Dying Light: The Beast – Review

Dying Light fans will get more than just a DLC…

Three years after Vlad Costea gave me the task of writing an article about Final Fantasy VII Remake from the perspective of a fresh player in the famous franchise, I decided to do a similar experiment again.

“Please choose a game you want to try and write about!”, Leo tells me on a warm afternoon. From the whole list I had in front of me, my heat-zombified neurons chose Dying Light: The Beast.

I thought: that’s it! I’ve hit the jackpot! Ten years after the launch of one of the most acclaimed zombie games in history, there had to be a special release. When Dying Light 2 came out, I told myself the same thing: that I should try it. The immense hype, the very good reviews, the innovative first-person parkour gameplay, and the narrative from the first titles in the series were the temptations that always made my thoughts drift towards the idea of playing them at some point. Now, at last, that opportunity had arisen…

Done! Said and done, installed and played! I quickly realised I shouldn’t have repeated the experiment. At least not with something that, despite having the best intentions, only aims to entertain you. After 7–8 hours of gameplay, a podcast on ManCave.ro where I practically tore apart three-quarters of Dying Light: The Beast, and a few good hours of sleep, cleared thoughts, and attempts to find different angles and opinions, I’m starting to feel remorse, like Thanos talking to Nebula: “Perhaps I treated you too harshly…”

Yes, I really messed up in an epic way, making the most ill-advised game choice in recent years. You know that saying: “Welcome, you’ve come to the wrong place”? Well, that was Dying Light: The Beast’s bad luck, to land right on my computer for testing.

The game isn’t to blame for falling into my hands. I’m the one who shouldn’t have chosen it in the first place, and I’m the one who will tell you that what I usually look for in a game is not found here at all. But for other players, it might mean something else.

Story

I’m the kind of player who always seeks to be captivated by a story that makes you want to keep going, to offer that motivation that pushes you to develop your character, and to invest time that you won’t waste. It needs to be that Emmy-worthy series that won’t let you close the app (game), because you desperately want to find out what happens in the next episode (quest).

I’m looking for that “something” that gnaws at your curiosity until it makes you discover what lies further in the story, no matter how terrifying the journey may become. I want characters I’ll miss when I shut down my PC.

Unfortunately, from these heights of expectation, I looked at The Beast, which, on the storyline side, seems more like a poodle than a beast. It’s exactly like the chapter title: something extremely incomplete and very minimalist. The story exists in this game only as a leitmotif, a kind of compass that helps you evolve and navigate the content more easily. It’s more technical than poetic. The premises could have been good, but the narrative execution is rubbish.

So, long story short: they resurrected the protagonist from the first title, Kyle Crane, whom they decided to hire again to clear the Castor Woods area, where someone has let zombies roam freely. This guy, Crane, holds a huge grudge against an individual named Baron, who supposedly held him captive and tortured him for about thirteen years in a laboratory in that area.

And just so you understand how the game lost me from the very first moments, this happens: at the beginning, someone tries to help you escape the place where experiments have been done on you for years, and you swear you’ll do everything possible to escape and kill Baron, out of revenge, and your first question to those helping you get out is: “Hey, but… why do you want to save me? Who are you?”

Are you serious?! You’re having second thoughts?! Suddenly you’re doubting whether to leave or not?! Didn’t you just say you couldn’t wait to break free?!

Anyway, the thing is, things don’t get any better later on. Don’t expect very emotional moments. Maybe it would have tugged at the heartstrings if the NPCs also had natural facial expressions, clearly separated lines, tone, elements that wouldn’t make them seem like mere talking robots. You’ll find more charisma in the zombies on the map.

There is, however, a pleasant surprise on the story side, but unfortunately, it’s the only twist worth highlighting.

Atmosphere

Eeeh, here we go a little above the passing grade. So, the result is a somewhat successful combination of several elements: a fairly rich environment, which at times can offer some decent views, and a picturesque city that, through its architecture, brings a traditional rural note influenced by the western Alps region.

