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[Drizzlehell]

That's honestly the least of its problems. I can stomach the grind if the game is well-made and polished. It's just optional content anyway, and I can happily skip it if I want to.

The main problem here is that it's not a very polished or well made game. It's full of bugs and really weird design choices, some of which I remember being already present in the first game. It's been almost a year and a half since this thing came out but it's still such a buggy mess that every time I'm starting to get into it, something really stupid happens that immediately takes me out of the experience. It's almost as bad as Cyberpunk sometimes.

Just off the top of my head, here's a list of fun things that happened for me within about 2 hours of playing this game today:

• A bunch of zombies spawned in the middle of an enclosed quest area and got caught in UV lights, resulting in me having to fight human quest enemies while dozens of zombies kept shrieking in my ears and flailed around like drug-addled flame spitters.
• Upon trying to leave the same quest area, even more respawning zombies kept pouring in from the streets through the doorway and getting caught in the same UV lights, blocking my exit and forcing me to whack them for 10 minutes until they stopped spawning.
• Zombies got hurt close to UV lights but not when standing 10 feet away in direct sunlight.
• I also noticed that trees grew on the roofs of buildings. Huh...
• My character's infection resistance decreased while standing in a brightly sun-lit room but reset in a shaded, dark corridor (in case you don't know, what should be happening is completely the opposite of that).
• Friendly NPCs stood around doing nothing while I fought zombies nearby.
• Some other NPCs decided that the best way to deal with an attacking zombie is to run off the edge of a roof and plummet to their death.

Many of those oddities often kept happening at the same time, so after a while I just stopped paying attention to the story and just kept an eye out for something really stupid and funny to happen.

And it's kind of a shame because I actually find the story and characters in this game pretty enjoyable, and I like the setting and some of the gameplay ideas too. Whoever said that Techland scrubbed all of Chris Avellone's work from this game after that whole nontroversy that he was involved in, was talking out of their ass because the writing in this game has Avellone's style all over it. Which is likely what makes it the best part of the game.

 

[fatmarco]

I just find that every single change or addition to the game, maybe outside of the glider, has made for a worse game. The Combat is worse, the AI is worse, the story is worse, the tension/atmosphere is worse, the art is worse, and the graphics, I'd argue, are worse.

Despite that, it's not an awful game, it's just that nothing they've done has improved on the original game in any significant way, and it doesn't feel at all as polished or cohesive as the original did.

A random example of a bizarre backwards step (Dying Light 1's day/night cycle versus Dyling Light 2's):

 

[TwinB242]

I don't understand why this game gets so much hate, it was some of the most fun I had last year. The parkour and environmental traversal is just pure enjoyment, not just navigating the open world but also the more linear missions that are focused almost entirely on that aspect (like when you climb that large radio tower). The combat has some issues, but it was still mostly enjoyable as long as you kept mixing up your weapons and making use of the skills. Even the story which gets a ton of hate, is really not that bad for at least 3/4ths of the game. It doesn't really fall off a cliff until the very end. In fact, some of the characters are relatively well written like the one Rosario Dawson plays.

 

[Puscifer]

The long term reception to this game has been absolutely wild. I found the first one to be overly long, and enemies were sponges until the complete edition gave you weapons that felt something heavier than a toy bat.

2 felt like a serious upgrade in every way for me, the parkour was better, combat and movement felt like everything Mirrors Edge was trying to accomplish and the open world gave you great freedom in how to get around.

 

[lh032]

yea the AI is not very smart in this game, their behaviour is so random.
SOmetimes they fight sometimes they just stand around

 

[Drizzlehell]

I just find that every single change or addition to the game, maybe outside of the glider, has made for a worse game. The Combat is worse, the AI is worse, the story is worse, the tension/atmosphere is worse, the art is worse, and the graphics, I'd argue, are worse.

Despite that, it's not an awful game, it's just that nothing they've done has improved on the original game in any significant way, and it doesn't feel at all as polished or cohesive as the original did.

A random example of a bizarre backwards step (Dying Light 1's day/night cycle versus Dyling Light 2's):

That's a pretty good case study of what makes this game feel less immersive than the first one. The devil is always in the details.

