NO SPOILERS REVIEW
I liked the first game a lot, but even one year after the release, for me, Dying Light 2 is still a downgrade in almost every way.
So many things are changed or adjusted to the point that it's not Dying Light anymore. It feels like a Ubisoft game with a big, open world, forgettable characters, and a story that drags on too long, coupled with excessive grinding for cool gear.
This game demands an excessive amount of grinding if you seek the best weapons, requiring you to kill countless hordes of zombies for trophies to upgrade your consumables or weapon mods. You'll find yourself repeatedly traversing identical-looking areas for inhibitors to increase your stamina or health, or gathering "valuable" resources. Unfortunately, the XP gains from parkouring or fighting in the daytime are very small compared to the first game. One of the faster methods to level up is by climbing windmills, which can be fun because they require parkouring to reach the top, but overall, it gives me a strong modern Ubisoft game vibe that I'm not fond of.
The combat is alright, and melee hits are satisfying enough, but the skills are incredibly unrealistic and weird to use. One thing I dislike is having to battle against humans, who can be annoying to fight against because they block a lot. Overall, the combat system is not terrible, but neither is it exceptional. The Volatiles are fewer but much harder to kill, and it's just very unfun, to be honest. Even in the late game, I wasn't able to kill them without sweating too hard. Perhaps I didn't grind enough for good gear. Most of the perks aren't useful to use. Furthermore, the game lacks any ranged weapons, which is a negative.
The atmosphere is also subpar compared to the first game. The nights are less dark and terrifying, and while the brighter colors make the game look beautiful, they detract from the realism and post-apocalyptic feel that the first game has. This is mostly subjective, though. Another thing that ties into the atmosphere is the emphasized RPG elements. Everything has stats and health bars, and while the first game had some RPG elements, I feel like they are more pronounced and frustrating in this game.
The parkour can also be subjective, but I think that it is much worse in this game. It feels incredibly floaty, unrealistic, and sometimes unresponsive. They added new ways of traversing the world, with the ParaGlider being the most significant addition. You can now glide through the city, but I would prefer only having the parkour system from the first game. The changes they made to the climbing and jumping mechanics detract from the experience and the ParaGlider isn't enough to make it better. They also modified the grappling hook, which, in my opinion, isn't as enjoyable to use as in the first game, although it does better suit the environment.
The graphics are decent, but nothing groundbreaking. The optimization is better than in most modern games, and there's a decent selection of settings to enhance the visual quality and performance. As for the soundtrack, I prefer the first game's music, but this is more than decent as well.
The co-op mode is plagued with bugs that disrupt the flow and immersion of the game. You may encounter issues such as sound glitches, cutscenes not triggering properly, and very buggy interactions with NPCs and buttons. Although I didn't experience any game-breaking bugs, the overall experience was less than decent.
The story, unfortunately, is lackluster and failed to captivate me. I don't think I can explain what I mean by that, without going too deep into the story. The choices in the dialogue are often poorly executed or confusing. The protagonist, Aiden, is forgettable and uninteresting, and the other characters you meet are equally unremarkable, with the exception of the main villain. It's been only a little bit since I finished the game, but I struggle to remember much of the plot beyond the opening and the ending.
In conclusion, Dying Light 2 falls short of living up to the high expectations set by its predecessor. While it's not a terrible game, it is not exceptional either, and it introduces new elements that don't quite fit with the original formula. The excessive grinding for cool gear, forgettable characters, and lackluster story all contribute to a less-than-stellar experience. Additionally, while the combat and graphics are decent, they are not enough to make up for the game's flaws. Overall, while Dying Light 2 can be enjoyable to some extent, it is likely to disappoint those expecting a worthy successor to the beloved original.
