At Gamescom Opening Night Live, Techland unveiled a first look at the next game in its Dying Light series, subtitled The Beast. It started development as a DLC for Dying Light 2: Stay Human, but a new game was eventually spun off into its own title. Owners of the Ultimate edition of Dying Light 2 will get The Beast for free. Otherwise, Dying Light: The Beast will cost you $39.99. Interestingly, the new game picks back up with the protagonist of the original title, Kyle Crane, as he embarks on a journey for revenge.
The trailer begins by following a squad of decked-out soldiers clearly in pursuit of some monster. However, it continues to cut to the perspective of the very same monster, which seems to have lured the soldiers out and is hunting them instead. Eventually, the soldiers and the unseen monster come to blows, and quite predictably, things don’t seem to go well for the unnamed soldiers.
At this point, the trailer then flashes to a man observing a rural region known as the Castor Woods through binoculars before revealing that it is in fact Kyle Crane from the first Dying Light. Sporting a gnarly eye, he seems to be taking on a new standalone adventure after breaking free from “13 years of enduring experiments” following the conclusion of Dying Light and its expansion, The Following.
Kyle’s original voice actor, Roger Craig Smith, will be returning to voice him, saying “Stepping back into Kyle Crane’s shoes feels like a reunion with an old friend.”
Following those years of experiments, Kyle’s DNA is now interwoven with that of the very same zombie threats that he’s fighting against. Now, he can use the abilities of the zombies against anyone who stands in his way and unleash a “beast-like” power. Y’know, in case you were still wondering what the titular beast was.
Billed as a “thrilling 18+ hours” adventure, Dying Light: The Beast will also feature full four-player co-op multiplayer and the return of vehicles to the series, which were introduced in the first game’s expansion, The Following. The rest of The Beast’s trailer shows off familiar bits of gameplay for folks who may have played or seen Dying Light before. Kyle engages in a fair mix of stealth gameplay with a bow and arrow while also leaping across rooftops and wall-running, as has become standard for the parkour-centric series. As always, the game looks incredibly gorgeous, and the trailer does a great job of showcasing a great deal of moody atmospheres.
Though no release date was provided, Techland did assure that there will be news on that front later this year. When it does launch, Dying Light: The Beast will be available on both PC, current-gen console, and last-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
Update 8/20/24 7:45 p.m ET: A previous version of this story claimed that Dying Light: The Beast would cost $39.99. This price point is incorrect, and a Techland FAQ states that, “While we haven’t announced the release date and price just yet, we’re approaching the point of content completion and will share this info as soon as we are ready.”
