neatly around what seems like a mundane update/new trailer. We got a glimpse of a new zombie, (possibly even a second), we got a bit of footage of combat, parkour traversal, and the main character looking at their arm in pain.
So straight off, the new zombie looks freaking insane. If you ever wondered what Doc Oc would look like in a zombie-infested apocalypse, you may now know the answer. We only see the back of it, and only for a few seconds. I may just be thinking too much into this, but it seemed calm and collected, which would suggest an intelligence. Purely my personal speculations there though. Intelligent zombies, that would be an interesting step up.
I will not go too much into detail over the new trailer as I am sure it has become widely accessible by now. But! And this is a big but! During the few seconds we got of the character looking down at their arm in pain, I could not determine whether the groans of pain were male or female. In the first Dying Light, we played as Kyle Crane. An established character with an established look. We know that Techland has stated there will be more customisation options in the second game. To what extent, we do not know. This however indicates to me that we may get to choose a female character, which would be a great implementation into a game that is set to be so big, diverse, and adaptive.
After Credits Scene?
We may not have been treated to an extensive tease of what is to come like Marvel has popularised over the years. What we did get however were 2 incredibly important slides. The first stated “Stay Tuned” and the second states simply “2021”. Now, I am no expert, but it certainly does not take a brain surgeon to speculate as to what this is likely alluding to.
I am super excited for Dying Light 2 and have faith that Techland can deliver another amazing experience. If you have any questions for the developers, then you can send them over on their Discord server. They will be doing a series of videos where they answer some of the questions soon. And if there is more news to follow, then you can rest assured that we will keep you up to date here at Zatu!