I've seen Dying Light: The Beast in action and it looks incredible - it's also free for Dying Light 2 Stay Human Ultimate Edition owners

A screenshot showing combat in Dying Light: The Beast.

(Image credit: Techland)

Dying Light: The Beast is shaping up to be a real treat for series fans, offering a more condensed standalone adventure with original Dying Light protagonist Kyle Crane. The game, which started life as a story expansion for Dying Light 2 Stay Human will also be free for owners of the Dying Light 2 Stay Human Ultimate Edition.

I attended a short hands-off demonstration of the game at Gamescom 2024 and was impressed with what I saw. Set in the new open-world region of Castor Woods, it offers a densely packed map with plenty of unique areas to explore. In addition to a populated town, I saw some more remote industrial areas plus a very brief detour into the valley - a woodland environment loosely inspired by the world of TV shows like Stranger Things and Twin Peaks.

Revealed during Opening Night Live, the game seems like a refreshing departure from the city of Dying Light 2 with lots to discover. Although I saw just one early mission in which Crane searched for leads on Baron, a mysterious figure who has held him hostage and experimented on him in the story of the original game, developer Techland estimates that the entire experience will take over 18 hours to complete.

In addition to shaping the game’s story, the experiments on Crane are the foundation of some new mechanical additions. You will have access to beast-like special abilities with their own skill tree. Mastery of these will be essential for surviving encounters with Freaks - super-powered zombies closely tied to Baron’s activities.

Melee combat is still a key focus, though firearms will play an even more prominent role in this release. In addition to the expected parkour, driving also has been introduced with a number of vehicles littered around the map. As fun as plowing through hordes of zombies appears to be, fuel will be very limited and cars can be damaged and destroyed. Dying Light: The Beast will also feature four-player co-op, letting you dive into the adventure with friends.

All of this is on top of some noticeable technical enhancements, such as dramatically improved weather effects and an overhauled lighting system. I'm very excited to see more when Dying Light: The Beast releases on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One.

You might also like...

Dash is an experienced tech journalist who currently serves as the Gaming Editor at TechRadar, where he helps oversee coverage of video games and related products.

Before joining the team, he was Contributing Writer at PLAY (formerly Official PlayStation Magazine) and has also written articles for many of the UK's biggest gaming magazines including Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX.

Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.