Dying Light: The Beast Review - Power and Horror Combine
It is no secret that I am a fan of the Dying Light franchise. I absolutely adored the pure adrenaline-pumping horror of the first title when it arrived in 2015, and I really clicked with the more power fantasy-focused sequel in 2022 despite it toning down the scares. So it is fair to say I was really looking forward to seeing what the third game, subtitled The Beast, would offer. Would it be more of the same, or bring its own flavour to the zombie apocalypse? It turns out that for this iteration, Techland are straddling the line between the first two games to bring us all the best Dying Light title yet.
Dying Light: The Beast sees the return of Kyle Crane, the hero of the first game. It turns out that Kyle has been captured by a chap called the Baron, who has a fetish for experimenting with the zombie virus on unwilling subjects. It turns out that Kyle’s particular DNA has exactly what he is looking for, and he is kept as the Baron’s test subject for 13 years, only escaping when another test subject, the titular Beast, breaks free, allowing Kyle to escape in the confusion. This leads Kyle on the path of revenge as he regains his strength, makes allies in this new world and taps into his unique, virus-acquired abilities in an attempt to end The Baron once and for all.
It is a simple tale, but one that is told with verve and passion. Kyle, as a lead, is immensely likable, despite not being the nicest bloke getting around, and the supporting cast are all wonderfully written and portrayed. There are a few twists and turns in the story which fans of the franchise may see coming, but are satisfying nonetheless, and the ultimate, shocking and bloody conclusion left me gasping, while at the same time opening the door for more down the line. The writers have clearly had fun here, and I had a blast getting swept up in this tale of revenge.
Speaking of writing, I would say the biggest improvement in The Beast over the second game is the quality of the sidequests. There are fewer in this game, but every single one of them is essential and exceptionally well written. These side tales played on my emotions in ways I didn’t see coming and had me on a mission to complete every single one of them. One in particular, a tale of two Irish brothers, will stick with me forever because of its beautiful examination of brotherly love in a world where love is often forgotten due to the brutality all around. I could have easily powered through the whole game in a shade under 20 hours, but my playtime was much, much closer to 30 because I just had to see how each of these sidequests played out.
On the gameplay side, things are familiar, but it is clear that lessons have been learned and evolutions have been made over the previous titles. The feeling of horror from the first game has returned, with the nighttime once again a genuinely scary time to be out and about. Getting chased by a horde of unstoppable, indestructible zombies called Volatiles as I madly made my way to a safe zone never failed to excite and terrify me in a way few games can. But, despite the horror returning, the power and strength offered by the second game are still here, with Kyle a serious threat to both human and zombie enemies alike. He also has access to his inner beast, where he becomes a killing machine, literally tearing the undead apart with his bare hands. Techland have really balanced the best of the two previous games and combined them here almost perfectly.
The map is a beautiful place to explore, with a stunning backdrop and a charming European feel to the villages and towns that Kyle explores. There are a host of areas where the franchise’s trademark parkour comes into play, open farmlands where I could get around with cars that are left lying around and a bunch of secrets, hidey holes and new activities to discover. It is a fun place to simply exist in, despite it being a dangerous one, and I never once tired of simply poking my nose into all the nooks and crannies the map had to offer.
As far as the tech side of things goes, this is one of the most stable PC releases I have come across in recent memory. In my entire game time, the game crashed to the desktop once and honestly, that was more likely as a result of my computer than the game. The rest of the game is almost glitch-free, and it looks great. It is clear that this is running on the same tech as Dying Light 2, which has allowed Techland to publish a stable game that looks great and runs well on a huge range of systems. It even ran perfectly well at 1080p on my ROG Ally X without absolutely tanking the battery. A mighty achievement for sure.
If I have one issue with the game, it is with the climbing. There are some inconsistencies here that led me to swear on more than one occasion. Some surfaces look like they should be climbable but aren’t, the precision can be off at times and missing a ledge that should have been within reach happens way too often. This led to some frustrating moments when unlocking new safe houses and in a few key missions. Thankfully, those moments were far enough apart that it didn’t sour the rest of my time with the game, and this is the sort of thing that I can see Techland fixing pretty quickly, especially with their well-earned reputation for after-release support.
There is no doubt that Dying Light: The Beast is the result of lessons learned and feedback received. As a result, this is the best in the franchise and a wonderful open-world title in its own right. All the things you would expect from a Dying Light game are here: the parkour, the terror and the combat and these key features are only improved by the world-class writing and a real sense of heart. I am not sure that this will change anyone’s mind if they didn’t like the first two games, but if you even slightly enjoyed Dying Light 1 or 2, The Beast will quite possibly rock your world. It is a game that will feature highly in my personal game of the year consideration and one that I think will stay on my hard drive for years to come.
Dying Light: The Beast was reviewed on PC with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
