![]() These moments are few, though, and even the more meaningful quests have no lasting effect outside of giving you new gear – no change in how you interact with the city or its people. It’s just a brief glimpse into the world Aiden’s risking his life for. Nearby, I found a rooftop camp where a small crowd had gathered around a storyteller excitedly recounting the legend of a famous Nightrunner who fought for survivors and gave them safe places to live in the city. It’s a strange juxtaposition that speaks volumes about life in Villedor and the struggles its people face, arguably more so than the drawn-out water tower fight in the game’s first half. ![]() ![]() He admits he’s been feeding a massive infected in the hopes of using its blood for the coloring and asks you to kill it for him. One side quest, for example, involves a timid painter asking for help obtaining the right shade of red. The pacing picks up significantly once you gain more freedom to explore, as does Techland’s worldbuilding: faction conflicts grow more desperate and destructive, the disturbing facts behind Aiden’s trauma become inextricably tied to the city’s fate, and the narrative ends up going in a direction that – while not entirely unexpected – is still satisfying and well executed.Īs spectacular as the later game’s setpieces are, it’s the quiet moments that stuck with me most and made me wish Techland had opted for a more refined approach to Dying Light 2 overall. The bigger city is infinitely more interesting in its layout, and exploring it is an absolute treat during the day (and a tense thrill at night). You can see the game open up for you in this moment, it’s just a shame it took so damn long. When you finally enter the city, the first view of downtown Villedor is stunning – you glimpse it from a skyscraper’s rooftop garden, right before hurling yourself off the edge and hoping your paraglider works as intended. The events propelling Aiden into both Dying Light 2’s second half and Villedor proper are surprisingly gripping after those languid opening hours. With its shallow quests, illusion of choice, and endless distractions, it seems – initially – like the worst kind of open-world filler.Īnd then suddenly it isn’t. The actual result of this on-boarding is a sluggish narrative that sends you back and forth across the region’s five same-y sectors to the unending chorus of pings alerting you to a nearby encounter or loot stash. The idea is seemingly to introduce you to a condensed version of the city’s struggles and give Aiden a large parkour playground to learn in. The same goes for the broader story and characters – especially in your first few hours confined to the district of Old Villedor. I’d like to have seen Techland go deeper with its new protagonist, and perhaps develop him as much as it developed Villedor itself. To the story’s – and Scott’s – credit, you as a player still feel a connection with Aiden despite never really getting to know him properly. We see through Aiden’s eyes, yet we never have a chance to understand who he is. However, his characterisation and Jonah Scott’s excellent vocal performance make that easy to overlook.ĭespite some strong work on the character to begin with, one of Dying Light 2’s biggest sins is Aiden himself. ![]() The balancing act is a bit messy, as Aiden’s broader goal often gets lost in the moment-to-moment drama in the city. Aiden has his own mission connected to horrendous experiments he and other children were subjected to by the GRE, but gets pulled into Villedor’s struggles during his journey. Into all this leaps Aiden, Dying Light 2’s hero and Techland’s answer to complaints against Kyle Crane’s static personality. The primary focus is Villedor itself, though a gigantic city that’s both prison and home to tribes of infected humans trapped behind its walls, vying for control over land and resources. While the original game suffered from a paper thin story, it’s evident Techland put more thought into creating an interesting world with its own rich backstory for the sequel. The GRE’s downfall is a well-worn zombie trope, but it gives Dying Light 2 a greater sense of substance, at least. The fortunate cities, such as Villedor, suffered chemical bombings and a descent into anarchy, as first one governing body then another disbanded and left everyone else scrambling to survive. The Global Relief Effort (GRE) – Dying Light’s callous group of researchers ostensibly trying to find a cure for the zombie infection – succumbed to the temptation of power and plunged the world into another outbreak. Kyle Crane saved the city of Harran in Dying Light, and you quickly learn that amounts to nothing.
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