PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
In this standalone expansion to 2022’s Dying Light 2, players step back into the shoes of DL1 protagonist Kyle Crane, following 13 years of questionable experimentation at the hands of a mad scientist known as the Baron. Having escaped the Baron’s facility deep in Castor Woods, Kyle is contacted by a former employee of the Baron, quickly joining forces in an attempt to put an end to the Baron’s evil schemes.
If you’ve played any of the previous Dying Light games before, you sort of know what to expect. Set in a small, fictional but strangely accurate European town, you’ll be meeting survivors, parkouring your way around the town and across rooftops, completing activities and side quests, scavenging for loot, and fighting (or avoiding) hordes of vicious flesh-eating monstrosities which get even more lethal when the sun goes down. If you do choose to engage in combat, you’ll be able to find plenty of weapons and firearms that do the job nicely, with weighty melee attacks that tear chunks off your foes in some delightfully grisly ways and a variety of modification options to add a bit of extra power to your swings and slashes.
The Beast sticks closely to this formula, but on top of the usual main objectives and side quests, you’re now also tasked with hunting down powerful enemies known as Chimera. After killing one, Kyle is able to inject himself with their blood (a result of the Baron’s experiments) to gain their powers. After taking and dealing a certain amount of damage, he’ll automatically go into Beast Mode where he’s able to unleash devastatingly powerful attacks, eviscerating hordes of mutants in seconds. It’s a brutal addition to the series’ already satisfying combat, making The Beast feel a bit more fun and arcade-like than its predecessor.
A more compact map than the one seen in DL2 means that The Beast is a more manageable game for those who maybe don’t have too much spare time on their hands, although the smaller area does lead to a lot of trips back and forth across the town that quickly feels repetitive (it’s less noticeable when played in shorter bursts, though). A handful of updates are on the horizon to extend your time with the game, including the “Call of the Beast” global community challenge that rewards players for their participation with exclusive weekly rewards, as well as a New Game Plus mode, Legend levels and a Nightmare difficulty setting, all expected to arrive by early January. The Beast is a great companion piece, and hints at what the future might have in store for the series’ main characters. Well worth a look!
