In a year packed with great releases, it’s easy to forget Techland’s Dying Light: The Beast. Not only did it receive extensive acclaim from fans and critics, but it also righted the ship for the franchise, returning to its core gameplay elements. This is coming off of Dying Light 2 Stay Human, which struggled to resonate with players, even after years of updates.
Speaking to GamesRadar at Digital Dragons, former franchise director Tymon Smektala called it a “hard lesson” for the team to learn. “The game [Dying Light 2] was very hyped, millions of players [were] waiting for it. We launched it and quickly realized that even [though on the] surface it’s quite similar, almost the same type of game, we had missed a lot of the details, the little things that were important for players, and they were very vocal about it.”
The project’s development troubles are nothing new, and Smektala confirms that the new engine and deadlines ended up causing trouble. Post-launch updates were welcome but ended up being “everything to everyone all at once.”
“Some want more tension, some want more RPG elements, more parkour. Combat could be less bloody, more bloody. Realism, power fantasy, the first game again, or maybe something new. So, you want to give everything to everyone all at once, but it is a trap.”
With Dying Light: The Beast, Techland decided to slow down and focus more on the project’s core quality. “We learned that quality beats quantity. We slowed down, we focused more, we adapted that for Dying Light 2, and kept using that mindset for Dying Light: The Beast, understanding that the quality of core elements is more important than satisfying all of the needs and expectations.”
It’s those elements, from the parkour to the gruesome combat and open-world design, which drew extensive praise (and reportedly sold more than 1.5 million copies). Since launch, it’s received some pretty hefty free updates, including New Game+, Legend Levels, Nightmare Mode, and, more recently, Restored Land.
The latter changes the world to be persistent, meaning no more replaying activities or constantly looting the same containers for rewards. However, any slain zombies stay dead, and you’ll slowly see people returning to those areas. There’s also One Life mode for those who want to indulge in some permadeath.
While The Beast is likely to receive support for years, what’s next for the franchise? No one really knows, but at the very least, Techland seemingly knows what direction to take.
