Dying Light: The Following

You may be wondering what Dying Light The Following is and thinking you missed out on a sequel or something. What this actually is, is some awesome story DLC that was released for the original Dying Light. I know that you see DLC and you might roll your eyes or be a little skeptical. However, I can assure you that this is some of the most underrated story based DLC I have ever experienced.

Chicks Dig the Car

One of the best things about Dying Light was the urban setting that allowed for some pretty awesome parkour moves. Dying Light The Following is set in a more rural location and as a result, the chances for parkour are few and far between (although not gone completely). As a result, you now get the chance to drive this pretty cool looking buggy!

The driving sounds like something that has been shoehorned into the game, but that could not be further from the truth. The buggy that you drive is a huge part of this DLC and it is done very well. To start with you have to scavenge parts from abandoned cars in order to not just upgrade it, but to keep it running! The upgrades you can do are super cool and eventually, you can add a battering thing on the front and even a flame thrower.

The Great Outdoors

As well as making have a reliance on the buggy the fact that the game is more outdoorsy this time around changes things quite a bit. If you get stuck out in the dark and you are far away from your buggy, you might as well kiss your butt goodbye! Remember in the original Dying Light how your sweet parkour moves could allow you to get out of dodge if things got too intense? Well, you have less chance for that here, especially if you are out in a field somewhere. It makes for an even more tense kind of experience and it is one that I really liked.

Let Me Tell You A Story

Dying Light The Following is story-based DLC and I think the story here is just as good, if not better than what the first game offered. There is a cult that you are trying to get to the bottom of and the ending was something that legit made me stare at the screen in awe! It may start a little on the slow side, but the story that The Following tells is a roller coaster ride and one that you will not instantly forget.

Bring A Friend

You can play Dying Light The Following in co-op and that is a lot of fun. You see you can have one player driving the buggy and then the other player can be on the back with a crossbow, gun or whatever taking down the infected. This is so much fun and you guys will have to work as a team in order to thin the heard of the infected that is around. They have also added some racing that you can do, but in all honesty, this was something that I never really got into. Still, as an added “extra”, I do think that it is pretty cool that they put this in here.

Pros:

• The story is great
• There is a real shock ending that is awesome
• The whole buggy thing is a great addition to the game
• You also need to scavenge for the buggy
• Plenty of side missions to keep you busy

Cons:

• There are not as many safe houses
• You may argue with your buddy over who gets to drive!

Dying Light: The Following may not ring any bells and you may be wondering what this is. Well before we got to Dying Light 2, we actually got this DLC for the first game. Now while this is DLC, Dying Light: The Following is more like Dying Light 1.5 than just some quick and easy DLC as there is a lot of content here.

The Story

I am going out on a limb here when I say that Dying Light: The Following has the best story of any of the Dying Light games! When I heard that we were getting some story-based DLC for Dying Light I was very excited, but I must admit I never expected it to be this good. I actually do not want to spoil what you have in store as the story is one of the major highlights of this. Rather than being set in an urban setting, Dying Light: The Following takes the story to a much more rural kind of area where there is this creepy cult that you need to investigate and deal with. It has an ending that legit shocked the hell out of me!

The Presentation

If there is one area that is not “amazing” in regards to Dying Light: The Following I would have to say it is the visuals. Do not get me wrong they are not bad or anything like that, but they are not exactly going to knock your socks off or anything like that. One thing I will say is that it has a very different kind of style to the original game thanks to the drastically different setting. Rather than run down apartment blocks and dumpsters you have fields, farmhouses, and bales of hay! It makes for a very different looking kind of game.

The Gameplay

Make no mistake about it, Dying Light: The Following is most certainly more Dying Light, but it is done in a different kind of way. You will still have a tough time leveling up and fighting off zombies at night. But the rural setting of this DLC makes the way you go about the game far different.

The parkour that you could use to get yourself out of trouble in the main game is not going to save you as much here. The reason for that is there is not as much stuff to jump on, over and hide around from the zombies. As a result, the game feels a lot tenser and I found myself dying a lot more until I got used to the way the game was. Also, it feels like there are far fewer safe houses this time around. One huge gameplay change is the inclusion of a badass post-apocalyptic vehicle. As the world is a bit more spread out than the urban original. They have made it so that you can ho pin a car to get around. What is cool about this is that you can mow down enemies as you drive. Also, if you are playing with a friend they can hop in the back and take down zombies with a weapon. While you still have to scavenge for supplies to heal yourself and fight with. You also need to scavenge for parts for your vehicle that will keep it running and improve it.

Like the main game, you do have the main story to play through (which is excellent by the way) however, you also have lots of side missions to keep you busy as well. Seriously for DLC, you have a ton of content to have fun with here.

Final Thoughts On Dying Light: The Following

I could not have been any more impressed with Dying Light: The Following. The story is truly fantastic and very memorable. Also, the new setting makes the gameplay feel very different from what Dying Light offered. If you love zombie games and enjoyed the original Dying Light, you are going to really enjoy playing through this.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Pros:

• The best story in the series
• That ending really did blow my mind
• You can drive a cool vehicle
• It poses a real tough challenge
• The rural setting is great

Cons:

• It feels much tougher than the original game
• The added “races” did nothing for me at all