Dying Light 2 is looking to expand upon its predecessor in some major ways, chief among which has to be its renewed focus on narrative. With a writing team spearheaded by Chris Avellone, the game is looking to place an immense focus on player choice, and how the consequences of those choices will shape the game in a variety of ways.
Recently, while speaking with EDGE in their upcoming December issue (Issue 325), Techland’s Tymon Smektala, lead designer on Dying Light 2, spoke about the game’s heightened focus on storytelling and player choice, and how these choices will not only impact the story itself, but also change the game’s world, allowing players to create a sandbox of their own.
“We knew that we perhaps didn’t have the expertise, so we wanted to work with somebody who did,” he said, speaking of Avellone. “We have a whole wall in our narrative team’s room devoted to presenting the relationships – sticky notes, pictures, print-outs with arrows connecting them. We believe the combination of those small and big choices will let players create their own version of the city, their own sandbox, a version that not only has a different narrative but a different kind of gameplay.”
Smektala also spoke about the game’s setting, and how it harkens back to the dark ages in terms of tone and flavour, which is something he’s spoken of earlier as well.
“When you think of medieval times, there are all those things that come to mind instantly,” Smektala said. “Intrigue, infidelity, harsh laws; you steal something and your hand gets cut off. The relations between people, between the people in power and those not as fortunate, we’re using those archetypes in our story.”
Dying Light 2 is slated for a launch on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with no release date having been announced for the game yet.