Dying Light 2 convinces thanks to its great setting and systems, but it also reveals the fissures caused by its injured development.

Dying Light supposed a turning point for Techland. The Polish study reached maturity – and the almost unanimous recognition of the public – with a title that mixed zombie mythology with the open world and the Parkour’s mechanics of the Mirror’s Edge, at the same time introducing themselves some own details that They differentiated from similar proposals. After its enormous success, increased by an ambitious and extensive post-launch support for several years, the sequel was not only a safe bet, but also one of the most expected games by the community, anticipation reflected with its leadership on the wishlist Steam for a good part of 2020 and 2021. Its development, however, has not only been longer than expected, but also much more rugged. Calm: The final result dissipates many doubts and eliminates some omens that vaticinated an accident to the Cyberpunk 2077, but it is also undeniable that it shows some claroscurs that give production with ups and downs.

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Basic information

  • Developer: Techland

  • Editor: Techland
  • Platforms: PS5, X / S, PS4, SWITCH, PC Series
  • Proven version: PC
  • Availability: 04/02/2022

Stay Human is ambient two decades after the events narrated at the first Dying Light. The infection has spread throughout the world and humans try to survive in some walled cities, protected from an exterior in which Zombies and pilgrims are wandered. It is one of these, Aiden, who we embodied in the adventure, a young man who arrives at Old Villator looking for a man, Waltz, linked to the past of him and who can shed light on the fate of his sister, Mia. What is there, however, is little less than a polvorin, with two faces confronted – survivors and pacifiers – in an armed peace that can jump through the air at any time, and a third without scruples – the renegados – it is about to rise with control throughout the city while pursuing a target sinister. Aiden, which also struggle with the internal demons of him and a rugged childhood, will be located at the center of this conflict and must choose a side while he pursues his own agenda (Locate Mia and take revenge on Waltz).

The Odyssey of the protagonist does not possess, in the end, nothing really new, and the narrative is perhaps the weakest section of Dying Light. Understand me; It is a story that fulfills and that works solidly when it comes to establishing how truly important – the world – but that in not a few occasions it becomes derivative and recalls too much to other works of the genre that we have already seen previously. It also possesses some ups and downs of rhythm, with some intense and interesting moments, and others more forgettable in which Aiden barely makes an overlance for some important secondary, and the final stretch (which obviously I’m not going to reveal) The weakest, with a combat against the Boss End that maybe it’s what I liked least.

However, work in terms of worldbuilding is much better. Dying Light 2 establishes a suggestive post-apocalyptic world with personality, with enough attraction to maintain our interest for many hours. There were moments and situations that returned to Fallout: New Vegas (and I played it: they are two games that have nothing to do, but that sometimes share sensations) and continually you want to learn something more about it or to explore another area of The city to unravel its secrets. Another aspect that plays in his favor is that it is a frankly gray world, and not only in the visual: there is clearly neither good nor bad, only human beings trying to survive, taking out their most primary instincts and their moral imperfections.

This setting and this world adjust as a glove to the playable proposal, which mixes the first-person action with the RPG. Apart from the craffhing mechanics (there are many recipes and ingredients to create weapons, objects and enhancers), along the game we will obtain two types of points (combat and mobility) to improve the corresponding Aiden capabilities, with two trees of Skills unlocking new movements. This, however, generates a small problem: a somewhat irregular progression. Initially the protagonist lacks some basic movements to make the transverse displacement demonstrate all the potential of him, and it takes for at least ten hours to reach the level in which things begin to be really interesting in this regard. It is understandable that developers want to dose their capabilities since the game aims to extend, at least, a couple of dozens of hours, but it crashes that Aiden is not capable from the beginning, for example, of sliding down the ground when running, being a Pilgrim who has survived in the inhospitable páramo outside the city’s protection walls.

Because the Parkour, of course, is again an essential and differentiating element in Dying Light. Refining its control and its mechanics, moving at full speed dodging obstacles and enemies produces very satisfactory sensations, and also emphasizes the verticality of the scenarios and they open new possibilities, something that is added a parapente that we will get after a particular meeting Important in the plot and that allows you to reach previously inaccessible places. The violent combat Melee, on the other hand, is another pleasant surprise: it is very visceral and forceful, and especially meetings against human enemies are tense and fun, supported by a convincing AI that is a very challenging challenge at the high level of difficulty. There are also, after several hours of play, weapons at a distance as a crossbow, but maybe they are somewhat more “checked” of the account.

