If I had a dollar for every time I fell in love with a game where Roger Craig Smith voiced a rugged, handsome dude with a scar across his face, who used blades to deal with enemies and parkoured off walls in a European city, somehow, I would have two dollars. Not a lot, but strange nevertheless. Heck, Kyle Crane in Dying Light: The Beast returns with a beard that's almost identical to Ezio Auditore's in 2011's AC Revelations, and honestly, I couldn't possibly complain. As someone who has professed his undying love for Techland's Dying Light for over a decade now and has played through the game seven-and-a-half times, it was always strange to say I'd only played the sequel once.

Dying Light 2 made a lot of missteps, but above all, a huge reason for disappointment in a lot of fans was moving away from Kyle Crane, the first game's protagonist. Now, what was originally supposed to be DLC for Dying Light 2, has come out as a full-fledged individual title, and Dying Light: The Beast gives every Dying Light fan what they wanted — more zombies, more parkour, Kyle Crane, and, the iconic soundtrack from the first game.

Dying Light: The Beast price and availability

Dying Light: The Beast is available on PC, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and GeForce Now. There are no physical editions of the game at launch, and the game comes in two editions:

• Standard Edition ($60): The base game.
• Deluxe Edition ($70): The base game, additional in-game equipment, original soundtrack, a wallpaper pack, and a tourist map in-game marked with notes and points of interest.

Dying Light: The Beast is free for all Dying Light 2: Ultimate Edition owners.

Kyle Crane is certainly a sight for sore eyes

There have mainly been just two things that the marketing campaign for The Beast has relied on: the return of Crane, and the fact that you can turn into a half-volatile monster occasionally and rip limbs off zombies, à la Kratos's Spartan Rage from the God of War games. Thankfully, both of those things have been done remarkably well. Voice acting veteran Roger Craig Smith seems to have slipped back into his role effortlessly, with all of Crane's afflictions and modulations right as they were in the first game.

On the other hand, the 'Beast' mode, wherein you turn into a rage-fueled monster for half a minute, is just about the same as you'd expect. Hit enough zombies or be surrounded by a horde, and Crane goes berserk. It's not a deep system, but neither is the combat system in the larger picture, which, as any Dying Light player would tell you, is just par for the course.

One thing that is immediately noticeable, and something that no other Dying Light game has done before, is how cinematic The Beast is. Sure, it's a first-person game where the entire gameplay is from Crane's perspective, but the game insists on making you see Crane with his beard and scars. It's almost as if it were Techland saying, "You wanted more Crane, right? Well, take him, and see him as much as you can."

Cutscenes are edited rapidly, with characters almost speaking over each other swiftly, and the focus never goes away from Kyle, who is clearly the hero of every frame. It took a while to get used to, but I did come to appreciate the pacing of the cutscenes and the story at large. Never too self-indulgent, but not too superficial, either.

The story is as Dying Light as ever

No Dying Light narrative has ever been too compelling or deep

While 2015's Dying Light had innovated the gaming space with its incredible first-person parkour and zombie-slashing action, everyone and their dog understood that the game wasn't too strong in its story. Crane's motivations kept moving around, the antagonist was rather cookie-cutter, and overall, the narrative only served to push the gameplay forward. And that was completely fine, because this was a gameplay-first title. Despite its weak narrative, I still regard the first Dying Light as one of the greatest zombie games ever made.

I may have finished a hundred hours in Dying Light 2, but truth be told, I would struggle to recall its story beats or narrative, simply because that wasn't all that impactful of a narrative, either. So it only made sense to me when, at the end of 25 hours, Dying Light: The Beast didn't have much to offer in terms of an unforgettable narrative, either.

The story is rather simple, and if you've seen any trailers for the game, it's quite apparent. Crane has been tested on for thirteen years, he escapes the facility, and swears revenge on the man responsible. Truth be told, this one is a little too close to the premise of Dying Light 2, but The Beast does tie together the plot and gameplay loop by introducing 'Chimeras'. Chimeras are a special breed of infected that Crane 'must' take down and harvest for their special juices in order to become stronger, so that he may take down The Baron, the game's antagonist.

In doing so, the game becomes almost Soulslike in part, since you have to go through plenty of mandatory boss fights with zombified bosses of different shapes and sizes to slowly progress through the narrative until Crane feels 'ready' to take down the antagonist. Of course, there are a couple of plot twists here and there, but I do wish that I hadn't seen the biggest one coming in the first ten minutes of the game. That was an absolute bummer, truth be told.

