The zombie genre in gaming is as popular as it has ever been. It seems like these titles get pumped out left and right, which isn’t that surprisingly considering how much people love zombies. The wave really all started with the introduction of The Walking Dead series on AMC. It showcased zombies in a way that hadn’t been fully realized at the time.
Now, developers are looking to cash in on the movement. One company that has done better than most in this space is Techland with their zombie open-world game, Dying Light. It definitely puts an interesting spin on the genre. In addition to defeating zombies with various weapons, you get to move around a city using awesome parkour mechanics. It’s very unique in this regard and a reason why so many fans are clamoring for a sequel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy6ne-fEsAw
Fortunately, we know one is coming down the pipe. Techland made this announcement earlier in the year and it certainly has gotten the zombie community buzzing about what’s to come. The only downside is there isn’t a concrete release date. As it stands now, the game is said to be releasing sometime in the Spring of 2020. So that could be between May and July.
We’re now into the new year, and hopefully, Techland decides to put out a release date trailer here sometime soon. If and when they do, you can bet fans are going to be ecstatic. The developer created such an amazing experience in the first game, with fluid movement mechanics and a competent progression system as far as the combat.
They will surely keep these elements in the sequel and perhaps tweak them a bit. Where they can really make huge strides in this next game is with the story. The first one was okay, but you never really got a sense of drama. The bad buy was pretty cookie-cutter and the story felt a bit rushed. Seeing Techland really take time to nail down the plot and pit you against an evil force would be amazing to see.
It would take the series in a bold direction, one that could compel the studio to keep making these games. That’s a lot of gamers’ hope at least. You would be hard-pressed to find a better game that incorporates parkour. You can jump over fences, climb walls, and hurdle over objects like they’re nothing all while running away from zombies. Who knows how much better this system will be in Dying Light 2?
