Nerdly » ‘Dying Light 2: Stay Human’ Review (PC)

23rd Feb2022

‘Dying Light 2: Stay Human’ Review (PC)

by Paul Metcalf

For fans of Dying Light the memories of running along rooftops and bashing in the skulls of zombies and bandits were what kept them hopeful that the sequel would bring more of the same, but of course with something new. Now that Dying Light 2: Stay Human out, is the parkour based zombie-killing adventure worth returning to?

Dying Light 2: Stay Human puts you in the role of Aiden, travelling to Villedor in the hopes of finding his sister Mia. The only way to find her, if she is still alive is to find Dr. Waltz who is also looking for Aiden because of a GRE key that Aiden has in his possession. With the aid of the survivors in the city, can he find Waltz or will it be Waltz who finds him?

To make matters worse for Aiden of course is the fact that he is slowly succumbing to the zombie virus, which both aids and hinders your encounters in the city. This is where the concept of “Stay Human” comes in as Aiden fights to keep his humanity without losing control.

One of the strengths of Dying Light 2: Stay Human is the story that keeps the player invested. The voice acting of the likes of Jonah Scott as Aiden, Rosario Dawson as Lawan and Demitri Goritsas as Waltz is excellent and really immerse the player in the story. While people are of course more focused on the zombie bashing and parkour, the story is important, and Dying Light 2: Stay Human does not let us down.

Focusing on gameplay, you start off fairly capable but are hindered in many ways through not having certain skills that would make your experience easier. This of course is where the RPG elements come in. Build up the skill points, add more stamina and health, and you’ll start to feel stronger and be able to do more. The more important things though are getting those parkour and combat skills up, that is where the fun really starts.

Parkour and combat are separated into two trees that must be filled out to make Aiden more powerful. The enjoyment of drop-kicking a zombie or bandit off the top of a building never gets old and the combat system is enjoyable. Parkour can be hit and miss though, but as the skills are built up even this becomes more fun as the true potential of the character is built up and you have that stamina to climb higher and do more damage.

Along with the RPG elements are the items that Aiden is given to aid his travel through the city. The paraglider is the first and is a fast way to get around the city. The one that everybody wants though is of course the grappling hook, which takes some skill to use. I’ll admit though I’d be happier with a grappling gun but I guess that would have made things a little too easy.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a game that never forgets what is important, and that is to make things fun. With future DLC and updates it will be interesting to see what we’ll see in the future but when you’ve completed the game it does leave you wanting more. I guess the most important question for Dying Light 2: Stay Human is was it worth the wait? The answer to this is of course hell yes it was!