I look back on my time with the first Dying Light fondly. I was in a different space, working a dead-end retail job and living at home with my parents, but I spent so much time with friends, messing around, killing zombies, and wreaking havoc in Techland’s world. There are undoubtedly videos somewhere on YouTube documenting the nonsense we got up to.

There was something so joyous and cathartic about slicing through zombies with weapons I’d crafted with a bunch of friends. As my life moved on, co-op games became a smaller part of it, but my Dying Light: The Beast preview at Gamescom reminded me of the good times I had, and left me itching to reconnect with those friends for one more round of handmade carnage.

Dying Light: The Beast Perfectly Captures The Feelings Of The First Game

In 2021, I previewed Dying Light 2. I remember being impressed with the four hours I played, but after further reflection, I felt it strayed a little too far from what made the original game so special. Ultimately, this was enough to put me off playing it. With The Beast, we might be back.

Dying Light 2’s map design didn’t click with me. I wanted to spend my time parkouring around a big city, but much of the early part of the game is spent in far less built-up areas that just felt barren and isolated. While Dying Light: The Beast doesn’t necessarily rectify the issue, you spend much of your time in the Swiss wilderness, where everything felt super cohesive.

I spent around 30 minutes in the game, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, before making my way across a giant bridge into a more secluded environment, albeit one still loaded with infected to survive. It felt exactly as game director Nathan Lemaire described to me, like “a completely different experience.” I had to manage my resources differently, knowing that they’d be more scarce out here, and there were fewer places for me to run and hide. If all went belly up, though, I knew I had my trusty drop kick.

Not only was it effective, but it was also hilarious, and gratuitously gory.

Of course, while exploration and parkour are often the draw of Dying Light, its combat is where the series shines. The Beast is no different.

During my preview, Techland ensured I was armed to the teeth. I got to toy around with the new grenade launcher, flamethrower, and saw-blade gun. They’re all as brutal as they sound, and each one offers a different way to approach combat.

The grenade launcher was effective for dispersing crowds or inflicting serious damage on tanks. The flamethrower was similar, but it did significant chip damage. But for me, the most fun was the saw-blade gun.

Lethally precise, the saw-blade gun viciously removed limbs from the unsuspecting infected. It meant that if they were barreling towards me, I could swiftly remove a leg, sending them toppling to the floor. Not only was it effective, it was hilarious, and gratuitously gory — everything you want from a Dying Light game.

During my interview with Lemaire, he said that the new weapons were one of his favourite changes to the game, and after testing them out, I can see why.

While my time with Dying Light: The Beast was relatively short, I had a lot of fun. It feels like it epitomises everything the franchise can be, and really is, as Lemaire told me, the culmination of “ten years of expertise into making Dying Light the ultimate zombie game franchise.”

At TheGamer, we’ve already previewed Dying Light: The Beast twice. If you want some additional thoughts, you can check out Eric Switzer’s preview from a post-Summer Game Fest event here and Axel Bosso’s Gamescom preview from last year here.

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Dying Light: The Beast

RPG Action Horror Systems Released September 19, 2025 ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Use of Drugs Developer(s) Techland Publisher(s) Techland Multiplayer Online Co-Op Franchise Dying Light PC Release Date September 19, 2025 Xbox Series X|S Release Date September 19, 2025
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