The Baron himself is such a run-of-the-mill, "I-want-power" bad guy that it's hard not to roll your eyes at everything he says, much like Rais from the first game. And yet, since every Dying Light game has always been gameplay-first, it is gameplay where The Beast shines.

It's always the side missions that make Dying Light games memorable

Look, we know that in a Dying Light game, the world has zombies, and there's a bad guy who's human but also worse than the infected. That part is a given. However, what really grounds the Dying Light games and makes them so memorable are its side missions. The stories of other survivors in the infected world who need our help.

Some guy is looking for his father with dementia, another is looking for meds for his mother who doesn't even exist anymore, and sometimes, you end up going down a very deep rabbit hole to stumble on something that becomes far more memorable than the main campaign.

That's the case with Dying Light: The Beast, too. I couldn't possibly find it in myself to pass up on any side quests I got, because I was the one able to parkour off roofs and climb up buildings, and because I was the one with the ability to help everyone who needed it. That's what makes a Dying Light game so memorable, and on that account, The Beast delivers once again. Crane is simply brilliant at being this reluctant hero archetype who doesn't seek to do the right thing, but finds it impossible to pass up on the opportunity to when he's met with one. So, while the main campaign could be over in 20-ish hours, the only way to truly enjoy Dying Light: The Beast is to engage with this world and its inhabitants thoroughly.

More parkour, more gore, more dropkicks

This is the meat and potatoes of any Dying Light game, and The Beast does not disappoint. First and foremost, it manages to avoid major mistakes that Dying Light 2 made. Not only does it nail the gore from the get-go, but it also gives players options for picking grounded parkour over the standard one. If you're the type of gamer who found the parkour in the second game 'floaty', then switching to the more grounded playstyle will be far more enjoyable, with jumps and climbs genuinely feeling tougher and more realistic.

Secondly, the gore is incredibly well-done. A decade-old memory I have is of my mom almost puking at seeing the poisonous zombies in the first game being split in half with a fireman's axe on the TV, but the sequel simply never managed to live up to that. It took years of updates for Dying Light 2 to match the gore of the first game, and even then, there was always something missing.

In Dying Light: The Beast, however, Techland has outdone themselves, and before this, it was Dead Island 2 that had the best ragdoll physics, animations, and gore. Now, The Beast takes that crown in Techland's portfolio, with some impressive gore systems that make every swing and hit carry an incredible amount of weight in it. However, combat is still the same as it has always been in Dying Light. Wield a weapon, dodge at the right time, grapple or kick if you've unlocked those abilities, and see the blood fly in every direction.

Similarly, parkour remains much the same, even though Techland proudly states how they have added a bevy of climbing, shimmying, and jumping animations. They've even stated that there are 17 different animations in the game just for climbing ledges, but the truth of the matter is that there is nothing different in the larger picture. The climbing opportunities and animations are right out of Dying Light 2 and 1, making for a perfect blend of the two games, yes, but also presenting nothing new. However, that also means that this is just as enjoyable as the first game's parkour while, which does get the parkour system a thumbs up.

Regardless, I would have loved to see a full-fledged skill tree, but instead, the game gives players just a handful of upgrades for combat, survivor, and agility skill trees. Once you raise your skill points and get to upgrading your skills, that's when the realization of the game being a glorified DLC hits the hardest, because there are only a bunch of options to upgrade your character.

Outside of parkour, Dying Light: The Beast brings back the driving mechanic from The Following, the brilliant expansion of the first game that was a baffling omission from Dying Light 2. Kyle can now drive 4x4 trucks when he needs to move towards the countryside and forest trails, and the game makes sure there are plenty of missions in those areas to warrant driving. Still, it's a simple driving mechanic that might feel novel if you're coming off of Dying Light 2, but nothing to write home about either way.

In fact, I even found myself actively choosing not to use the pickup truck a lot of times because it really does take you away from the whole feeling of involvement. You're just pressing a button to get to a place while mowing down zombies. It isn't all that impactful from the first-person perspective, either.

The beast mode is incredibly satisfying

This new rage mechanic is decently deep and so, so brutal

The only innovation The Beast does, it mentions in its title. There's a Beast Mode in the game that turns Crane berserk for a few seconds or more, depending on how far the upgrade path you go. It's almost exactly like any other rage mechanic, such as Kratos's Spartan Rage, or Doom's Berserk mode. However, you can unlock plenty of new abilities for the Beast Mode, such as leaping up into the air and coming down hard like a missile, or pounding the ground with your bare hands for an area-of-effect attack on a horde.

