When the first Dying Light came out, I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had. I will unashamedly admit that I decided to opt out of the competitive multiplayer portion of the game. Instead my friend and I pretty much binge played it through the entire Christmas Holiday while we were away from our families.

So when a new gameplay trailer for Dying Light 2 dropped at E3(along side many many others), I was pretty excited!

Dying Light 2: E3 2018 Announcement Trailer

This time around it looks like there will be a much heavier emphasis on the human element of the post-apocalyptic world. This is definitely a good sign for people like me who are interested in the single player story.

After the initial reveal, a representative from Techland studio went up on stage, and gave a fairly comprehensive demo of how your choices impact the game.

Dying Light 2: E3 2018 Gameplay World Premier

In the example on screen the player is completing a mission for a faction known as “The Peacekeepers”. In the mission you are sent to negotiate with two survivors who are controlling and hording a water supply in the city.

In the demo the player was presented with a series of dialog options, but it is unclear in this scenario whether or not a peaceful resolution can be found. Regardless, the player in the demo decides to attack and kill the survivors, freeing up the water supply for the city below.

This results in a tangible change throughout the city now that the Peacekeepers are able to maintain control of the area. Parts of the city are built, and there is now running water available for the citizens and players to use at a whim.

However this comes at a cost of increasing the degree of control that The Peacekeepers have on the city. While for some players this may be ideal, players looking to court multiple factions could see a negative impact to those at odds with The Peacekeepers.

The demo then re-winds back to the decision point with the survivors who own the water. This time instead of siding with The Peacekeepers, the player chooses to work with the survivors to supply water on the black market. This decision leads to a significant increase in personal wealth, but in turn attracts all manner of seedy individuals to the city.

According to the demo there will be HUNDREDS of these decisions to make. Assuming that many of them have a similar impact to this water supply decision, this means that each player’s city could look drastically different.

Now this type of divergent gameplay is not a new concept in gaming. For example Fallout: New Vegas is a great example of a game where your choices have a meaningful impact on the city.

Furthermore I would not cite the first Dying Light as an example of a game with excellent Roleplay. This type of gameplay is definitely uncharted territory for the franchise, but I have to give them credit for taking what appears to be an earnest shot at innovating in the series.

My last concern is the relative lack of monsters in the E3 material. It was hinted at in the presser that, like in the original title, monsters would be a much bigger factor during the night. I just hope that the creatures that are a key part of Dying Lights DNA don’t take a secondary role to the fleshed out faction system.

Whether or not this game is worth a full price purchase will be dependent on more details as they are released. However, I think there is a pretty good chance I will buy this game close to release. Especially if my friend and I can carve out a weekend to dedicate to playing it through.

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