As in the first installment, the day and night cycle has a capital importance in the development of Dying Light 2. During the day Zombies are slow, clumsy and appear in less numbers (by protecting themselves in a catatonic state within the buildings ), but when the night falls, they swept the streets with violence, they move much more quickly and, the worst of all, multiply in quantity and most powerful variants appear or shouting giggers appear to warn others and to start a persecution. On this occasion, in addition, there is an additional additional factor in mind: the advance of the virus in the protagonist’s body. Aiden is infected, and has a period of time (initially quite short, but that can be increased by using injectable inhibitors) before the disease is extended by your body if it is not protected at points with ultraviolet light or sleeps until the next morning. This constant fight against time adds an extra point of frenzy at nocturnal incursions that are already quite tense and risky.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human: ¿Vale la pena?

A necessary risk, in addition. It is not just that some missions and objectives can only be met during the night, but the game is trying to encourage you to leave your comfort zone and you get into the darkness even at the risk of becoming the appetizer of the undead. He said before, for example, that during the day many enemies are charged inside the buildings to go out at night to eat, at which time we can enter their den for crafting materials, high-level weapons or objects of Value to sell to merchants. Although I have the impression that the brutality of the nighttairs has been reduced a bit in order to make the game more accessible to the general public, they continue to assume a funny challenge and it is nice to weigh the risks and rewards at the time of deciding whether to go out Or if it is more worth resting until the next day, to resume the adventure when the sun comes out.

Whether at night or day, in any case, Dying Light 2 has content and activities to keep us entertained for quite some time. A lot has been talked about the controversial affirmation of the five hundred hours and the Warsaw trip to Madrid, but the truth is that with this sequel Techland competes with Ubisoft in that intention to sprinkle his open world with dozens of secondary missions and tasks to take care of Days, despite the fact that the main story, if we ignore all that, will last something more than twenty hours. There are lots of orders, collectibles, items to improve the character or safe spaces (the hiding places of the night runners) to unlock, military convoys – guarded by large groups of zombies, of course, because they were not going to put it easy – with objects of Greater level and rarity or clashes against monsters – the anomalies of the SAI – with interesting rewards, for example. And within all these special objectives, there are also some with an impact on the game world or in history itself.

They are those mills and those towers of water that we could see in the first videos a few years ago, although it is necessary to recognize that in the end its implementation does not affect development as promised at first. The mills are more abundant, and they exercise as small skill puzzles in which we must find out the route to reach their top and activate them. Once done, they will unlock new points of interest for the dominant faction of the territory and a safe area to rest or protect themselves from the zombies. The water towers, on the other hand, do have greater ramifications. When unlocked we must choose which faction to deliver them (pacifiers and survivors), and depending on it the area will go to the control of one or others and we will be awarded some advantages (the pacis, for example, will place traps through the streets, while the Survivors will install Tyrolines and other devices to improve rogue displacements). That election will also have a weight in history and in our relationship with the characters, although the involvement of this is not as great as it may seem; More than affecting the world itself is limited to choosing the branch by which the plot runs.

As regards its technical and artistic section, I think Dying Light 2 meets. The art design does a great job when it comes to representing a desolate and despair world, and relies on a graphic motor solvent that in PC look great, perhaps a rung below the biggest exponents but certainly scratch at high altitude and With an enviable drawn distance when we go the horizon from the roofs and roofs. Moving the game with a NVIDIA RTX graphics card You can activate ray outlift to further improve visual quality and immersion, and DLSS compatibility guarantees a high and consistent frame-raate even at high resolutions. There is, however, a pair of better details. The first are the bugs, which I hope are solved via patch; At no time do I have broken the game in the various tens of hours that I have dedicated to you or have anything particularly serious, but you do small glitches and strange situations that take out a bit of experience. The second is a very personal feeling: although the soundtrack is surprisingly well and has a very effective system to increase or reduce the intensity according to the action (as if it were a hypervitaminated imuse), yes there are some concrete issues that do not They just married well and that they seem a bit out of place.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a game with lights and shadows, although fortunately the first outweigh the second ones. Within the continuist of his proposal, a clear ambition is appreciated for evolving a formula that worked very well on the first installment, which, in turn, was a clear step forward with respect to what, with a successful success, he tried To achieve Dead Island, but also some seams of a rugged development. There is room for improvement in aspects such as the narrative or the implications that decisions entail, but it is hard not to enjoy an entertaining, extensive title, who knows how to exploit its strengths and that, in addition, feel good bases for those five years of Additional content that your developers have promised. With these mimbres, the equivalent of the Following of Dying Light 2 can be the definitive jump so that the franchise will be positioned as one of the great _blockbusters of the sector.