Another defining element, and without which I don't think it would have passed, is the feeling of fear, claustrophobia, and anxiety that the game sometimes manages to convey, especially at night. The timed chases with volatiles, the narrow field of view limited by the flashlight, the hidden dangers around every corner, and the slightly higher difficulty of enemies offer an authentic horror feeling, very rarely found in other similar games. It's exactly that feeling that made the first title in the series so appreciated by fans of the action-zombie-horror genre.

The atmosphere fits well with the game's release date, a rainy autumn, perfect for the Spooktober list, where this third Dying Light can quietly find its place.

Unfortunately, the game is dragged down by the lack of a soundtrack that would provide immersion or at least spice things up a little bit more.

Gameplay

The first-person parkour mode is very well implemented and pleasantly surprised me, especially coming from the perspective of an Assassin’s Creed fan, where third-person is preferred. I must admit that, sometimes, Dying Light: The Beast gave me a slight AC Unity vibe, especially in moments when I climbed roofs that strikingly resembled those in Ubisoft’s game.

When it comes to weapons, you can be inventive, adding modifications based on the items you find. These are divided into ranks of effectiveness, from Common to Legendary, with each level offering additional damage and advantages. Additionally, there are mods that can be applied to weapons: up to two active slots, plus a cosmetic accessory called a “Charm”. Mods can be found, bought, or crafted, and sometimes offer elemental effects like freezing or poisoning.

Last but not least, crafting and blueprint plans become essential. These allow players to build weapons and upgrades, provided they gather enough resources and explore the game world in detail.

I personally felt the notorious scarcity of resources that the Dying Light series adopts, which are quite expensive to find. For this reason, buying them from shops becomes essential, and it is, in fact, the most common advice in all reviews and videos about the game.

The safety tower thing gave me another familiar vibe, seemingly borrowed from another famous series: Far Cry.

There’s the option to drive… only one car. I really don’t understand this stinginess, especially since they give it to you without much fuel, so you have to struggle to siphon from other wrecks found on the road. I think this game mode was invented by a truck driver who sold diesel in motorway car parks. Oh, and as a bonus, the same car always seems to break down, it looks like it was bought second-hand from a guy who tells you it has “a few zombies on board,” but if a few do turn up, get ready to pay for an MOT and a service.

I have to admit that the fights can offer you well-deserved fun and, apart from the nocturnal sprints with the volatiles, interactions with chimeras are quite intuitive. Although they seem difficult at first, in reality you quickly learn to adapt to their fighting pattern. These same chimeras help you evolve Crane’s character and gain different abilities for beast mode, a temporary state of enhanced power.

Speaking of abilities, the skill tree comprises four main branches, which are not nearly as bushy in terms of evolution options. Character development will seem like a walk in the park compared to other games, especially those with some RPG blood. As you well know, there you have to work hard to reach those most distant abilities. So distant, in fact, that sometimes you have to move the cursor to scroll the image all the way to the end.

Easter eggs

Oh, yes! Here Dying Light: The Beast truly becomes a beast. As poor as it is in all other chapters, here it has a huge treasure trove full of the famous “Easter eggs.”

Where to begin?

The EXPcalibur II sword, the legendary weapon that is, in fact, a direct tribute to the first Dying Light.

In the sewers, you find pizza boxes and a rat, a clear sign that Michelangelo and his brothers passed through there.

On a wall, the message “Don’t Open, Dead Inside” appears, just like in the first episode of The Walking Dead.

After collecting pieces of wood and visiting the beaver dam, you discover a zombie dressed in a beaver costume and receive a secret weapon: a bat with special abilities. Yes, you guessed it, it’s a direct reference to the famous Polish meme from 2012!

You also find a legendary axe, similar to Kratos’s, which returns to you when you throw it at enemies.

The list is much longer, but I’ll let you discover them, because, honestly, I’d be robbing you of the pleasure of enjoying the best-constructed part of this game by Techland.

