- Publisher: Techland
- Release Date: Feb 4, 2022
- Also On: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One
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- Critic score
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is an even better-looking game that the previous instalment in the series. I can quite easily see myself spends hours hunting down resources, exploring the game during the night and just finding everything that Dying Light 2 has to offer Not to mention that the story has layers upon layers, so you really do see and feel the consequences of your choices and actions. The game is so unique because of having such an expansive and multi layered zombie survival expereince. If Dying Light got Techland noticed, Dying Light 2 puts them squarely on the map as a big-time developer! If the game can live up to what I have experienced so far then we have a new benchmark for ambitious open world RPG-like Zombie Games.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is an engaging journey of discovery and gaining power. Almost everything you do embraces those dynamics. In evolving beyond the first game's offerings, putting a stronger emphasis on the characters helps shape the world in meaningful ways. Some of Aiden’s choices are difficult, especially those surrounding a character named Lawan – who is given a hell of a pulse by Rosario Dawson. I can’t say enough great things where his and her stories go. I adored almost every second of this game and see myself often revisiting it, as Techland has announced at least five years of DLC is on the way. That’s a wonderful promise to hear when starting a new game that has turned out this well.
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Feb 2, 2022The product of years of toil from Techland, Dying Light 2 easily exceeds anything they have previously released and is one of the premium open world experiences available today. Any aspiring zombie hunter shouldn’t hesitate to dive right in.
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Feb 2, 2022Combining engaging combat, some of the most thrilling traversal you’ll find in a video game, and a truly rich narrative, there’s very little to find fault with in Dying Light 2: Stay Human. Whether or not you’ve played the first game, if you enjoy open world adventure games – particularly with a touch of horror – Dying Light 2 should be high on your must-play list. With its delays and long development, Techland almost had us worried, but we had no reason to be. It has delivered an experience which might just be one of the best open world games of recent years.
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Feb 2, 2022Consistently, the world of Dying Light 2: Stay Human overwhelms us in lockstep with the dazzlingly dense gameplay.
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Feb 2, 2022It's been a long road to release for Dying Light 2, and at times its future seemed uncertain. However, having braved the ruins of Villedor for this review, I'm happy to report that Techland's long-awaited follow-up to their survival horror RPG is a smashing success. With its mix of gripping narrative, hard-hitting combat, and exhilarating exploration, Dying Light 2 is a spectacular sequel that breathes new life into the franchise.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is no longer the surprise the first entry was, but it manages to enhance the formula that turned it great and delivers a story that is both action-packed and fun.
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Feb 2, 2022A more than competent sequel, Dying Light 2 Stay Human conjures some memorable narrative beats in an open world that's never anything but a joy to traverse. Granted, it has one or two niggling issues, but they pale into insignificance when you're knocking off a zombie's head with a massive axe.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 might not be the ultimate high-rider that early impressions promised. But more important than that, Techland delivers a sequel that's far better in mostly any aspect. It's technically strong on next-gen, provides a great fluid free running system, a powerful combat system, and combines it with a highly varied and vast open world. Even the story with all its world-changing decisions outperforms the predecessor clearly.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is a fun, thrill-packed experience sure to delight fans of the genre and those who want to experience one of those zombie nightmares they've read about or seen in other media.
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Feb 2, 2022If one could fear that Dying Light 2 is a 1.5 version of its predecessor, this is not the case in fact. By taking up all the ingredients that made the success of the first episode, Dying Light 2 reinforces, refines and fleshes them out to put them at the service of a breathtaking, generous, fun and complete experience that offers moments of bravery.
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Mar 4, 2022If it wasn’t apparent, I really liked Dying Light 2, and I think it has improved on the first game, but now for the things that weren’t great from my experience playing. There were a lot of bugs for me in the game. This is one of the main reasons it took as long as it has to get this review out if I’m being honest. A few game breaking bugs that meant I couldn’t progress the main story. They were fixed with a patch, but the biggest problem for me was a pretty massive issue with audio bugs.
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Mar 4, 2022Dying Light 2 is improving the first game in almost every aspect. Be that as it may some of the improvements, such as in the combat system, are not enough to truly make them excel. On the other hand, it needs to be said that its parkour system creates new standards for the first-person genre as well as the design of the city creates an organic playfield for this method of traversal.
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Mar 1, 2022Dying Light 2 will surpass the first game someday, but right now it’s brought down by bugs that keep it from being truly spectacular.
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Feb 10, 2022It's gory, tough, but oh so enjoyable.
