Dying Light 2 Stay Human has gone gold, and you’ll be able to play it from February 4, 2022. I make the point of saying ‘you’ there because I have already played it. Not all of it, but I was given four hours with the game recently. It went by swiftly.

I was dropped into a game already a few hours in progress. The main character, Aiden, was trying to contact a Survivor called Sophie in the Bazaar of Old Villedor. The old quarter is just a small part of the larger city, but it’s rammed with loot, missions, and the odd opera singer looking for a scarf. Here’s what I discovered in my time with Dying Light 2.

Dying Light 2’s humans drive the story

They bite, they screech, they gnaw, but all the Infected are acting on instinct. The humans of Dying Light 2 Stay Human, however, are more complicated beasts. 

What began as a relatively simple mission to find out who was responsible for the death of someone introduced me to several characters. Every person I met, from Sophie, a member of the Survivor faction dealing with personal loss and power plays, to the twin leaders of a rival gang, has a lot at stake.

The pressure of making the right decisions for their own factions often ends up with the player only being told half the story, or a version of it, that suits the teller’s point of view. Every main mission I played typically led to a different conclusion than I expected or a choice that had huge implications for the world. At least twice, while I was on the way to a mission, I got a radio message informing me of a huge twist that changed the scenario. 

Expect change. Expect someone you trusted to mess with you in ways that’ll genuinely change the game and make you question everything you’re asked to do. 

You should listen out for side quests

As I was zipping my way across the buildings, parkouring perilously across a handmade highway that stitches the city together at roof level, I heard a noise. A woman was singing. But she wasn’t singing well. It was like the opposite of a siren; she lured me in by screeching.

This was Lola. She claimed to be a singer, despite the performance she was giving. The trouble was that her mink stole had been whipped away from her neck on a high wind, depositing itself across the city. Without it, she was bereft.

Lola, singing terribly, asks me to find her mink stole. It’s essentially a fetch quest, but a lot of care has gone into the story of that stole. Collecting it and returning it to Lola will give her a boost of confidence, and she’ll once again find her voice. Later on, she’ll be found performing for the public again. It was a lovely, almost Fallout-esque moment. 

There are relaxing moments in the carnage

A life spent springing takes it out of you, but there are moments where you’re encouraged to take a break.

The noise of Dying Light 2 will lead you to new places and people. Gunshots rise up from the streets where a battle is taking place. The buzzing of a beehive leads you to honey for medicine. A scream of pain floats up from an NPC in danger. They all tell a story. Amidst all that, when you hear a few notes from a guitar, they’re worth following. I did, and it ended with me meeting a few people sitting around a campfire, singing, healing. No matter what happens to the world, there’s always going to be someone with a guitar trying to make it a better place.

You can alter Dying Light 2’s world

I saw the beginning of how much influence the player has on the world. I took over a water tower, which is especially important in an apocalypse, and the game asked me to select which faction should have control over it using the City Alignment System. You’re presented with a couple of factions, and who you choose creates a fundamental change in the way the world is set up.

The Peacekeepers would settle the surrounding area around it with a military focus. They’d drop traps and ensure anything approaching it would be met with force.

I chose to align the water tower with the Survivor faction. With them overseeing the area, the changes to the world help the player to traverse the area via zip-lines, and I wanted to spend most of my time on the rooftops, away from the shambling biters below.

You can upgrade parkour power

You can change a lot of elements of your character in Dying Light 2. The tech trees have a couple of branches, enabling you to add to your fighting or parkouring ability. During the short demo, I added a wall-running skill to my base leaps and grabs. It made flying through the streets and up-and-over the roofs a lot easier.

Equipment can also be bought, sold, and upgraded. Weapons can be modded, and new clothing options will give the player a lot of opportunity to diversify Aiden. It’s worth checking your inventory now and again, so see what you’ve picked up and how it could alter your approach to the game.

Missions change from daytime to nighttime

I spent a lot of time in the original Dying Light waiting out the night. It seemed like too much risk for not a lot of reward. Techland has strived to make the dark a lot more inviting. Dying Light 2’s nighttime is still risky, but it’s now worth it.

As night falls, the Infected that inhabit the buildings will make their way out into the streets. That means that there are buildings with loot that can be more easily accessed, should you be in need of additional supplies (you will).

There are now night-specific missions for you to take on, too. Some are part of the main quest, and some will be offered by NPCs. Choosing one from an NPC will immediately fast-forward to the correct time of day for you to take on the mission.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is coming to Epic Games Store on February 4.