Techland has now dropped an unexpected crossover: Dying Light 2 now works with Balatro on the Friend of Aiden Bundle, and the community is burning with instant fury. Funny enough, those Joker-themed items also turn out to be a couple of quests down in the city of Villedor. Wrapping up some of them will grant you a free claim to the bundle’s contents. One features a riddle-filled gauntlet where players are tested on their knowledge of the city; well, free stuff is free stuff.
The announcement tweet from the official Dying Light account really allured the reactions, ranging from hype to befuddlement. Some, like @chinownen, were selling it straight away, while @Kitastrophe_Ra begged for the bundle sales. And then there was @Pumpkinstic blatantly asking, “Is Dying Light 2 still alive?” That felt a little bit harsh.
The reply chain was the real mess. @Sir_Cats_Meow remarked that the bundle should have been called, “Friend of Kyle Crane’s Clone,” referencing the protagonist of the first game. Meanwhile, @CoreyJames1 hoped for DLC that would see Aiden become an official Nightrunner, which goes to show that there are some players still really invested in the story.
But not everybody agreed. @sharing89574373 labeled the crossover as “worthless,” saying Techland should have collaborated with Balatro’s devs to pop poker against The Beast into the game rather than just chucking some skins in. Then there was @Govnaah, who said they couldn’t find the quest and asked if you were supposed to get to a certain point in the story first. Typical.
And that was when the Fortnite crowd had to chime in. Both @FortniteMold and @MrGzimOfc demanded a collab with the Epic battle royale because, honestly, why not? Then @PSoviet45 set a precedent of their own with the idea of a “gambling update” for all games.
The Balatro side gave no less support. @_lulushu’s all-caps “DO IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” and @Juanshonium’s screams over the “new friends of Jimbo” gave another high note to this already hyped-up community. Even voice actor Ben Starr (@The_Ben_Starr) didn’t escape the chaos when @MatthewSubito fangirled over him—he who played a door in one game—liking Dying Light.
So what does the bundle really have in store? Aside from those obvious joker-themed cosmetics, the real jaw-drop is in the two quests. One of them is a riddle marathon, while the other… well, Techland hasn’t said much of anything about yet, but if its anything like their previous updates, expect to be frustrated with parkour challenges.
The timing is quite interesting for the crossover. Dying Light 2 has, by the way, actually been out for a brief moment in time and while updates are continually pushed out, other players have a community of fam that are so ready for the fix (cough, @fordforest) for the Japan re-release on Xbox. Meanwhile, @GenoWinter is confronted with actual ghost bullets that ruin their Nightmare runs.
Yet the thing with free stuff is, well, they’re free stuff. Either in memes or loot or just to witness how far down this rabbit hole can go, the Friend of Aiden Bundle is just another strange crossroads within the Dying Light 2 universe. Now if you’ll excuse us, there’s some riddle-solving to be done before the joke turns on us.
