Dying Light 2 has seen a pretty successful launch period, and while there have been bugs and issues to fix, most of those are now under control, and the focus switches to the future.
The initial roadmap has already been revealed, and the first batch of content has already started to drop. First up we had a couple of gear sets available to all players, followed by the first of the new parkour challenges.
I recently spoke to the lead designer at Techland, Tymon Smektala, about all things Dying Light 2. While the timing wasn't right to discuss anything in detail, he did talk a little about the roadmap.
The Dying Light 2 roadmap is going to get bigger
The content roadmap for Dying Light 2 already talks about a decent amount heading to the game over the first year, but during our chat, Smektala told me that we can expect more to be added to it in the coming weeks to further expand on what is already there.
"We have already revealed the roadmap, what is going to happen this year, but this roadmap wasn't actually full. It didn't contain all of the elements. In a few weeks the roadmap will be getting more and more detailed."
Without much detail, we could speculate for hours on what this additional content would be. I pressed on some of the hottest topics in the game right now, such as the Elysium district or the fabled gun stash, alas, without much joy. Plenty of smiles, but no detail.
Not only this but the world of Villedor will eventually start to get more densely packed with things to play. We're already seeing some aspects of this with the new challenges, but it seems that yet more will be making its way to the streets and rooftops.
The same can be said of gear, too. The frustrations of players over acquiring high-level gear have been heard, and this is something else that will continue to improve over the course of the game's lifespan. Various options are being considered for endgame play, so it'll be interesting to see what makes the cut.
New Game Plus coming soon?
Another popular topic is New Game Plus (NG+) which the first Dying Light has, but the sequel currently does not. It isn't as simple as just allowing you to play through the game again with your current character. But it also hasn't been ruled out.
Indeed, Smektala himself has polled the community on social media asking for feedback on what a prospective NG+ mode would look like.
However, without saying NG+ is coming, it appears NG+ is coming. It came up during a discussion about the story and how your decisions affect which missions we play and which end we ultimately see. When I mentioned starting a new save to take a different route, this was the response:
"If you have a save at the end of the game with a good character you don't have to make a new save, just wait a little bit."
Again, no firm details but my impression is that NG+ will be discussed fairly soon, and it's definitely on the table. I haven't yet started that new save, because I'm pretty convinced I won't need to.
Year one is for trying out new things
One other interesting piece of the discussion centered around how Techland is approaching its long-term plans with Dying Light 2. Year one, while already having a fairly comprehensive plan and roadmap, is also for trying out new things and experimenting with different models.
"The plan for the first year is to experiment with different models. The content that we have planned for the first year is consciously made so it tries different things. Some focusses on co-op, some focusses on single-player, some focusses on story, some more on gameplay."
The previously announced five-year plan is legitimate and Techland already knows what they want to do with the game. Being both developer and publisher gives them a certain freedom to experiment this way that many other games don't enjoy. This also applies to engaging with the community. Techland wants its players to give feedback on what they like and what they don't like. This feedback will help shape the future of the game.
Smektala also says that the first batch of content is going to surprise people and that most of the speculation currently being tossed about is wrong.
"I think the first batch of content we have planned will really surprise people in a way that it's something they didn't expect. Something that's different than all the speculation online. I haven't seen anyone going in that direction with speculation."
There has been a ton of speculation, players finding their way over to the Elysium district, hidden bunkers, talk of the fabled gun stash, and more. Coupled with other recent interviews with Techland developers that told us that not all the secrets have been discovered yet, it looks like we're in for a fun time.
A bright future for Dying Light 2
One thing that's clear is that Techland wants to both make a game they're proud of and that its players love and want to play. The relationship between the player and the developer is strong and when they say they're listening and they want the feedback, it seems like they really mean it.
Even without concrete details, though more news should hopefully be heading our way in the coming weeks, I'm excited for the future of Dying Light 2. The enthusiasm behind the scenes is extremely strong and the track record of support and new content from the first game alone is enough to believe we're going to see a lot more down the road.
If you haven't played it yet, it's well worth picking up. I think it's one of the best Xbox games this year so far, and I can't wait for more.
A bigger world than ever before
Dying Light 2 Stay Human is the long-awaited sequel to 2015's major hit, Dying Light, and expands the open-world, free-running, zombie-slaying action-adventure game to all-new heights and ambitions. Dying Light 2 is massive, with a huge world filled with hundreds of hours of content.
