Zombie games often catch a lot of heat because of their similar settings and tones. Back when it was first announced, the original Dying Light was often described as "Dead Island, but with parkour." While the two series certainly have some things in common, their sequels, Dead Island 2 and Dying Light 2: Stay Human, look like they're going to be putting further distance between themselves. Although the two series seem similar on first glance since Techland created Dead Island and then went on to make the Dying Light series, they couldn't be any more different based on their settings and the game mechanics they'll use.
Dead Island 2 has had a rough history of development since it was initially revealed in 2014. Although plenty of time has passed since the first game came out in 2011, it's amassed a large fanbase with its small handful of spinoff games. Based on the limited pre-release gameplay videos that have been shown off, it appears to be a faithful sequel to the original Dead Island. As Dying Light 2's release is just around the corner, Techland has shown off a lot of what the game has to offer and it seems like, although they share a similar premise, the games will end up being pretty different from one another come release.
Dying Light 2's Parkour System
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Perhaps the biggest thing setting the two apart is Dying Light 2's parkour system. While the original game definitely included parkour elements, Techland has promised that Dying Light 2 will double the number of parkour moves available to players. From the numerous previews of the game, it looks like parkour is going to be an integral part of the gameplay, not just something that players can engage with on the side.
Dead Island 2, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have parkour of any kind and, based on the limited gameplay footage that's been released, looks like it's going to have more of a focus on guns than Dying Light 2. Dying Light's parkour is going to inform so much of the experience, and though there were firearms in the original game, they haven't made much of an appearance in any of the marketing for Dying Light 2 so far.
Dead Island 2's Californian Setting
In addition to having gameplay differences, Dead Island 2 and Dying Light 2 have drastically different settings. Dying Light 2 is set in the fictional European city Villedor, while Dead Island 2 is dropping the island setting of previous entries and is going to be set in California. Dead Island 2's Californian setting seems to have a similar feel to the fictional Pacific island of Banoi that was featured in the first game. Because of this, Dead Island 2 has a much different visual style to the bleak and every changing European metropolis feel of Dying Light 2.
Dead Island 2's setting and Dying Light 2's parkour seem to be at odds with each other. If Dying Light-style parkour were to be added to Dead Island 2, it doesn't seem like it would work very well because of the less vertical nature of the game world. Dead Island 2's tropical setting doesn't feature enough structures for the player to climb on and make use of the new freerunning mechanics that have been added to Dying Light 2.
Although both titles have similar origins, the two franchises have gone off in completely different directions. It'll be interesting to see just how different Dying Light 2 is from Dead Island 2 if and when the game finally launches.
Dead Island 2 is in development. Dying Light 2 releases on December 7, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.