During our coverage of E3 2019; I got a chance to have a look at Dying Light 2. The game is set after the events of the first game and players play a character who is infected but trying to help his community which is about to have their water supply cut off. When a character is attacked during a negotiation; it sets a chain of events into action. Players are giving the opportunity to pick a course of action. Do you stay with the wounded individual or do you attempt to catch their attackers? Do you stop the pursuit of the attackers or do you attempt to find a Doctor? The choices are yours. The game also features incredible combat and Parkour that was such a big part of the first game.
In one extended scene we watched the player swing, grapple, jump, scale, and slide through the cityscape, and when things turned dangerous; used U.V. lights to fend off enemies and also cut down any that got too close even though it eventually resulted in the destruction of the weapon.
The final scenario had the player forced to make a choice as to whose agenda he believed was accurate and in making the choice that he did; not only did a big battle ensue where we saw that a player can now pickup and use a weapon from a dispatched foe. The weapon was a rifle and when the ammunition ran out, the player was able to use it to bash enemies into submission.
The demo ended with a tease of a Medieval style community which had been submerged and is now open for exploration. Sadly it also allowed for a new enemy to emerge which underscores why the area had been kept under water for so long.
Dying Light 2 looks to up the action but allows players to have a say in their narrative direction of the story and allows them to make changes along the way. For those looking for the fast action and intense movements of the first game; rest assured that Dying Light 2 seems to be a big evolution in the series that deftly combines old and new in what looks to be a winning formula.
