It's fair to say that before its release last week, Dying Light 2 fans were a little skeptical of the game and whether it could live up to the lofty expectations it had garnered for itself over the last four years. While the first game was considered a little rough around the edges, it showed a great deal of potential, with combat and parkour mechanics that easily rivaled some of the best AAA action games of the time. With fairly regular reports of development troubles, and multiple delays, Dying Light 2 seemed to be edging closer to the development hell that Dead Island 2 currently resides in.
However, Dying Light 2 finally released last week, and although it isn't perfect due to some bugs and a story that isn't all that engaging, it's a marked improvement over the first, taking the groundwork that was laid by the original and innovating upon every aspect that made the first so unique and enjoyable. With a first game in the series acting as a good base for the second to really shine, Dying Light 2 conjures up memories of another franchise that had similar beginnings.
Setting The Bar For Future Entries
On the surface, Dying Light 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 only have one real obvious similarity, their shared affinity for a parkour traversal system. Aside from that one glaring aspect, the two games are very different from a gameplay and narrative perspective. Where Dying Light 2 is a first-person game that focuses on melee combat against the zombie horde, Assassin's Creed 2 is a stealth-based, third-person action game that revolves around historical figures and a mysterious war between two ancient factions.
It's under the surface that these two games start to share some real similarities, though. When Assassin's Creed released in 2007, it made a sizable impact on the general gaming public. In a year so jam-packed with stellar releases like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, and Super Mario Galaxy, the fact that a brand-new IP was able to take the spotlight for even just a moment was impressive, and Assassin's Creed managed to do just that.
Although it's pretty rough to revisit today, the first Assassin's Creed laid the groundwork for every Assassin's Creed game that would follow it, and even some other third-person action games along with them. Going back now, the combat in Assassin's Creed is a bit unresponsive and clunky, and the parkour feels as though it's taking much longer than it should. The game also hadn't quite nailed down the artistic or narrative direction that it wanted to take, leading to a lot of environments looking a little muddy and unclear. Further, the narrative struggles to balance a historical plot with fantasy elements, and a modern day plot with uninteresting characters and unknown stakes is another downside.
When Assassin's Creed 2 came along in 2009, the franchise really turned heads. Honing in and improving upon all the aspects that made the first such a unique experience, Assassin's Creed 2 reviewed extremely well, with its refined combat and parkour taking center stage as reasons to pick up the game. Assassin's Creed 2 also looked much better than its predecessor due to some more vibrant and clear environments, and it had a much more polished story with relatable and exciting characters.
Dying Light 2 is essentially doing the same thing as Assassin's Creed 2. Where the first Dying Light had some interesting and innovative combat and parkour mechanics, the sequel has really refined these mechanics to near-perfection, giving players a range of new upgrades and abilities that make traversing the massive open-world an absolute joy. It seems safe to say that Dying Light 2 has really cemented the franchise in the public conscious, and that any potential sequels are almost-certainly going to use the groundwork and refinements laid by Dying Light 2.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
