It has been a long and winding road for Dying Light 2 after starting development all the way back in 2016. Following the success of its predecessor, Techland has been quietly working on the title after its reveal at E3 2018, leaving many fans wondering just what is going on with the game. Following multiple game delays, rumors that the game was stuck in development hell, and reports of a hostile work environment, it hasn't always been a smooth ride.
However, with an expected launch in 2021, the studio appears to finally be moving forward as it slowly pulls back the curtain on the anticipated and mysterious sequel. Last month, the company released a new video of members of Techland discussing the game and showing off 12 seconds of gameplay. While that may not be much, it does give fans a quick look at some interesting elements including the huge open world.
In fact, in a recent interview, lead game designer Tymon Smektala discussed how Dying Light 2's world is different from other open world style games. As many have theorized, Smektala confirms that players will be able to evolve and change their version of the open world based on certain actions and decisions made throughout the game. While a specific example isn't given, certain choices made will impact the open gameplay space with different mechanics and more. The studio believes that giving the player the freedom to shape the world around them is incredibly empowering.
Outside of the dynamically evolving world, Smektala revealed that the game world remains very vertical and from a first person perspective, which he believes helps the player's immersion. Through the C-Engine and use of CityBuilder, Techland has been able to expand the map to four times the size of the first game. That said, the biggest challenge hasn't been creating the size, but the time required to populate and fill it with interesting things for the player to do and experience.
As fans continue to wait for even more details from Techland regarding Dying Light 2, the added development time doesn't appear to have impacted the decision to release the game on certain platforms. While many have speculated that the recent delay meant Dying Light 2 would be going to next-gen systems only, Techland has refuted the rumor and confirmed that the current and older generation consoles were still targeted. The team has been testing on the PS4 and Xbox One consoles since early in development and continue to do so to ensure that these versions meet the studio's standards at release.
Dying Light 2 is currently scheduled to release in 2021 and will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: WCCFTech