Last Updated on Sep 24, 2025 @ 13:27:08 PM.
Dying Light: The Beast is finally here, after what has felt like an age since its reveal, and for the last few weeks, I’ve been getting stuck into zombie after zombie, and cutting a path through them to find out whether Techland’s DLC-come-full release is worth the wait. After nearly thirty hours (so far), I can firmly say, it really is.
Plenty of us enjoyed Dying Light 2: Stay Human, myself included, but at the same time, a large portion of us were also quite vocal that something was missing in the second installment of the franchise, something that made the first one great. The night portion of the day/night cycle wasn’t particularly scary anymore, made too easy and far too bright, alongside other changes made to make the franchise more accessible and ‘enjoyable’.
Now, three years after the release of Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Dying Light: The Beast has ‘fixed’ a lot of what we considered problems in the second installment, whilst building on the franchise with numerous improvements.
The day/night cycle, and what it brings to the gameplay, has always been the selling point of the franchise, at least for me, and I’m happy to say it’s arguably better now than it ever has been. During the day, planning your route through streets and over rooftops is difficult enough with the zombies scattered around, but at night, it’s nigh on a death sentence. The nighttime is pitch black. There’s very little artificial lighting, your own flashlight is limited, and it doesn’t take a lot for you to get lost (even in the most familiar parts of the maps), making it a terrifying experience to leave the safety of your safehouses. The terror is back. In fact, the terror has far surpassed anything previously done by Techland. It’s genuinely impressive.
It wouldn’t be a Dying Light review if I didn’t highlight the zombies, and more specifically, both the body damage mechanics and the different types of zombies on hand. The entire time I was playing through, I couldn’t help but be seriously impressed by the body damage mechanic Techland has introduced, where there’s a ridiculous number of unique animations depending on where you’re hitting the zombie in question, and with what type of weapon. From carving off arms with a sword to seeing skulls caved in from blunt weapons and everything in between, the immersion offered from seeing a unique response to my actions never got boring, and even after all this time, I’m still experiencing new instances. The developers responsible for that mechanic definitely need a raise.
As for the types of zombies present, the studio has amped that up to eleven, with the regular zombies returning, the terrifying Volatiles making their usual appearance (and being responsible for many instances of brown trousers during night runs), and as a new addition, we now have Chimaera’s, huge, hulking monsters that are the result of the Baron’s experiments. If anything, they’re like mini bosses and can be quite the problem if you’re not prepared. Beating them does give a handy power-up for our returning protagonist, Kyle Crane, so don’t be so scared of them that you’ll avoid them.
Talking of Kyle Crane, the much-loved protagonist from the first game makes a return, with Roger Craig Smith also returning to lend his voice to the aggressive, surly, yet loveable icon. But – and it’s a big but -, it’s not Crane as we knew him before. His story picks up some twenty years after we last saw him, with him having suffered at the hands of a new antagonist, ‘The Baron’, a powerful man who prior to the outbreak, ran a pharmaceutical company, and now uses those skills and resources to experiment on zombies, humans, and everything in between. Spoilers, he’s to blame for the new Chimaera’s running around Castor Woods.
Having been experimented on himself, our new look Kyle Crane has some nifty powers of his own, presented in a berserker-like mode that’ll enable you quite literally to punch through chests, rip off arms, and many more brutal, beautiful, and gory ‘superpowers’. With a separate skill tree completely, you’ll be waiting for the Beast meter to fill up so you can unleash it more and more, trying out your new skills, and all-around being an absolute badass.
With its origins as a DLC, the new environment of Castor Woods being ‘smaller’ than the huge city landscape of Dying Light 2: Stay Human is not a bad thing. In fact, quite the opposite. It offers a claustrophobic feeling, even when dashing across the rooftops, as no matter where you turn, there’s ALWAYS a zombie, Volatile, or Chimaera nearby, and it doesn’t ever let up. Your urgency to get those safe houses secured will be far more in Dying Light: The Beast than it ever was in the previous entry of the zombie-slaying, parkour franchise.
With all that said, there are some mechanics that weren’t improved, or seemingly not a great deal. In my opinion it doesn’t feel like much, if anything, was really done to the parkour system, and feels the same to me as in the second, and the engine itself, whilst having its beautiful moments (especially at sunset), doesn’t push the boundaries of graphical fidelity – but it does run especially well, with only minor issues every now and then.
Dying Light: The Beast may be more difficult than some new fans are expecting, but for longtime fans of the franchise, it’s exactly what we’ve been calling for for years. From desperate, terrified moments making me shout at the TV to the slower story beats that make me care for my new compatriots, Dying Light: The Beast had it all.
You are Kyle Crane, and after years of brutal experiments, you want revenge. Experience a unique blend of open world and survival horror as you hunt down the man who transformed you into half man, half beast.
Summary
Dying Light: The Beast is a return to the zombie-slaughter, parkour-jumping form we needed, and it never disappoints. From huge hordes to new enemies, human and not, it’ll not only have you running for your life, but desperately seeking out shelter in a way the franchise has been missing for a while. Horror fan? Zombie fan? Parkour fan? All-out-carnage fan? You won’t regret getting Techland’s latest offering.
HOURS PLAYED: 29
PLAYED ON: PS5
- Visceral combat with an added onus on gunplay.
- Claustrophobic, terrifying and utterly unnerving night time play returns.
- The new Beast Mode powers offer a new aspect to the gameplay that'll be hard to ignore going forward.
- Parkour can be frustrating if you're not paying attention, with it being far too easy to fall.
- Without spamming your Survivor Sense, it can be awkward to travel to where you need to, especially indoors.
Dying Light: The Beast is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
For more Thumb Wars, don’t hesitate to go and check out our review of Borderlands 4, or our interview with Chris Stone, Ready or Not General Manager.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