I don't understand why this game gets so much hate, it was some of the most fun I had last year. The parkour and environmental traversal is just pure enjoyment, not just navigating the open world but also the more linear missions that are focused almost entirely on that aspect (like when you climb that large radio tower). The combat has some issues, but it was still mostly enjoyable as long as you kept mixing up your weapons and making use of the skills. Even the story which gets a ton of hate, is really not that bad for at least 3/4ths of the game. It doesn't really fall off a cliff until the very end. In fact, some of the characters are relatively well written like the one Rosario Dawson plays.

I like my somber post-apocalyptic adventures to be as immersive as possible but this game really lacks the kind of polish that would help realize its potential. Those funny moments that I listed off can be amusing when taken out of context, but when I'm actually trying to get immersed in the world and the story, they're more like an irritating reminder that I'm merely playing a video game and my suspension of disbelief is just shattered.

 

[Shakka43]

I wouldn't call it awful but the game was a massive disappointment compared to how much I loved the first one. Everything aside from visuals felt like a downgrade.

 

[lh032]

I think my main issue with this game is the balancing of weapons.
the repeating crossbow from the faction quest shreds everything, i have yet to complete the game but i think it made other weapon useless.

 

[SJRB]

Wasn't this one also in development hell for quite some time?

The final product was nothing compared to the reveal trailers, at least.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

Only about halfway through it, but I've loved what I've played so far, my only issue is how vertical it got in the big city part, felt less like parkour and more like "jump off this building and glide to where you want to go. "

 

[Dusktildawn48]

I like the game, but there's sooooo much parkouring.

 

[Spyxos]

Combat and Story are boring.

 

[Art The Clown]

After loving the first one a ton I made it about 3/4 through 2 and gave it up. Just couldn’t hate play it to completion. I am going to try it again with a friend in the future but at this point I have no desire to go back and finish it.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Sounds like a good time at around the ten dollar price point.

 

[LaughingStock]

It's like ghost recon to ghost recon Breakpoint. Some improvements but overall It feels like a huge step back.

 

[Nigel]

I dropped it once you get to the second map. The first map has a setting that lends itself towards the parkour - very French. The streets are also rather narrow, making it a risk. This was very fun in my opinion. To have all these skills and safety among the rooftops, but risk-reward scenario below.

However the second map has giant skyscrapers that leave you running around on wide open street level. . They give you some glider to travel across each building. It's more vertical. It's so boring. I couldn't even finish it with a friend. It's that dull.

 

[larkwaffle]

I came into Dying Light with zero expectations and it blew me away. I was pretty surprised. This caused me to bring lofty expectations to Dying Light 2, which were quickly deflated within a few hours. By the time I got to the second zone with the glider I dropped it for good.

 

[thekillergreece]

It's a BAD sequel in most aspects in my opinion.
But, if it was a game on its own? It would be probably good.

 

[Fbh]

Did they at least improve the combat?
I enjoyed the first one but the combat never quite clicked with me. It didn't matter how cool my melee weapons looked, they always felt like I was hitting zombies with a wooden stick, it was even worse against human enemies which are just awful to fight until you get guns (which aren't particularly fun to use either).

I saw a bunch of reviews mentioning the combat in Dead Island 2 isn't as good as dying light but at least in the videos it looks way more satisfying with enemies actually reacting to your melee weapons in the way you expect.

 

[DirtyBast8rd]

I came into Dying Light with zero expectations and it blew me away. I was pretty surprised. This caused me to bring lofty expectations to Dying Light 2, which were quickly deflated within a few hours. By the time I got to the second zone with the glider I dropped it for good.

You went further than me. Bland, boring zombies. Sheit game. Loved the first one. Dead Island 2 is a blast. Especially compared to Dying Light 2.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Did they at least improve the combat?
I enjoyed the first one but the combat never quite clicked with me. It didn't matter how cool my melee weapons looked, they always felt like I was hitting zombies with a wooden stick, it was even worse against human enemies which are just awful to fight until you get guns (which aren't particularly fun to use either).

I saw a bunch of reviews mentioning the combat in Dead Island 2 isn't as good as dying light but at least in the videos it looks way more satisfying with enemies actually reacting to your melee weapons in the way you expect.