Graphics

Remember when, in your youth, you wanted to add a name to your phone and did it coolly, with all sorts of symbols, and now, in old age, you realise how silly it seems to do that anymore, because you can’t easily find the contact among the two thousand numbers you’ve accumulated?

That’s how the game’s graphics feel, cool for ten years ago. Now, however, they just get in the way and don’t compare at all to modern titles.

The graphics engine, C-Engine, owned by Techland, doesn’t seem to have aged too gracefully.

Blast from the past

OK, I have about an hour until dark, so I’m taking advantage of the time to jot down a few words about Dying Light: The Beast. I’m writing these lines as a fan of the franchise, so you understand exactly where I’m coming from. Like Bogdan, I was impressed by the first title in 2015, only to be disappointed by the sequel in 2022. That’s why I eagerly awaited The Beast, hoping it would be the return the series needed, especially since it was presented as a direct continuation of the original game.

I admit, I loved the protagonist from the initial title, so I was happy to see Kyle Crane in the main role again. This time, he comes with some “improvements” acquired in The Following. After 13 years of captivity and experiments in a secret laboratory in Switzerland, Crane returns more spectacular and dangerous than ever.

I won’t dwell too much on the story, because Bogdan has already gone into detail, but I can tell you it’s exactly the kind of narrative that seems ripped from a B-movie. If you set your expectations correctly, Dying Light: The Beast can be a memorable experience, in the same way a guilty pleasure makes you smile without knowing why. It’s not a Game of the Year, but it’s excellent fun for those who want an open-world full of zombies to send back to the righteous world and some volatiles to run from faster than the Devil himself.

Technically, it looks solid on Xbox Series X. The limits of the graphics engine (C-Engine) are felt, and visually it doesn’t rise to the level of the most recent Sony Interactive Entertainment titles, such as Ghost of Yōtei or Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. However, we don’t judge a game solely by its graphics. The Beast runs excellently with a constant 60 fps, without stuttering. The only annoying aspect is the tendency of some zombies to suddenly appear out of nowhere in the open-world, but that’s a minor issue, easily solved with a patch. Right, I’ll leave you in Bogdan’s care now. The sun is setting soon, and I still have a long way to go to the tower where I turned on the UV light. Tudor Enea

The Conclusion

So as not to fail it, I’ll try to grade it from two perspectives.

As I said at the beginning, I made a mistake. I discovered that this game wasn’t, and isn’t, for me. I’m that gamer who likes to be embraced by the atmosphere, enchanted by the story, to listen with amazement to a well-written narrative, to get lost in mysterious and aesthetic worlds, and to indulge in melodies that seem composed to win a Grammy.

Dying Light: The Beast made me put on a playlist in the background consisting of the Alan Wake 2 soundtrack, combined with tracks from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and, of course, those from season two of the Arcane series (okay, okay, I know — Arcane isn’t a game, but it’s inspired by one, and Jinx makes everything feel like a game).

I set my expectations wrong, and that was due to the good reputation the first two titles had, but also because the asking price for a game considered stand-alone was quite high. I thought it would be something more. It wasn't to be.

It was something, however, for someone else. If I were to put on the cloak of a Dying Light fan or a player passionate about zombie titles, then the perspective would change.

The game is fun and not very complicated. Sometimes it seems too sparse in its attempt to be simplistic. Still, to keep a positive note, fans of the genre will get at least another ten hours of fighting all sorts of bipedal undead and cool parkour sequences on a compact map that won’t make you get lost easily.

Truth be told, fans of the genre and the franchise will get more than just a simple DLC for their money. It’s even possible that some will appreciate the game.

Combining the last two perspectives, I can say that Dying Light: The Beast is fun, but it has the handbrake on and is stuck in neutral on the storyline side. Its fault is that it wanted to play in the league of standalone games, where 2025 was packed with solid 7s. My dear… you should have stayed in the DLC League. 😢

Thanks to Techland for the review codes and the opportunity to play Dying Light: The Beast.

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Played on: PC and Xbox Series X
Release date: 18 September 2025
Developer:  Techland
Publisher: Techland