Techland's Dying Light: The Beast will soon be upon fans of the franchise. While it inherits everything that came before it, Dying Light: The Beast has taken on its own identity and will have a lot to show for its direction shift.
The upcoming Dying Light: The Beast will take fans back to the series' zombie-infested world in more ways than one. Not only will players be thrust back into the franchise's iconic parkour action,but they'll be able to take on the role of Kyle Crane—the first game's protagonist. With the grand return of Crane and a litany of horror adventures waiting in the Castor Woods, The Best War Games sat down with members of the Techland team, including franchise director Tymon Smektala and quest director Kalina Sobierajska, who spoke on the series' community and hopes for the future. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Dying Light: The Beast Hands-On Preview - I Left a Bloody Mess in My Wake
After four hours with Dying Light: The Beast, it's clear that the franchise's key pillars are all on full and gloriously brutal display.
How The Series' Community Shaped Dying Light: The Beast
The Best War Games: Can you recall any gameplay moments in personal playthroughs/playtests that have stuck with you?
Sobierajska: I think the most memorable moment for me was the first time I played through the entire game from start to finish. Of course, many things were still missing at that stage—lighting, animations, models, and in some places, even placeholders were still in use. But for the first time, I could experience the full story and see how all the pieces created by our team were starting to come together. It was becoming... A real game. Since games are an interactive medium, they truly come to life only when the player gets involved. It's a two-way conversation—the player acts, and the game responds. Experiencing that for the first time, even in such an early and unfinished state, was incredibly memorable. It gave me a glimpse of what we were striving to create.
The Best War Games: Dying Light has always had a strong community. I know how much they mean to you. Can you share any community moments throughout the development cycle of Dying Light: The Beast that have really impacted you?
Smektala: Every developer highlights the importance of their community, but there are lots of stories that make our bond with the Dying Light community very special and real. From our homages to players who passed away to engagements we supported, the fact that we’re connected through this little zombie game called Dying Light has really left a mark on our personal lives.
We also try to talk to our players in a very direct and honest way, and they know that they really influence what we do. Of course, there are easy examples for The Beast—like us introducing FPP mode for the vehicle driving after player feedback from our initial videos from the game—but it’s in the little exchanges, the little interactions that happen every day that make us strongly believe that the Dying Light community is truly the best.
The Future of Dying Light
The Best War Games: Dying Light, as a franchise, turned 10 years old this year. In ten more years, it’ll be 20. What kind of legacy do you want Dying Light: The Beast and Dying Light the franchise to have at that juncture? What do you hope will someday be the result of all your hard work?
Smektala: I hope we’ll keep quietly influencing other games as we did with the first Dying Light and continue doing so. Before us, there weren’t that many games with melee combat presented in FPP. Before us, FPP games were mostly putting players inside corridors, and even if they were open worlds, your freedom of traversal was highly limited.
We’ve proven that it makes sense to support (with new playable content! For years! For free!) A game that’s mostly a single player, narratively driven. We might not be the most flashy developer out there, but I like to believe what we do is noticed in the industry. And in 20 years, I’d love Dying Light to be the “go-to” zombie game, a statesman of the genre.
The Best War Games: Strong post-launch support is practically a hallmark of Techland at this point. Are there any plans you could share regarding plans for Dying Light: The Beast?
Smektala: Right now, we’re focusing 100% on launch, and we’re trying not to distract ourselves with anything that will happen post-release. That being said, we already have some ideas, even plans already in motion, but we’ll verify these plans when the game launches and we hear from our players where their appetites lie. But I’m confident Techland will stay Techland, and we’ll continue doing what worked for us in the past.
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Dying Light: The Beast
