Dying Light: The Beast will claim its own right to stardom within the wildly popular zombie slaying franchise, as it looks to eliminate narrative player choices and opt for a more linear story to focus more on further developing a set canon. While this could be seen as a drawback by some fans of the series, in my eyes, this is a major win. Dying Light 2 was okay with its story, yes, but the choices were, in my opinion, pretty uninspired and not very impactful overall. The original Dying Light was essentially a linear story that ended how it was intended, but later had players make choices in The Following DLC, which was quite a turn for the title. However, the next installment seeks to follow the original’s formula in a linear adventure.
Game director Tymon Smektala has revealed that the new direction will ensure the story is more concise by stating, “I think moving forward, we would like to be a little bit more canonical… We kind of want to be able to be sure that [the story] drives where we want it to drive.” This tells me that the team over at Techland want to make sure that the story of Dying Light: The Beast is experienced by all players, and not just those who make certain narrative decisions as they journey through the land of the living dead.
Fans have also speculated for a long time about the “Canon, or non-canon” events within the Dying Light universe and Smektala acknowledged this in sharing, “By continuing with a sequel that only canonizes one of [the] endings, you’re somewhat disregarding the decision that half the player base made.” One decision that half of the player base made, takes away from the impact of the seemingly important decision the other half chose, as only one becomes the true canon in later titles in the series. This causes speculation on certain story points, whether they be canon or non-canon, and sticking to a direct story line limits the likelihood of uncertainty from fans experiencing the narrative.
Essentially, what Smektala is saying is that ultimately, the team are going to unite the player base by ensuring the story itself is unified in this next instalment. This will open the franchise up to a broader spectrum of players, people who want to engage with a story-driven, action FPS with great set-pieces. I agree that this decision could easily make or break the series as it stands, but I firmly believe that having series favorite Kyle Crane engage in his own story again, could actually create more opportunities for the franchise to grow. Especially if his plot is resolved in the upcoming release.
If Dying Light: The Beast blossoms into what we hope it becomes in a gory, action-packed and gripping installment within the awesome universe we know, then I will continue to stand by my belief that this design decision could massively aid the series by keeping it focused for all players. Either way, as eager as we are, the title has been delayed until September 19th, 2025, giving the team time to apply the final layers of gloss and polish so that it is released in a fully finished state upon launch.
Do you think this will help the series’ direction? Or will it hinder the great series by limiting the player agency? Let us know in the comments below!
