From what started as a DLC for Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Dying Light: The Beast has become its own fully-fledged released game, chock-full of content.
Harking back to the first game, original protagonist Kyle Crane returns after spending the last decade being tortured by this game’s villain, The Baron.
Crane has become the titular Beast, and he will spend the game trying to cure himself of this beastly affliction with the help of those in the nearby Castor Woods.
Does this sort of third entry into the franchise return to what the original game did best, try to innovate on the second game, or fall somewhere in between?
The Story
You pick up where veteran survivor Kyle Crane left off: no longer the clean-cut GRE operative, no longer just a man against the infected. He has become something else — part beast, part man — after years of experimentation under the machinations of the mysterious Baron.
In many ways, that is the strongest card The Beast has. There’s a hunger for vengeance, the notion of transformation, the internal struggle. It promises something darker, more primal.
But a good premise does not guarantee a strong narrative. The Beast suffers from major narrative missteps. The villain is flat. The motivations are thin. You expect Crane’s internal beast to haunt him in layered ways, but instead, you get a revenge flick with heavy exposition and little emotional bite.
The structure is too linear, the twists are predictable, and the betrayal beat is too familiar. Some of Crane’s decisions lack internal logic: The game wants you to believe he battles his beastly side, but you never feel it fully. One moment, he agonises over injecting Chimera blood, the next, he dives head-first into it. The tonal whiplash undermines the theme of man v.s. beast.
Crane’s return is a big deal; fans loved the original, and the character has history. But here, that legacy works against The Beast. The weight of his past should matter. Instead, he often feels reactive, underwritten. Allies exist, but they don’t resonate. The emotional choices feel like check boxes: loss, revenge, transformation. But there is very little genuine vulnerability.
The best thing The Beast could have done, and nearly does, is lean into survival horror: the fear of losing control, the dread of the night, the monster within. The day/night cycle and Beast Mode mechanics support that.
But the story rarely sustains that. The beast inside Crane is treated more like a power-up than a psychological struggle. You don’t often feel that he is fighting himself; you feel he is fighting others. That’s fine, but then the internal theme becomes diluted.
If you’re playing for the action, the gore, the parkour-zombie thrill, you’ll likely enjoy the ride. But if you were hoping for a story that elevates the franchise, one with emotional depth and memorable characters, you may leave wanting more.
Gameplay
Dying Light: The Beast refines the franchise’s signature parkour and melee combat but struggles to evolve meaningfully beyond it. Movement remains fluid and satisfying — sprinting, vaulting, and scaling rooftops still deliver the kinetic thrill fans expect. Combat feels impactful, with the new “Beast Mode” injecting bursts of power and chaos, letting players unleash primal strength against hordes of infected. Nighttime tension remains a highlight, keeping the risk-reward dynamic alive and ensuring the world never feels truly safe.
Co-op play and side exploration maintain the sense of emergent fun that defined earlier entries. Yet, despite these strengths, the game falters in ambition. The rural setting trades vertical cityscapes for flatter terrain, reducing the scale and creativity of traversal. Skill trees and loot systems feel recycled, while stealth and crafting lack polish.
Repetition creeps in early mission structures, and enemy encounters blur together, making long sessions feel tiresome. Technical issues and bugs occasionally undercut immersion, and some fans will feel shortchanged by what resembles a premium-priced expansion rather than a fully realised sequel.
While the fundamentals remain strong, The Beast rarely pushes things forward, leaning on familiar formulas instead of meaningful innovation. The result is a solid, serviceable entry that delivers moment-to-moment fun but misses the series’ earlier spark of discovery and danger.
Conclusion
In the end, Dying Light: The Beast stands as a solid but unremarkable evolution of Techland’s formula. It captures the heart-pounding energy of parkour and close-quarters combat that made the series iconic, but it rarely dares to push beyond its comfort zone.
The new Beast Mode delivers visceral fun and short bursts of empowerment, yet it doesn’t redefine the gameplay loop in any lasting way. Traversal remains fluid, nighttime still terrifies, and co-op exploration keeps the world engaging, but repetition and a lack of ambition weigh heavily.
The shift from dense cityscapes to rural wilderness strips away some of the vertical excitement that once defined Dying Light’s freedom, leaving the experience feeling flatter and more constrained. While it succeeds in delivering adrenaline and atmosphere, it falters in depth and innovation, leaning too heavily on nostalgia from what came before.
Technical hiccups and familiar mission design further dampen its impact. The Beast is enjoyable, especially for returning fans, but it never quite unleashes the monster it promises. It’s a fierce but familiar growl, not a new roar.
Developer: Techland
Publisher: Techland
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: 19th September 2025
