I wasn't expecting to enjoy Dying Light: The Beast as much as I have. Being someone who has missed the previous games in the franchise, despite loving a good survival horror, The Beast feels like a perfect introduction point and one that I highly recommend for fellow newcomers looking in from the outside.
Most of what I have to say about The Beast comes from that unique and fresh perspective of someone new to the franchise. Whether intentionally or not, developer Techland crafted The Beast as a somewhat self-contained story that anyone can enjoy. You do control the protagonist of the first game, Kyle Crane, but the game takes place 13 years after the original in a completely new location: the Western Alps.
The premise is extremely straightforward: Kyle, after years of being experimented on by a hilariously cartoony villain called the Baron, is set free. Now, lost in a completely new environment, he finds himself helping out the resilient population of Castor Woods as he looks to recruit them in the fight against the Baron.
The Beast presents you with a quick recap of Kyle's journey up to this point if you're interested in the lore. Still, more importantly, it kicks off the gameplay loop almost immediately: fight zombies, craft items to fight zombies, loot items to help you fight zombies, and... you get the gist. There is a human element to it, as in, you won't be facing only zombies, but for the most part, the undead is what you should worry about during your early hours of play.
Kyle's main gimmick in this game is his Beast Mode, a state in which he goes completely berserk for a set amount of time, making you able to dispatch hordes of enemies in the blink of an eye. Throughout the story, you'll be tasked with taking down Chimeras that will allow you to power up your Beast Mode. Chimeras are other Baron experimental subjects that roam the area. Taking down one will net you special Beast Skill points for the unique tree tailored for Kyle's Beast Mode. Initially, it'll seem a bit underwhelming, as you won't even be able to manually trigger the transformation, but once you start reaping the rewards of farming Chimeras, it'll make you feel extremely overpowered for a set amount of time. You'll gain the ability to trigger it on command, toss massive rocks to clear waves of enemies swiftly, or even pull off Hulk-like feats like a huge ground pound and gigantic leaps that make traversal incredibly satisfying.
The Chimera boss fights are okay. Presentation-wise, these beats look impressive. Massive behemoths are ready to take down Kyle, offering unique gameplay mechanics. They just don't hit the right notes to make them particularly memorable.
All that aside, regular Kyle does have access to neat abilities that will come in handy later on. Can't tell you how much fun I have dropkicking zombies off a rooftop or even incinerating hordes of them with a flamethrower. The downside of this progression is that the early hours might feel clunky. In a game and series that prides itself on delivering players crisp parkour-based mobility, I was second-guessing myself after undergoing some subpar experiences while trying to leap from one roof to another. Things just felt a bit off, and as it turns out, the more you level up, the better Kyle gets at parkour. Thematically, it makes sense, considering the main protagonist has been in painful isolation for over a decade, and he might be a little rusty in the art of dangerously walking the line between life and death. Gameplay-wise, it just feels like a slog; the game doesn't even tell you exactly how parkour was improved. You only receive a small notification telling you it has been upgraded, somehow. At that point, I don't know if it was a placebo effect or meaningful changes kicking in, but the more you level up, the more seamless everything becomes.
Once that initial hurdle is gone and you start unlocking better movement options (including a game-changing grappling hook), the game really started clicking for me. Contrary to what the setting might indicate, I found this to be a very cozy experience. Exploring the nearby abandoned Dark Zones (buildings holding rare loot), helping the townsfolk with some very interesting side quests, and slowly expanding how far I could explore beyond the main area by unlocking safe zones made progress feel real. The open world is decently sized but not to the point of feeling overwhelming, adding to that sense of meaningful exploration, as you won't get hit with the dread of opening your map and seeing that securing that last outpost crawling with zombies was for naught, as it barely covers an insignificant portion of the explorable area.
The areas you can explore are varied enough to keep The Beast's exploration fresh. If you're bored with Castor Wood's main area, you can take a stroll through the lush forests that surround the town. Go for some cave-exploration, and even visit an abandoned Mental Asylum; what could go wrong?
You'll want to consistently secure safe zones, as nighttime is super stressful. The undead are more aggressive, and Volatiles start spawning. These are tough-as-nails zombies that will chase you down and take down Kyle almost instantly. Your best bet is to outmaneuver them, but if you're feeling lucky, you can try to tackle them head-on, especially if you have your Beast Mode gauge filled. That said, the one time I managed to take down one (it was amid a scramble with some of Baron's forces while doing a main quest), my reward was barely worth it, so be advised.
Speaking of combat against humans, it does become increasingly frustrating, even in Dying Light: The Beast's equivalent of normal mode (Survival). They are extremely agile and consistently dodge your attacks, so the usual slice-and-dice strategy that works on most zombies is basically a no-go, forcing you most of the time to use guns. Ammo is scarce and is a hot commodity in this game, so the feeling of essentially being forced to save it to deal with the Baron's forces feels discouraging. Oftentimes, I avoided random encounters across the map when I saw they weren't your run-of-the-mill zombies.
Speaking of precious commodities, I'm satisfied with the implementation of the weapon durability system in this game. I don't love it, I'll never love weapon degradation mechanics, but it isn't as intrusive. You can repair a tool a set amount of times before having to completely discard it. It'll at least let you have some fun with a unique weapon rather than having that thought lingering in the back of your head that says you should save it for a bigger threat.
Overall, I'm extremely happy I gave Dying Light: The Beast a chance in an incredibly busy period for gaming. Zipping around rooftops, collecting loot, and dismembering zombies feels cathartic. It's a game that isn't overtly ambitious and does the thing it sets out to do just right.
This might feel disappointing for veterans of the series, but as a newcomer, I'm even considering jumping back and seeing what I have been missing out on.
Game code provided by the developer for the purpose of this review.