You Really Do Have To Play Dying Light 2 Twice
Dying Light 2 is a rare example of a game that actually does offer a totally unique experience on second playthrough.
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I never believe when a video game claims your choices will matter. I’ve been burnt too many times by branching paths that all lead back to the center, and karma systems that lead you to nothing but a good ending or bad ending. Very few games have ever managed to deliver on the promise of a choose-your-own-adventure experience, and Dying Light 2 is no exception. It’s promises of a non-linear RPG experience where the choices you make change the course of the story are mostly made of hot air, unfortunately. That said, it still manages to be a highly replayable game thanks to a unique faction system that is tied to narrative choice, but also weirdly separate from it. Dying Light 2 is a rare example of a game that actually does offer a totally unique experience on second playthrough – it’s just not because of the branching storyline.
Practically every RPG has some form of karma meter or choice-based system that allows you to influence the plot and, hopefully, inspire you to play the game again to see what happens when you make the opposite choice. This was a huge marketing tactic in games made during the mid to late ‘00s. Will your Cole MacGrath be a hero, or will he be infamous? Will your Commander Sheppard be a Paragon or a Renegade? Will you rescue the little sisters, or harvest them for their sweet, sweet ADAM?
Morality systems like this eventually fell out of style once players realized that they only offered the illusion of choice, but instead railroaded you into choosing one style, then playing the game again and choosing the opposite style, without offering meaningful or satisfying differences between each playthrough. The first choice you make defines every subsequent choice because the system invariably offers the best rewards for being consistent. Mixing up your choices based on the specifics of any given circumstances would make a better role-playing experience, but at the cost of maxing out your Paragon meter or losing the chance to see the “good” ending.
Dying Light 2 falls into this trap too with its power station system. There are two opposing faction in Dying Light 2: a paramilitary group called the Peace Keepers that aims to fascistically hold society together through force and law, and the Free People, an unofficial group of survivors that just want to build infrastructure, create trade routes, and do their best to help each other. Their competing philosophies often lead these factions into direct conflict with each other, but ultimately both groups need each other’s efforts in order to survive and fight back against the real threats in the City: the anarchist Renegades and the infected.
Power stations control the flow of power to the City, and whenever you find them you get to choose which faction controls the power in that specific district. Every station you unlock gives you an upgrade that affects every district that that faction controls. If you give the power to the Peace Keepers, they’ll build traps and weapons in their districts that you can use to fight the infected. If you give the power to the Survivors, they’ll build things in their districts to help you get around easier, like ziplines and pulley systems. Every perk unlocks in sequential order, so if you want to unlock the most powerful traps or the most upgraded ziplines, you have to stick with the same faction through all seven power stations, making sure the same group gets control of the power every time regardless of the twists and turn in the story.
It’s worth mentioning that these choices are somewhat disconnected from the plot itself. Though the main quest lines will take you to each of the power stations and present you with compelling reasons to give each faction control of it, most of the narrative choices are made outside of these power station choices. You can side with the Peace Keepers at every turn if you so wish and still give all of the power to the Free People.
But those power station choices are at the core of Dying Light 2’s replayability, far and above any narrative differences you’ll discover between playthroughs. These city enhancements have an enormous impact on the way you play the game and interact with the world, and you won’t be able to get much of a sense for that until you play the game a second time and make the opposite choice.
The Peace Keeper path leads to safer streets and better defenses. By giving them the power, it enables them to build their ranks and go on a warpath to eliminate the infected and build weapons and traps for you. You’ll find far fewer zombies on the street and have a lot more ways to deal with them. This means you’ll often find yourself exploring the City at street level more often and doing a lot more fighting with all the weapons and traps you find. You’ll unlock your combat abilities faster if you side with the Peace Keepers because you’ll be in combat more often, you’ll find more Dark Hollows and Abandoned Stores where valuable items are hidden, and you’ll collect more Infected Trophies which can be traded for mod upgrades, for enhancing your combat abilities. You’ll find a lot more Peace Keepers engaged in street brawls with the Renegades, and you may even start to develop a sense of brotherhood with them as you fight to take back the city.
Conversely, the Survivor path leads to better traversal options that will help keep you safe high above the streets where the infected roam. The streets will become more dangerous without the Peace Keepers patrolling, but you’ll have lots of ways to get around quickly and avoid danger. You’ll earn your parkour upgrades a lot faster since you’ll constantly be gaining XP by jumping and climbing, and you’ll learn to see the city from the top down. You’ll gather way more healing items and resources for crafting buffs that help you stay alive, and you’ll find a lot more Survivors in need of your help. It’s a lot easier to feel like you’re part of society when you’re up on the rooftops among the people, running side quests for them and helping where you can.
Of course, in either playthrough you’re going to be doing a lot of fighting and climbing, but the faction you choose to support defines your playstyle a lot. As much as I hate the artificiality of karma systems, Dying Light 2’s binary faction system offers something meaningful that has a huge impact on gameplay. It’s most similar to Dishonored in that way. A High Chaos playthrough is a lot different than a Low Chaos playthrough not just because of the abilities you unlock, but because it fundamentally changes the way you experience the game. It’s an incredibly clever way that Techland has built replayability into Dying Light 2, and it makes the world feel so much more alive.
Hearing new dialogue and seeing slightly different cutscenes has never been enough to motivate me to play a game a second time, but Dying Light 2 has managed to make my choices matter in a way I didn’t expect. I don’t particularly care who lives, who dies, or what ending I get, but I love seeing the city transform around me, and I can’t wait to do it again.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/dying-light-2-replay-value-story-upgrades/