Dying Light: The Beast is a return to form for the RPG series, but its exciting action and parkour are stymied by a ho-hum open-world design.
It’s been a few years since the release of Dying Light 2: Stay Human, the then long-awaited sequel to the 2015 original. Although it had some issues, the RPG’s zombie-wrecking, first-person parkour was highly entertaining, particularly with friends. Dying Light: The Beast ($59.99, reviewed on PC but also available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S) is the latest series entry and a return to the original title’s more grounded feel. Gone are Dying Light 2’s faction politics and camp building; instead, The Beast brings back the first game’s first protagonist, Kyle Crane, and doesn’t do much new in terms of gameplay. In fact, it’s bogged down by lots of open-world busywork. Still, The Beast’s movement abilities and many weapons are pretty fun, especially if you’re looking for a multiplayer RPG that lets you splatter monsters.Story: Going Beast Mode
Dying Light: The Beast is the third entry in the Dying Light series, and the second to star Kyle Crane. Set after the events of Dying Light and its DLC, Dying Light: The Following, The Beast sees Kyle taken prisoner and captured by a villain known as the Baron. He experiments on Kyle’s zombie hybrid DNA until, by a stroke of luck, the hero is freed. Kyle discovers he’s a long way from home and stranded in Castor Woods, a tourist destination near the Swiss Alps.
Dying Light’s blend of first-person parkour and violent melee combat has defined the series since day one, and that’s still on display here. Castor Woods’ European countryside provides a diverse range of urban and rural destinations to explore, and each area is immaculately crafted, detailed, and jam-packed with zombies of all shapes and sizes. You’ll find many weapons for beating them to a pulp, including shovels, bats, knives, pipes, axes, and hammers. There are plenty of guns, too, but hand-to-hand combat is at the heart of the series and The Beast.
Combat is largely the same as in the previous games, though it has never been so deliciously gory. Taking a shovel, pipe, or other contraption to an enemy and watching chunks, bits, and guts fly is definitely a guilty pleasure. This is taken a step further when you become the titular beast. The transformation gives you greater strength and health, letting you plow through zombies with ease.
All this carnage is a means to an end. Although it might not seem like it at first glance, Dying Light: The Beast is an RPG first and foremost. That means the gameplay loop revolves around earning XP to level up, upgrading your skills, and finding loot. Similar to the Borderlands games, you sift through weapons and armor of different rarities and abilities. By visiting a workbench, you use materials and blueprints to build or improve weapons and imbue them with effects. In a nice touch, you can repair a broken weapon or scrap it for parts.
