PST Review: Dying Light: The Following

PST Review: Dying Light: The Following

Richard Walker

If Dying Light: The Following makes one thing abundantly clear, it's that brutally bludgeoning a zombie to death is still as sickeningly enjoyable as it was one year ago. And Techland isn't doing things by halves with this major expansion, releasing an Enhanced Edition of the game for newbies, introducing a visual upgrade for all players, a sprawling new map to explore beyond the boundaries of Harran city, and the customisable buggy to make getting around less of a headache. You can also run over zombies in good old Carmageddon fashion.

Given the size of The Following's vast countryside, the buggy becomes indispensable from the outset, making scavenging for fuel and maintaining your ride as zombies bounce off its bumper, damaging your suspension, traction, engine and other components, an ongoing concern.

Different challenges beyond buggy maintenance rear their head in The Following too. With fewer rooftops available to traverse, open fields and rural expanses provide the lion's share of Kyle Crane's new playground, meaning parkour takes a backseat, while enemies flock in huge numbers. You'll quickly learn that preserving your weapons proves more vital than ever in dealing with the infected masses.

Picking up where Dying Light's main campaign left off, The Following sees protagonist Crane meeting new people and having to garner their trust. Achieving this means starting out as an Outsider, as group members like Jasir, Ezgi and Polat treat you with suspicion as you strive to gain a foothold within their pastoral community. As events transpire, Crane finds himself rubbing shoulders with a mysterious cult known as the Children of the Sun, led by a masked figure known only as the Mother. This cult and its legion of 'Faceless' acolytes harbour a secret that renders them immune to zombie bites, using a strange incense that keeps the biters at bay.

As you gain the trust of the cult, your rank increases, unlocking the new crossbow and a variety of outfits and helpful perks. From the rank of Outsider, you'll progress to the status of Stranger, Newcomer, Ally, Believer and Disciple, while new Legend Levels offer an array of new skills to unlock as you level up. Incidentally, Techland recommends starting The Following with at least a level 12 character, but if you want to take on the DLC's formidable 'Freaks of Nature' – giant-sized Raid bosses that can take ludicrous amounts of damage – you'll want to take in a Kyle Crane far beyond that level, and perhaps a few co-op buddies too.

Gameplay-wise, The Following brings few changes beyond the addition of the buggy and its driving model, which is brilliantly accessible. Combat and traversal remains much the same, but given the number of upgrades and customisation options you can apply to your vehicle as your driver level increases, you won't feel shortchanged. And as we've already noted, the inherent joy of battering zombie skulls to puree or lopping off heads with a machete doesn't really warrant changing. It's unreservedly fun.

Of course, there's gratification to be had in fitting spikes, an electrified rollcage, UV lights to stave off Volatiles, nitrous, and other deadly accoutrements to your buggy, transforming it into a nigh-on unstoppable zombie splattering machine. But there's also a decent shot of narrative intrigue to keep things chugging along too, ensuring that you'll actually want to forge onward, unravelling the mystery behind the cult of the Faceless and their miraculous zombie-repelling blue mist. Events play out and build to a satisfying denouement and a concluding decision to consider. It's pretty involving.

Still, a lot of complaints remain in Dying Light: The Following, with some of the more protracted climbing sections proving somewhat frustrating, while the frame-rate can occasionally be a little choppy. Yet, there's no faulting how persistently entertaining the game's combat and traversal remains for the most part, even in spite of its niggles. It's never punishing or overly unfair either, respawning you at the closest safehouse or hunting tower when you die, enabling you to reset the position of your buggy at any time or recall it to any safehouse you've unlocked.

Dying Light: The Following is a rather hefty chunk of DLC too, taking in a massive rural map, dozens of new quests, numerous side activities, a buggy to upgrade and make your own, and more besides. Even the game's asymmetric Be the Zombie multiplayer mode benefits from The Following's new additions, so for your $20, you get some real bang for your buck.

As expansions go, Dying Light: The Following is one of the better examples we've come across in recent years, with Techland clearly making a concerted effort to bring something new and meaningful to its open-world zombie slayer, providing superb value for money given its size and scale. If you need an excuse to go back and mash up hordes of slavering undead, then look no further.

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