PS5 GAMES PREVIEW
DYING
LIGHT 2
Making the leap of faith to next gen
Pub Techland Dev Techland ETA TBCt’s been the
worst-kept
secret in
videogames
that the
graphically
intensive
sequel to Dying Light is heading
to PS5 (as well as PS4). The
game’s delay was disappointing
but it has given the team time to
finesse its open world parkour
zombie adventure. Dying Light 2
is one of the more complex
games heading to next gen, and
it also has to work on PS4.
Lead producer Eugen Harton
explains: “Delaying the game
opened opportunities to nail down
the story part of the game, choices
our players can make, as well as
up the level of open world
opportunities that player will face.
Building this world takes time and
we want Dying Light 2 to be the
evolution of what we started with
in the first game.”
The developer is building a large,
connected world where choices
affect the story and change the
spaces around you. “You get
involved with different groups and
characters and your choices
influence the type of emergent
gameplay you will see,” explains
Harton, who says the team have
been intent on mixing up the
usual formulas for mission design
to surprise. “Even a fetch quest
might be a surprise in the end...”Freedom has its drawbacks, and
has made Dying Light 2 a testing
game for the developer to get
right. In connecting the story and
the open world elements Techland
is trying to do something original
within this genre.
“The environment changes that
happen with the player choices
add more layers to the states that
we have to test. It’s definitely one
of the most challenging aspects of
the game to create,” says Harton.It’s a big space out there in
Dying Light 2, “I think we can
safely say that the world has
grown significantly,” quips
Harton, teasing:
“But it’s still being
shaped so going
to details at
this moment
would be
too soon.”
What we do
know is Techland has
spent the five years
since the original game
launched developing new
content for Dying Light, and
behind the scenes using player
feedback to help build the world
of its sequel.PARKOUR LIFE
“We focused on creating new
technology that would enable us
to build bigger worlds, and to do
what we know best, parkour and
zombies,” says Harton. “There are
pros and cons to everything, but
having an opportunity to be
ambitious and have space to do
so is good for the game.”E D
E D.””
PS5 will be able to handle this enormous,
changing world with aplomb.054