Developer: Techland
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Tested on: Xbox One
Dying Light: The Following DLC – Review
The Following DLC for Techland’s well-appraised zombie survival video game Dying Light is not just some mindless add-on content to the game like most DLC’s are nowadays. Instead the DLC continues the narrative from the base game while bringing in new characters, a ton of new missions, a ravaged new scenery in the form of a wasteland and of course mountable vehicles.
Dying Light: The Following DLC isn’t just some add-on content that has been put together overnight. If you completed the main narrative in the base game, The Following DLC continues the story from there. Those who have yet to complete the game should not worry however as the DLC content is available to those who have finished the prologue of the base game.
As mentioned before, the narrative in The Following continues from the base game. Players have crawled back in the skin of Kyle Crane, a freelance operative of the secretive organisation G.R.E. The situation in Harran has been dealt with so far and Kyle goes on a mission to find the possibly only exit out of the city. The only clue was left by a dying madman but the further Kyle advances, he realizes the gibberish was truth. He finds himself in the midst of the countryside, a ravaged wasteland occupied by bandits, zombies and locals who do not seem to turn into brainless monsters whenever bitten. In order to find out more of the mysterious cure, Kyle must help the locals who in turn will help him gain trust with the acolytes and their leader, The Mother.
Much like the narrative in the base game, the DLC offers a story of trust, betrayal and unexpected twists with tons of smaller story arcs in the form of side quests. While the main storyline is rather straight forward, the side quests are non-linear but also required to advance further into the main storyline.
The scenery showcased in the new content is a great change from the city of Harran and reminds us an awful lot of the wasteland in Mad Max. Just like before, the visuals in the game are simply breathtakingly stunning with a viewing distance many games should be jealous of. And once again, just like the base game, the new map is filled with Easter Eggs.
As for the sound design in the game, it is much like before – an absolute hit. The voice-overs are simply excellent and fit each character perfectly. None of the voices seem to carry a flat tone either so the character truly come to life which isn’t all too surprising since this was the case in the base game as well. Dying Light: The Following can be a scary experience for the light-hearted, especially with the shrills and shrieks of the biters in your proximity. Once you get over the adrenaline-rush, these sounds no longer have any meaning to you but it doesn’t make them any less great.
We already mentioned that the DLC features a new map, tons of new missions and characters however the best feature is yet to be discussed, namely the vehicles. The Following DLC allows players to enter a vehicle – in this case a buggy – and fully customize it as they progress in the storyline. We did get another Mad Max vibe from this feature seeing as the buggy needs to be refuelled but it works extremely well in the game especially since it still lacks a fast travel system. Aside from modifying the car, you can also repaint the car and blueprints for parts or paint can be found here and there. A noteworthy feature is the fact that the vehicle can break and the player will need to loot other vehicles if they want their own car repaired. Sadly, this buggy is also the only vehicle you can drive.
Enough about the vehicles because The Following continues the trend of being a superb parkour video game in the likes of Mirror’s Edge although the zombies might stand in the way oftentimes. Add the excellent day-and-night cycle in the mix and parkouring becomes a tad harder seeing as the zombies are simply brainless during the day but are viciously fast during the night. There are a few new types of zombies but the most common – albeit vicious – ones have returned such as the acid spitters and giant chargers. The rest of the game has remained pretty much unchanged when it comes down to trading, looting, scavenging and crafting.
Conclusion
While not as lengthy as the base game, The Following could have been a stand-alone sequel if needed to be. It continues the original narrative quite well – and we’re positive this is not the last DLC we’ll be seeing – but it also follows up perfectly in terms of extraordinary visual and excellent audio design. We keep saying that zombie survival games have raised from the ground like weeds over the past few years but Dying Light never ceased to amaze us and we hope it will continue to do so.
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