Following its indefinite delay out of 2020, many fans looking forward to Dying Light 2: Stay Human were worried that the parkour zombie game might never see the light of day. However, now that the game is slotted for a December 7, 2021 release date and Techland is showing off trailers at just about every major industry event, there's a lot to look forward to. The parkour elements of the game look great, and the handful of missions that have been seen in pre-release footage have people thinking that the game might be one of the genre’s best.
Although there were plenty of things featured in the trailer shown off at Xbox’s Gamescom 2021 presentation earlier this week, Dying Light 2’s beautiful open world was the star of the show. Each small scene featured in the trailer showcased a different corner of Villedor, the European city Dying Light 2 is set in, and it seems to be one of the most graphically impressive areas releasing in the final months of the year.
Villedor's Broken Beauty
Despite being overrun with zombies and Dying Light 2’s murderous factions, Villedor is impressive to look at. From the browns, greys, and oranges of shanty towns explored before sundown to the pristine reflections off skyscrapers damaged beyond repair, there was a level of beauty and detail on display in the most recent trailer that was a welcome surprise to many fans. The landscapes and skyline of Villedor are perfectly juxtaposed with its post-apocalyptic setting; rarely is glass left completely intact, and much of the city’s once spotless surfaces are covered in grime and blood.
The way that the new civilization of survivors is build on top of the remnants of the world that came before is also striking. As pointed out by Techland during the Xbox presentation, survivors scavenged what was left of the world in order to make a new one high above the reaches of the zombie hordes. However, life and growth can’t be outrun forever, and not all of what comes from the world following the apocalypse is bad. The green of trees and tall grass poke out from the cracks in pavement broken in windows, giving plenty of life to the undead wastes below this new society.
Exploring Dying Light 2 With Parkour
Perhaps the most exciting part of Dying Light 2’s promise of the beautiful and terrifying Villedor is that so much of the game is said to be designed around free traversal. According to Techland, the player has double the number of parkour moves available to them compared to the original Dying Light. This means that when a player sees something of interest in the skyline, they’re going to be able to make their way over to it if they have enough parkour skill.
Dying Light 2’s grappling hook and glider will give the player even more freedom to go where they please and along the way, they’ll be able to really appreciate Villedor’s sights. If the game is meant to be comparable to the Mirror’s Edge series, it seems like it’s trying to one-up those games by providing fun parkour mechanics mixed with a more lived-in and gritty world to maneuver around in. While there are plenty of horrific and grim things that players can look forward to in Dying Light 2: Stay Human, the beauty of its setting doesn’t seem like it’s going to be overlooked, especially if played on the latest-gen consoles.
Dying Light 2 releases on December 7, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.