The best part about the game's Beast Mode, however, is how Crane quite literally rips the limbs off zombies and even punches them through their bodies, making for some incredibly brutal animations that never get old to look at in wonder. It's especially effective against the bevy of special infected the game regularly pits you against, and while those bosses and mini-bosses might lose their charm and variety after a while, the Beast Mode's various abilities certainly do not.

Every inch of Castor Woods is beautiful

Dying Light: The Beast takes Crane to the Swiss Alps

We know that Dying Light: The Beast was originally supposed to be a DLC expansion for the second game, but it has now been turned into a full-fledged, standalone title. As such, its visual design is far closer to Dying Light 2's Villedor than to Harran from the first game. Still, it's the Swiss Alps, and not a sun-soaked city in Turkey, so the stark visual contrast does manage to remain engaging throughout, esxpecially because the man running across the rooftops and chopping zombie heads off is the same guy.

From sunlit villas and town squares to rain-drenched cliffs and grimy streets, Castor Woods has a lot to offer, and everything it puts on display is marvelous to take in. The woods are a feast for the eyes, whether you're driving through them or running along a dirt trail, tackling stray Infected in your way.

Of course, the visuals shine brightest during parkour sets in the city, and especially the old town area. The game map is not big. If you're expecting something the size of Villedor from the sequel or even Harran from DL1, you'd best curb your expectations. What Castor Woods reminded me of was Prague from Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Small map, yes, but still open-world, and incredibly well-populated with density and meaningful areas and encounters. And yet, turn the HUD off completely once, and if you're lucky and the rain starts pouring, Castor Woods and its streets will have you feeling completely lost in its dangerous expanse.

The nights are as horrifying as ever

One of the most popular and beloved moments in the entire Dying Light franchise is from the first game when the game forces you into your very first night. At night, no matter how strong your weapons or skill trees are, you are the prey, thanks to Volatiles, a special breed of infected common enemy types that roam the night and can sense you, smell you, and hunt you down. The chase sequences with a bunch of volatiles out for blood is something that I, even after ten years and seven playthroughs in the first game, try to avoid, since it gets my heart to begin requesting discharge from my rib cage.

Since I never felt that sort of dread in the sequel, the nights were the part I was most looking forward to in Dying Light: The Beast, and thank the gods (and the devs), they did not disappoint. Night in Castor Woods means pitch-black darkness, with only your flashlight being the sole source of any illumination. Of course, it also acts like a beacon of attention for any Volatiles hunting for you, so you have to use it sparingly, all while keeping your head on a swivel, spamming your Survivor Sense every two seconds.

Suffice to say, the nights are terrifying in Dying Light: The Beast, and it was only after somehow powering through 9 hours of nighttime and getting out of two chase encounters that I realized my grip on the mouse was deathly, and my forehead hurt from my brows being furrowed for so long. The Beast turns into a proper horror game once the sun goes down, so good night, and good luck.

Dying Light: The Beast's PC performance is incredible

Ditching ray-tracing, at least for launch, was the right move

Interestingly, Techland has decided not to incorporate ray-tracing in Dying Light: The Beast at launch in order to provide a more stable day one experience and avoid the pitfalls that worse-optimized games have been finding themselves in lately. In fact, even DICE has decided to do the same with the upcoming Battlefield 6, and I do hope that becomes a trend going forward, especially considering how far rasterized graphics have come today, and how the upside is that more players get to enjoy great framerates for a new AAA title without having smoke coming out of their machines.

This move works in the game's favor in all the right ways. Not only is Dying Light: The Beast optimized well, but it worked flawlessly on my RTX 4070 Ti-powered PC throughout my run, with zero crashes or frame drops. On maxed out graphics at 1440p, I got a casual 60–65 fps at any given time, but I still switched over to DLSS Quality to get a stable 90fps experience throughout the game, regardless of how intensive the areas got or how big the zombie hordes became.

The Beast is a fitting return to form

Dying Light: The Beast isn't a revolution for the franchise at all, but it doesn't need to be, either. This is simply Techland recognizing what fans loved most about the first game and leaning into it with the utmost confidence. We get Kyle Crane back, we get visceral combat, and pulse-pounding nights, all of which feel like a love letter to longtime players who've been asking for exactly this — more Dying Light.

Does the story stumble? Yes. Does it matter? Absolutely not, because the heart of the experience lies in the parkour, the world, and the memorable encounters with survivors and monsters alike. This game felt familiar yet fresh — an epilogue to Crane's legacy that finally gave him back the spotlight we wanted to see him in, scars, beard, and all.