Summary
DuringGamescom’s Opening Night Live, Techland announcedDying Light: The Beast,the latest entry in its zombie franchise.Dying Light: The Beastsees the return of the originalDying Light’s protagonist, Kyle Crane, a former member of the United States Armed Forces who was hired and trained by the Global Relief Effort (GRE) to infiltrate the zombie-infested city of Harran.Crane was only mentionedby name inDying Light 2, which told a different story in a new location following Aiden Caldwell, butDying Light: The Beastis set to show what happened to Crane 13 years after the events of the firstDying Light, and could actually go a long way in improving one gameplay element I was a bit disappointed in when playingDying Light 2.
[Warning: The following story contains spoilers forDying Light,Dying Light: The Following, and Dying Light 2.]The last time we saw Kyle Crane was duringDying Light’s story expansion,The Following, where he met a sentient Volatile called The Mother, who was part of a mysterious cult called “Children of the Sun.” As their name would suggest, the group worshipped the Sun, but they also appeared to be immune or invisible to the infected, leading Crane to believe they may have some kind of cure. It was later revealed thatThe Mother used an airborne serum on her followers and Crane that very slowly began to transform them into creatures like her.
Sentient Volatiles are peaceful and more human-like in the day - barring their appearance - but turn uncontrollably feral at night like the normal Volatiles players could encounter in the game. Unlike normal Volatiles, they don’t burn when exposed to UV rays.
By the end of the expansion, players were presented with two options: to either have Crane help the Mother bring an end to the spread of the Harran virus by detonating a nuclear warhead at the cost of thousands of lives - including those of the friends he has spent the entirety of the base game fighting for - or he can refuse the Mother and try to take the remaining serum in liquid form, stubbornly still believing it to be a cure despite the Mother’s warnings.
The nuclear option doesn’t involve a boss fight against the Mother and the Children of the Sun, as Crane stands with the Mother peacefully as they hear the countdown to detonation.
This led to two endings, one in which the screen went white and Harran was destroyed, and another, more sinister one where Crane seemed to escape Harran as a sentient Volatile just as the sun was beginning to set on a nearby playground with some kids out past their curfew screaming in terror beforethe screen fades to black and Crane lets out a Volatile scream, revealing that he has unleashed the Harran virus upon the rest of the world.Seeing as there’s no way in which Crane could have survived being right next to a nuclear detonation, it’s clear thatDying Light: The Beasthas deemed the ending in which he became a Volatile to be canon.
Why Kyle Crane Isn’t In Dying Light 2
Although mentioned by a recurring character from the previous game, Dying Light’s Kyle Crane does not make an appearance in Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
Kyle Crane Will “Unleash The Beast” In Dying Light: The Beast
Volatile Powers Seem To Be Part Of Crane’s Abilities
The new trailer forDying Light: The Beastseemed to suggest as much, as while the kind of first-person gameplay players have come to expect from the series - using melee weapons and parkour to survive - was shown, it opened with an extremely agile infected - most likely a Volatile from the sounds being made - hunting several soldiers in a woodland area and an abandoned building, alternating between general footage of the soldiers and the actual perspective of the creature hunting them before revealing a scarred Crane as his voiceover says, “Every man has an animal within. If you push too much, you might unleash the beast.” as he overlooks the once-popular tourist destination of Castor Woods.
While Crane was clearly transforming entirely into a Volatile at the end ofThe Following, he certainly appears more human here, with a press release stating that he has escaped captivity after 13 years of enduring experiments, suggesting that he was caught not too long after escaping Harran and that his captors may have found a way to suppress the complete Volatile transformation. Even so, it seems likeCrane will be able to use some of his newer mutated abilitiesin the new adventure, as not only did the gameplay show the aforementioned footage of hunting as an infected, but the press release - and the description on the game’s store page onSteam- said the following:
“They caged you like an animal. Years of brutal experimentation took its toll, but the zombie DNA and yours are now intertwined so that you are able to unleash a beast-like power. It flows through your veins. No one can take it from you. Use it. And you’ll discover it’s not just a curse.”
What exactly this “beast-like power” is has yet to be seen, but it could be similar to that of Aiden’s inDying Light 2, where he could kill enemies with one hit. It looks like Crane’s may also feature some added agility, perhaps taking the character’s parkour skills to another level, as the hunting sequence showed him getting the drop on his enemies from above. Personally, I’d love to see some elements from the first game’sBe The Zombiemultiplayer mode, where those who played as the infected could fire tendrils to zip easily across points to catch up with the human characters' parkour quickly. AlthoughDying Light: The Beastwas originally intended as DLC forDying Light 2before becoming its own expansion, it’s possible that Techland could have just used Aiden’s infected abilities, but considering how Crane’s been heavily experimented on since his encounter with the Mother, there’s plenty of potential for newer abilities.
You Might Get To Play Dying Light: The Beast For Free
Techland announced Dying Light: The Beast, the latest standalone entry in its zombie franchise, but it was originally intended as a DLC.
I Hope We Get To Use Crane’s Zombie Powers More Often Than We Did With Aiden
Prior to its launch,Dying Light 2teased that Aiden’s story would involve the use of infected abilities, having been bitten by a Volatile early in the game, and the general gameplay loop did warn Aiden if he spent too long in dark areas without taking UV shrooms he could turn, leading to a mission failure. It was even hinted that this struggle with the zombie side would be a much greater part of the game through its full title,Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
As the campaign progresses,Aiden’s infection gradually deteriorates, and he slips into something called “zombie mode,” which can also be called “beast mode.“This sees a special filter where all potential targets are marked in orange as the rest of the world blurs out - a progression of theBe The Zombieperspective where the world was grey except for traversal points, hazards, and enemies, with the latter appearing in an x-ray form - as Aiden becomes far stronger and faster.
The perspective of the infected inDying Light: The Beast’s trailer didn’t seem to match this; instead, it appeared more like normal vision but with a slight orange vignette.
The biggest disappointment to me was that this mode could not be activated at will, as these transformation sequences were scripted and only occurred at specific moments inDying Light 2’s plot. With theDying Light: The Beastpress release encouraging players to use the beast-like power and stating that it “flows through [Crane’s] veins,” I’m hopeful that this means these “beast abilities” can be tapped into more regularly in general gameplay, providing a more unique experience that sets it apart from the other titles in the series. The press release and Steam store description hinted that,much like a sentient Volatile, Crane’s changes may only take place at night, flipping thethreat of the day and night cyclepresent in the other games, as this time, Crane becomes the monster after dark, as it states:
“The day brings many possibilities to explore the region and make the most of your time while the sun is still out. But after sundown, the laws of nature take their course. Darkness tends to bring out the worst in the horde, leaving you with no other choice but to run, hide, or fight.”
Players shouldn’t have to wait too much longer to find out exactly how Crane’s abilities will play out, asTechland has confirmed it will reveal more story details aboutDying Light: The Beast,including the release date, later this year.In the meantime, players can wishlist the title now on Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox, and PlayStation to stay up to date.
