Dying Light 2 audio story introduces an unnerving city legend

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Dying Light 2 has paused its torrent of trailers to launch a line of short audio books focusing on the "Stay Human" side of the game and its post-apocalyptic city, starting with the unnerving tale of a girl named Rosemary.

The 10-minute audio story is live on YouTube and stars voice actors Paul Peterman, Joanna Farell, and Jerry Widuch (for the US version, anyway). Without wishing to spoil, it focuses on an old woman and her son sharing a local myth with a wanderer. The story within the story stars Rosemary, a young girl who lost her parents amidst the zombie outbreak. Here again, the would-be zombies are specifically referred to as "monsters" throughout, which is an interesting touch. 

"By sharing them with each other, citizens of The City can grow closer, allowing for a little respite while they rebuild fragile social bounds," developer Techland says. "These stories teach how to live and avoid trouble, and sometimes simply serve to drown out the sounds of the night. From a distance, players can hear monsters emerging from their lairs, and every rustle and step behind the wall portends danger."

Some of the framing for the dialogue is a bit creaky, but Rosemary is a pretty good short story altogether. The fact that it exists at all speaks to how Techland has approached the narrative and atmosphere of Dying Light 2 compared to the original game, which launched with a pretty generic plot that was later fleshed out through DLC. 

If you're looking for more of an action-packed zombie-slashing trailer, check out the parkour and paraglider segments in the recent Dying Light 2 Gamescom trailer.