Dying Light 2 is out on 7th December 2021 – see the new gameplay trailer here

Dying Light 2 will be coming out on 7th December 2021, Techland has confirmed in their first ‘Dying 2 Know’ stream. Dying Light 2 will be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

The stream also featured a good look at the game world through a new gameplay trailer of the parkour-filled open world zombie apocalypse sequel.

The gameplay trailer gives a broader look at the game, compared to the more focussed E3 2019 trailer. You play as Aiden Caldwell, having to survive in this treacherous city filled with multiple factions. Aiden, as with all characters in the world, is infected, wearing a biomarker that indicates how close they are to turning to a zombie-that-isn’t-a-zombie.

You see, Dying Light 2 takes place 20 years after the events of the first game. Following the first game, the city of Harran was put into an Exclusion Zone, while scientists decided to keep on experimenting on the virus. Cutting a bit close to, you know, reality, a more virulent strain of the virus escapes from a Geneva laboratory in late 2021 and goes on to wipe out 98% of the world’s population, with just the final city of Villedor a bastion of mankind… well, during the day.

There’s three main factions in the game, each with their own characters, and as you try to cut your way through this “modern Dark Age”, you might have to advantage one or the other, or as you restore water and electricity to a region, assign it to a faction and maybe unlock different rewards.

At night, that’s when the real nasties come out. That’s when the more heavily mutated zombies that come out at night, going beyond what was encountered in the first game, whether it’s with icky tendrils coming out of their backs, long claw-like hands, or just being much bigger and able to slam an impromptu weapon around. You’ll have to outrun them using the game’s parkour to get back to the well lit safe zones, but there’s also rewards with nests of zombies that would be filled during the day now being empty.

Dying Light 2 was announced during E3 2018 (which seems like a lifetime ago) and was originally slated for release in early 2020 before Techland announced it would be delayed in order to give the team more time to spruce up their zombie-infested sandbox sequel.

Despite being one of the most exciting upcoming video game releases, Dying Light 2 has been mired in controversy. Delays of big AAA games usually come tagged with stories of stifled development, those surrounding Techland citing key staff departures, allegations of hostile working conditions, and the exit of Chris Avellone following sexual abuse allegations in 2020. There’s been reports and speculation that the game has entered “development hell”, though Techland’s bosses are obviously keen to dispel such rumours. Presenting a good game showcase on Thursday would go a long way to doing just that.

A new edition of the original game, Dying Light: Platinum Edition, has been released as well, bundling together every piece of content ever released for the first game into a new lower-priced package.