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Dying Light: The Beast isn't trying to be "the most ambitious series, narratively," which means it's less about matching the philosophical heights of The Last of Us and more about making sure its players have a good time.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, franchise director Tymon Smektala explained that for Techland, "it's much easier for us - and kind of more meaningful - to expand and grow on the gameplay side. I don't think we need to be the most ambitious series, narratively. I think what we need to do is we need to deliver kick ass characters that are facing tough challenges, where the plot line has its twists and turns, but we really don't need to be overtly philosophical."
Smektala didn't directly reference any specific game, but when it comes to zombie games and waxing philosophical, it's hard not to look towards The Last of Us. Adding a narrative focus to a genre that hadn't really come close to anything you might describe as 'hard-hitting' until then certainly paid off for Naughty Dog, but it's not really what Dying Light has ever positioned itself towards. That, however, is something that Smektala suggests is perfectly in keeping with the aims of both the series and the studio.
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"We don't really need to be asking players about morality and all of that stuff. We are making games which are first and foremost about really cool gameplay, cool characters. I think overtly serious will not work for Dying Light as a series so I think we'll continue on that path. I think it makes more sense for us."
There's much more of a 'blockbuster' sensibility attached to Dying Light than The Last of Us - ironic, given the latter's HBO adaptation - but I can see why Smektala is leaning into that. In previous interviews he's alluded to "areas of perfection" that Dying Light: The Beast can't afford to mess up - and those are far more about parkour and melee combat than they are about waxing philosophical around grand narrative themes.
I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.
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