Dying Light 2 es bastante irregular. Aunque a priori profundiza en las mecánicas que ofrecía su primera entrega, la realidad es que también hinca el pico en sus defectos anteriores. Hay un intento encomiable por ofrecer una historia más intensa y emotiva, para la realidad es en ningún momento he logrado conectar con el objetivo del protagonista, ni con las facciones que se van cruzando en su camino. Dying Light 2 es más divertido cuando vas por ahí a lo loco, haciendo piruetas y reventando alguna cabeza. Su problema en este aspecto es que el combate no termina de ser tan satisfactorio como pudiera, ni tan espectacular, así como que una vez llegada a la segunda parte del mapa las reglas del parkour cambian y el movimiento pasa a ser mucho más estándar y aburrido. Esto último es un pecado, puesto que creo que el diseño de niveles en ningún momento acompaña las capacidades de movimiento del protagonista. El parapente y el gancho pasan a romper la dinámica debido al protagonismo de edificios de alturas demasiado grandes.

La primera entrega era un juego divertido con una historia sin ningún sabor, en Dying Light 2 la historia tiene un mayor desarrollo y personalidad, pero sigue siendo floja y su vanagloriada dinámica de facciones tiene un peso insignificante. Es una secuela bastante divertida, pero con un impacto diluido entre un largo plazo algo aburrido y repetitivo, así como da la sensación de tener un mundo y temática desaprovechadas. Aun así, lo recomiendo para gente que disfrutó del primero o busca un juego más de acción y zombies sin mucho más que ofrecer.

I don’t play a lot of open world games. They are exhausting: maps littered with icons for activities I have no interest in. There’s too much of everything, and it makes me feel overwhelmed and anxious. That didn’t happen with Dying Light 2. It manages to have gameplay that is incredibly thrilling, yet a story so forgettably competent, that I could experience it à la carte without any guilt. Techland built a big beautiful world with an endless number of side missions and distractions. But fuck that, because I just want to do parkour and kick zombies.

The first-person traversal feels phenomenal. It is fluid and intuitive, and only gets better as you unlock more abilities. Scrambling my way across rooftops, looking for the fastest path, never lost its appeal. I didn’t even bother unlocking fast travel points. Just let me run, climb, jump and eventually paraglide and grapple hook my way through the world.

Occasionally I would stop to smash a zombie’s head in, or leapfrog human opponents to flying kick their buddies. Because, guess what? The first-person combat also kicks serious ass. It feels meaty and direct, with lots of severed limbs flying around.

An open world game with killer traversal and combat. At that point does the story even matter?

Not really, but that’s not to say the story is completely worthless. There are a couple of characters that I found endearing. One is inexplicably played by Rosario Dawson. She is the only “big” name in the cast who lends her likeness, so it is very bizarre when she shows up part way through the game. Her character, Lawan, is genuinely likeable, and I also enjoyed Hakan, the loveable dick. The story is simple - you want to find your missing sister, while also getting revenge on the sinister Waltz who experimented on you as a child.

The only other noteworthy aspect is that you are at risk of turning into a zombie. This comes in the form of a timer when UV light is absent. It adds a sense of urgency to sequences at night or in dark interiors, but is quickly forgotten once you upgrade your timer. There are also chase sequences that can occur at night if seen by certain howler zombies, at which point you must parkour you way to a safe house. This is fun, but can be easily avoided by travelling by rooftop.

That’s about it. I didn’t play the first game, and played this on easy to maximise zombie kicking, so your expectations might be different then mine. But, hey, maybe give it a chance. It’s a fun game.