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Feb 4, 2022Restoring power to different places, searching for people and clearing out areas of zombies are pretty much the types of activities I’d expected. But I was utterly enthralled by Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s mechanical panache, entrancing soundtrack, and charismatic NPCs.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s greatest achievement is its freedom of movement, and the playground Techland has designed for you to best leverage that is a triumph of what feels like infinite proportions. At its most fundamental core, at the headiest tine of it all, the game’s promise of an open-world with zombies and near limitless freerunning opportunities is delivered to the letter. Unfortunately there’s much around those three pillars that simply isn’t delivered to the degree it’s obvious the studio would have liked. Whether it’s in performance, pacing or overall balance, across every system Dying Light 2 has cracks in its seams.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2: Stay Human is more than a sequel — it’s an evolution that keeps everything that is integral to the franchise intact, but builds on it with enough engaging content that it’s incredibly hard to stop playing. There have been bugs, there have been comical glitches, but my experience has generally been smooth throughout, exciting, and emotionally motivating. I’ve put in around 60 hours so far, and it’s not lost its appeal, even though I might have to play through it again. If you’re looking to explore Villedor later this week, then you’re in for a treat.
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Feb 2, 2022Initially, I was concerned Dying Light 2 wouldn't find its own voice in a world crammed with shallow open worlds designed for busy work rather than fun, but the more I played, the more I found that wasn't the case. Dying Light 2 truly shines with its high-stakes nighttime gameplay, which turns the modern and tired open-world formula on its head. While some of the writing isn't the best and next-gen console performance is a bit disappointing, Dying Light 2 offers a tight experience that builds on the original.
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Feb 2, 2022Supported by a stellar level design and an incredibly receptive story to the player's choices, Dying Light 2 is a very valid action open world RPG, which demonstrates how messy can be the development of beautiful games.
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Feb 2, 2022It’s not without issues, but the brilliance of the parkour and deepness of the combat easily outweigh the various bugs and glitches which pop up. Perhaps it’s not able to revolutionise the genre like the first game did, but Dying Light 2 Stay Human is still more than worthy of your time, patience and hope of staying human.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is a legitimate challenger to join the ranks of the greatest open-world games. But unfortunate bugs and a lack of refinement noticeably separate it from genre luminaries.
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Feb 22, 2022Dying Light 2 Stay Human is a good sequel, even if a bit rough in some places, offering us an open world as ambitious as imperfect, with excellent gameplay and lots of content. Nevertheless, it could have benefited from more technical cleanliness and attention to some key aspects such as A.I. and writing. Still, it has all the cards in order to satisfy those who loved the first chapter or those looking for a different action title from the usual.
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Apr 7, 2022Dying Light 2 Stay Human could very likely become the stellar zombie survival adventure it should someday be, provided the bugs are finally wiped out. Its excellent parkour is an amazing way to explore this giant open world of the last tough city, and the post-apocalyptic stories of its many strange and distinctive characters are a must-see. Our bet? If its developers bring us a DLC with a really interesting story (or that solves this ending that we can't swallow), then we'll have the perfect zombie game.
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Feb 3, 2022Despite the issues I’ve highlighted, Dying Light 2: Stay Human is an improvement over the original in nearly every way. While there’s plenty to complain about, the world is more interesting, the parkour is fantastic, and the story has more weight — of the two, it’s absolutely the superior game, and the thrill of rocketing through a crumbling city with monsters in hot pursuit is unparalleled in the genre. It’s not perfect, but it’s as good as parkour action gets.
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Feb 11, 2022Dying Light 2 gives us a fantastic world to explore and it's a delight to run around Villedor's rooftops and terraces. The game's plot is not able to keep up with the speed and quality of its acrobatic action, which, even marred by countless bugs, is still an incredibly fun and addictive experience.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is a buggy sequel that doesn’t deliver what originally promised, but that still manages to deliver a fun and enjoyable parkour-based adventure.
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Feb 2, 2022Let's get one thing straight: I do enjoy playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human. The story is great and warrants additional playthroughs thanks to multiple endings, the combat feels awesome, and there's a ton of stuff to do in this sprawling city (500 hours worth, apparently). It just needs to clean up the technical issues and stop spawning the final boss inside the platform he's standing on, among other things. If that happens, the impact--much like the game itself--will be night and day.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 presents a detailed and engaging open world that’s genuinely breathtaking in its size and ambition. Excellent parkour traversal makes exploring thrilling, and the extra tension added to night missions improves upon the first game’s horror elements. The action is somewhat dated, however, and the choices you make are rarely reflected in the world in a satisfying way. There’s plenty to enjoy, and if you’re looking for a big action game and a huge map to clear you’ll find a lot to love in the world of Villedor.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 Stay Human is an ambitious zombie action adventure that's packed with top-notch parkour, an awesome open world, and every painful bug in the book.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is a leap forward for the franchise, even if it's not going to set the industry on fire with further innovation. Thanks to its fluid and refined gameplay and a distinct world filled with content, it's hard not to be entranced by this sequel even with its shortcomings.
