What The Critics Are Saying About Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Released in 2015, the post-apocalyptic "Dying Light" received modest reviews from critics. While elements such as its gameplay loop, parkour, combat, and day-and-night cycle all received plaudits, the game's predictable story and characters became sources of frustration. Despite the lukewarm reception and sheer amount of material in the zombie apocalypse genre, "Dying Light" became a surprise hit among gamers and has maintained a steady and consistent player count throughout its life cycle. And now, some seven years later, Techland has finally finished development on its sequel, "Dying Light 2: Stay Human." And thus far, the reviews seem quite promising for the most part.
Diego Perez of Attack of the Fanboy gave "Dying Light 2: Stay Human" a near-perfect review, calling it "bigger and bolder" than its predecessor and praising the game's traversal systems and characters. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer also heaped praise upon the game, calling it "an engaging journey of discovery and gaining power," with particular praise directed at Rosario Dawson's character, Lawan.
Other reviews haven't been as glowing, though. Dalton Cooper of Game Rant said the game's story and characters are "weak" and "poorly written," and also pointed out that the game was bogged down by bugs. Mark Delaney of GameSpot expressed similar complaints, calling the story "a drag" and feeling that bugs hampered some open-world sections of the game. But despite some differing opinions among critics, however, there seems to be a general consensus about "Dying Light 2" in regards to gameplay.
Dying Light 2 has some fun gameplay (and great parkour)
Like with its predecessor, critics have almost unanimously praised the gameplay loop when evaluating "Dying Light 2: Stay Human." Attack of the Fanboy called the game's use of parkour, a returning element from the first game, "the shining star" of the title, noting that almost every facet of this mechanic has been improved for the sequel. Martin Robinson of Eurogamer offered similar views, noting the improved chase system when being pursued by zombies and comparing it favorably to pursuits seen in games like "Grand Theft Auto."
Even more critical reviews of "Dying Light 2" have been generous towards gameplay, with Dalton Cooper's aforementioned review for Game Rant calling the game's combat system "completely serviceable" and saying that the use of parkour gets better as the player progresses through the game and begins filling out more of the in-game skill tree. Keith Stuart of The Guardian expressed similar sentiments in an otherwise negative review of the game, calling the use of parkour "a constantly evolving dexterity challenge."
Dying Light 2 has a weak story
Though its combat and traversal elements have received near-unanimous acclaim from critics, a near-consistent source of criticism has been the story in "Dying Light 2: Stay Human." Even in a review that championed the game for improving upon the first entry in terms of gameplay, Christopher Livingston of PCGamer called the game's story "underwhelming." Owen S. Good's review for Polygon expressed much of the same, saying "Dying Light 2's appeal is, ultimately, more game than story." Good also lamented the feeling that the choices the player makes throughout the story feel "arbitrary." This viewpoint is pretty much summed up with Leon Hurley's review for GamesRadar, who wrote, "Dying Light 2 offers a great open world playground for zombie survival, but lacks an impactful story or meaningful choices."
The consistent praise for the sequel's gameplay and criticism towards its story isn't too dissimilar to the reception that the first "Dying Light" received. However, it seems unlikely that these mixed reviews will do anything to prevent the series' cult fanbase from enjoying the game. In a Reddit post that compiled almost all notable reviews of "Dying Light 2", some gamers noted the similarity between reviews for "Dying Light 2" and its predecessor, and many concluded that they're still excited to dive in.