I guess it feels a bit better. There are a few new moves that make for some amusing situations, like tackling a dude and using him to break the fall off of a 5 story building. I enjoy the visceral feeling of braining a staggered enemy who's trying to shield himself with his hands. Splitting his skull open and seeing his brain hanging out feels oddly satisfying, in a psychotic kinda way.

Although I don't like that there's still way too much emphasis on this like in the first game, and that you can cheese it, also like in the first game. I remember I used to stand on a roof of a van in Dying Light 1 and just curb stomped everything that got close enough, and I'd do that for 15 minutes to clear the area. Similarly, in this game, it's just way too easy to kick things off of high ledges and watching them splatter on the ground below. I would really enjoy this combat a lot more if zombies didn't constantly respawn behind your ass and you could just clear the area like in The Last of Us and then scavenge for loot in damn peace. They could still respawn when I return later, obviously, but not in a matter of seconds while I'm still there because it just takes forever to do any kind of exploration.

 

[winjer]

The original had some problems, but overall, it was a much better game.

 

[Freeman76]

Edit

Ruahed into a post thinking you were talking about dead island

I really disliked dying light 2. Traversal was shit

 

[Drizzlehell]

Edit

Ruahed into a post thinking you were talking about dead island

I really disliked dying light 2. Traversal was shit

Oh wait, shit. I didn't even notice that Dead Island 2 was already out.

Is it any good? I've been kinda hoping that it would turn out to be a more wacky and action packed zombie game alternative to Dying Light.

 

[Gojiira]

That's honestly the least of its problems. I can stomach the grind if the game is well-made and polished. It's just optional content anyway, and I can happily skip it if I want to.

The main problem here is that it's not a very polished or well made game. It's full of bugs and really weird design choices, some of which I remember being already present in the first game. It's been almost a year and a half since this thing came out but it's still such a buggy mess that every time I'm starting to get into it, something really stupid happens that immediately takes me out of the experience. It's almost as bad as Cyberpunk sometimes.

Just off the top of my head, here's a list of fun things that happened for me within about 2 hours of playing this game today:

• A bunch of zombies spawned in the middle of an enclosed quest area and got caught in UV lights, resulting in me having to fight human quest enemies while dozens of zombies kept shrieking in my ears and flailed around like drug-addled flame spitters.
• Upon trying to leave the same quest area, even more respawning zombies kept pouring in from the streets through the doorway and getting caught in the same UV lights, blocking my exit and forcing me to whack them for 10 minutes until they stopped spawning.
• Zombies got hurt close to UV lights but not when standing 10 feet away in direct sunlight.
• I also noticed that trees grew on the roofs of buildings. Huh...
• My character's infection resistance decreased while standing in a brightly sun-lit room but reset in a shaded, dark corridor (in case you don't know, what should be happening is completely the opposite of that).
• Friendly NPCs stood around doing nothing while I fought zombies nearby.
• Some other NPCs decided that the best way to deal with an attacking zombie is to run off the edge of a roof and plummet to their death.

Many of those oddities often kept happening at the same time, so after a while I just stopped paying attention to the story and just kept an eye out for something really stupid and funny to happen.

And it's kind of a shame because I actually find the story and characters in this game pretty enjoyable, and I like the setting and some of the gameplay ideas too. Whoever said that Techland scrubbed all of Chris Avellone's work from this game after that whole nontroversy that he was involved in, was talking out of their ass because the writing in this game has Avellone's style all over it. Which is likely what makes it the best part of the game.

Yeah they literally stated in a message to the community that they cut everything Chris Avellone, A innocent man, worked on…It lost a ton of promised features too including branching narrative and dialogue, impactful choices and faction conflicts. So nobody talked out their ass, Avellone was the reason it was originally more of a RPG.
Tbh its

 

[Bavarian_Sloth]

The first game was almost a masterpiece, regarding zombi games.

The second game made a very good first impression, but looses itself then in akward design decisions and that fucking open world agenda.

 

[Strider Highwind]

I had an okay time with it, really enjoyed the side missions more than the main story...some of those characters were pretty damn dope to me. It definitely added to my open world fatigue I was suffering from real bad last year when I beat it, but it did get tedious at times.