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Feb 16, 2022Dying Light 2 is the playable evolution any fan of the first installment would expect. However, Techland fails in the narrative and in the execution of many of its ideas. It also has many technical problems.
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Feb 15, 2022I feel like the best way to describe how I feel about Dying Light 2 is by saying: “I don’t mind it.” It’s got some good things going for it and when it takes off, it gets going well. The problem is it takes a long time to take off. The story gets better eventually, and parkour skills take time to acquire, and the combat boils down to block, dodge, and swing. There’s a lot to do here, but I feel like the mechanics of the game itself gets in the way of really letting the player explore what’s around, and in the end, the rewards just may not be enough to bother with a lot of them. That’s not to say I didn’t have a fun time with the game. I did. There are some great shining moments here and when the story ramped up, I was in it until the end. If you have the patience to get to it, you too can have a good time, but don’t say I didn’t warn you that it will take some time to finally get to it.
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LEVEL (Czech Republic)Jan 30, 2024The game doesn’t do anything wrong per se and I must criticize it primarily for its absolute mediocrity, lack of interesting ideas, and wasted potential. There were good moments I really enjoyed here and there, despite the game having the worst open-world city of gaming history and the creators’ promises not being fulfilled in the slightest. [Issue#317]
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Mar 15, 2022But the storytelling is a hair too cryptic to be easily followed. That’s true for most of Dying Light’s story elements too; from tiny touches, like photos of a dead family in an abandoned house to larger-scale interactions with other characters, the game struggles to emotionally draw you into its conflict. I never cared about saving Mia; my main focus was always on reaching the next objective. The bright side: Despite all those shortcomings, I had an absolute blast doing that.
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Feb 7, 2022Dying Light 2 is a perplexing game. Its story and characters are headache-inducing, and it appears to lack polish in many areas. But even a dozen hours after I rolled credits, I've found myself going back to the game to do another parkour challenge, rummage through another abandoned science lab, or just see if I can get from Point A to Point B without ever hitting the ground. It's rough around the edges and it asks players to invest a lot in its weakest element, but once you realize the story, like gravity, is only going to pull you down, you can begin to defy it and enjoy the things Dying Light 2 actually does well.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 faces two big issues at present: technical glitches that can be fixed with a patch, and design choices that will be harder to deal with. When the former are corrected, Techland's latest will be far more enjoyable; that said, the number of times it goes out of its way to break up the fun it's capable of producing could remain its legacy.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s enhanced parkour and intricate level design make for some of the most fun you can have moving through a video game world, and the hand-to-hand combat is simple but effective. Most impressive is the sense of scale and gravity that makes leaping between rooftops feel so death-defying. Unfortunately, its story wallows in post-apocalyptic clichés and misanthropy, and its choice-based narrative often drops its most interesting plot threads.
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Feb 2, 2022Techland is apparently planning years of Dying Light 2 DLC, and while that won't fix the problems that the base game has, perhaps future content will focus on what it does right. Those who liked the first Dying Light will likely be able to overlook the sequel's serious flaws, but unless gamers are starving for a new open-world game, it's better to skip Dying Light 2.
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Feb 2, 2022Dying Light 2 is a pretty disappointing sequel to one of our all-time favourite zombie games. The parkour and combat here feels slightly off-point, light, floaty and unsatisfying. The first game's signature tense melee encounters feel diluted in a setting that gives you far too much space to catch your breath and night-time sorties lack the straight-up fear factor that made them so appealing first time around. With a lacklustre campaign that offers little to enjoy in the way of drama, some serious performance issues - which we hope will be patched day one - and an enormous world stuffed full of basic busywork padding, this is one zombie apocalypse we're finding quite hard to recommend.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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Feb 2, 2022Techland's vast blockbuster buckles under its own ambition and lacks in innovation, but makes up for it with outstanding parkour and combat. [Eurogamer Recommended]
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Feb 2, 2022Techland really is an astonishing studio. Funnily enough, we were amazed by Dying Light 2’s narrative and roleplay even though we had reservations about it and were disappointed by the map design and certain gameplay mechanics, elements which we took for granted until now. Nevertheless, we salute the absolute dedication of an artist’s vision that oozes in the whole game design and the risk-taking to update the gameplay after the first episode’s overwhelming success. Even if the game doesn’t reach the expected heights, it allows Techland to move upwards, which is promising for the future, so let’s meet again in 5 years! In the meantime, Dying Light 2 remains one of the last very good representatives of an open-world formula that marked the previous generation but is at risk of aging badly in the years to come. Enjoy it now, because we had a lot of fun playing it and also because the next big game that will shake things up is yet to be announced.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 396 out of 862
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Mixed: 41 out of 862
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Negative: 425 out of 862
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Feb 15, 2022
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Feb 15, 2022
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Feb 7, 2022