Alongside combat, parkour is one of the two main gameplay pillars of Dying Light 2. With it, players can run, jump, climb, and traverse the city of Villedor in ways that no other video game franchise can provide. Certain parkour skills also feed into Dying Light 2's combat system and provide players with more creative avenues to kill both human and zombie enemies alike.
The beginning of Dying Light 2 takes place in Old Villedor, as it is here where players learn the basics of combat, parkour, and general survival. They begin to develop a gameplay loop that revolves around helping people around the city during the daytime and taking to the rooftops and scrounging for supplies in buildings at night. But just as tedium begins to set in, Dying Light 2's story takes players on an entirely new ride.
Dying light 2: Intro to Villedor
After completing Dying Light 2's long first act, players unlock the city proper. In contrast to Old Villedor which is mostly comprised of residences and a few commercial buildings, the rest of the city is teeming with skyscrapers that have multiple floors. Each of these floors has its own explorable layout, loot, and of course, human and zombie enemies. While some of these buildings can be traversed via parkour, ziplines, and the many trampolines that players can install if they side with the Survivors, most of these tall structures are too high and too far apart.
To make traversal in Dying Light 2 easier, players are gifted with a paraglider upon entering the main city. With it, they can cover huge distances and alter their altitude in a matter of seconds. Though the paraglider eats away at stamina, flying over one of the many air vents dotted around the city can easily replenish it and allow players to glide for as long as they want (the paraglider can also be upgraded to allow for higher and farther gliding).
This new gadget also serves as a replacement for the first Dying Light's grappling hook - a device that allows player character Kyle Crane to instantly zip to a specified location. While the grappling hook makes a return in Dying Light 2, it serves as more of a situational gadget that lets players swing from specific anchor points found throughout the game. If getting around fast is what players want to do, then the paraglider is the tool for the job.
Dying Light 2: Parkour vs. Paraglider
Gliding around Villedor with the paraglider is extremely fun and quickly overtakes general parkour movement as some players' favored method of transport. All players need to do is leap a small distance and activate the paraglider as they fall. It's convenient, easy, and uses up the same resource that parkour does. Many of Dying Light 2's parkour challenges and platforming puzzles become trivial thanks to the paraglider, and some can be even skipped entirely if players have enough altitude.
Parkour in Dying Light 2, on the other hand, is more cerebral and requires players to be "in the moment" as they actively plan their routes and calculate how much stamina is required to traverse their intended paths. More button inputs are required to move from building to building via parkour as compared to the single button press it takes to open the paraglider mid-fall. Parkour is fun in its own right, but when players just want to shut their brains off and get from point A to point B in the fastest and easiest way possible, then paragliding provides them with a way to do so.
Paragliding On The Streets, Parkour In The Buildings
Thankfully, Dying Light 2 does find a healthy balance between parkour and paragliding. Enclosed spaces and scenarios that require more pinpoint platforming are generally better for parkour as there isn't enough space to open the paraglider. Likewise, areas that are too high and have no adjacent buildings that can be easily glided from (such as the colossal VNC Tower in the middle of the map) force players to bust out the old freerunning skills to scale them.
On the other hand, areas with more space and plenty of vents are where the paraglider shines. The main city of Villedor (as well as Old Villedor, once the electricity comes back to the city) is a haven for paragliders looking to spread their proverbial wings and fly. With the upgrades to the paraglider installed, players can have the adrenaline rush they get from parkouring while enjoying the convenience that Fast Travel provides. It's a nice in-between which allows players to complete activities and access new areas without exerting too much effort. Paragliding may not be one of the core gameplay pillars of the franchise, but it blends really well with Dying Light 2's traversal system.
Dying Light 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version is in development.