I'm not really into open world games that just spam ridiculous amounts of loot at you that you more than likely will never even think to equip(Hogwarts/AssCreed etc) but I walked away feeling like they missed a real chance to have some pretty interesting stuff going on weapon/character customization wise....damn near all the shit you get aside from a handful of specific weapons look exactly alike.

It has its moments when it can look absolutely amazing maxed out on PC to me though. Walked around the world in there wishing they'd built a better game in it.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Yeah they literally stated in a message to the community that they cut everything Chris Avellone, A innocent man, worked on…It lost a ton of promised features too including branching narrative and dialogue, impactful choices and faction conflicts. So nobody talked out their ass, Avellone was the reason it was originally more of a RPG.
Tbh its

Honestly, I don't buy it. I played enough games that were written by him to recognize the style. Even if there's nothing left in the game that was written by him then the remaining writers definitely took a lot of lessons from him because the dialogue and conversation wheel, all of that just feels like it would fit in one of the other action games that he's written.

Although I'd sooner believe that he and Techland struck some kind of a deal behind closed doors and agreed that in light of the controversy they didn't want to potentially hurt the game's sales, so they decided not to credit him but still kept his work and paid him for it. Keep in mind that he later successfully sued his accusers and cleared his name.

 

[Gojiira]

Honestly, I don't buy it. I played enough games that were written by him to recognize the style. Even if there's nothing left in the game that was written by him then the remaining writers definitely took a lot of lessons from him because the dialogue and conversation wheel, all of that just feels like it would fit in one of the other action games that he's written.

Although I'd sooner believe that he and Techland struck some kind of a deal behind closed doors and agreed that in light of the controversy they didn't want to potentially hurt the game's sales, so they decided not to credit him but still kept his work and paid him for it. Keep in mind that he later successfully sued his accusers and cleared his name.

Well he was the lead writer so you would imagine those under him would have learnt something. Besides cuts were obviously made, even in the opening area there are quests and dialogue that clearly indicate certain info could be shared with other parties, or objectives turned in to different people but there is no option too.
Also Techland openly stood against Avellone, no deal was made. The controversy happened what nearly a year before release? Enough time to take a game which was already playable beginning to end, cut his content and cobble together a story, which is exactly how it feels, cobbled together with a rushed ending and virtually no midgame.
Idk man, there was a lot of things covered by the likes of Game Informer that never made it into the game. Promised branching narrative being cut alone is enough proof tbh.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Well he was the lead writer so you would imagine those under him would have learnt something. Besides cuts were obviously made, even in the opening area there are quests and dialogue that clearly indicate certain info could be shared with other parties, or objectives turned in to different people but there is no option too.
Also Techland openly stood against Avellone, no deal was made. The controversy happened what nearly a year before release? Enough time to take a game which was already playable beginning to end, cut his content and cobble together a story, which is exactly how it feels, cobbled together with a rushed ending and virtually no midgame.
Idk man, there was a lot of things covered by the likes of Game Informer that never made it into the game. Promised branching narrative being cut alone is enough proof tbh.

Huh, they did? I didn't know that tbh. What a bunch of goobers.

On one hand I get why they would want to distance themselves from the whole situation but on the other, they didn't really need to openly condemn him if there was no evidence available at the time. Now they're stuck with a mediocre game instead of a potentially great one, and a possibility that no other major industry veterans will wanna work with them in the future. Their loss, I guess.

 

[nkarafo]

Damn that crappy day/night cycle killed any interest i had for the sequel.

 

[Jigsaah]

I can't say I had any of these complaints, but I never finished the first game. My weapons were frickin strong dude. I was one shotting enemies if I remember correctly. The story wasn't terrible...it was passable but that's not why I was there. I dunno, maybe cuz I played on co-op the whole campaign...it was really fun for me. Sorry your experience seems to be different.

 

[GenericUser]

Damn that crappy day/night cycle killed any interest i had for the sequel.

Yeah, that was shitty, especially if you consider that they pretty much already perfected it in the first game.
My main problem with the game was, that it is a zombie game that is not centered around the zombies. They are just "there", while the game tells you about some stupid conflict between some survivors.