Nearly a decade since his last appearance in Dying Light: The Following, we finally get another look at Kyle Crane's story in the latest gameplay trailer for Dying Light: The Beast. Originally slated as a simple DLC expansion for Dying Light 2, The Beast snowballed into an entirely standalone entry in the franchise, finally offering a look into what happened to the unfortunate protagonist of the original Dying Light. Although The Beast ​​​​​​confirms the canon ending to the original DLC, the trailers offer more questions than answers about what exactly happened to Crane leading up to Dying Light: The Beast​​​​.

Having been experimented on for years by the mysterious and sociopathic Baron, Kyle Crane is out to get revenge and finally put a stop to his mad experimentation once and for all. As if the terrifying variants of infected terrorizing the land weren't bad enough, the Baron's monstrosities look like they'll put most of the existing undead to shame. Thankfully, Crane's mix of human and zombie DNA offers a significant edge over his deadlier enemies, giving him supernatural abilities that the developers have even compared to Marvel's Wolverine.

Dying Light: The Beast Release Date & Platforms

A Next Generation Experience To Redefine Series

Following the most recent gameplay trailer, Dying Light: The Beast is still on track for its summer release on August 22, giving it plenty of room to shine without being overshadowed by too many releases. Despite Dying Light: The Beast taking place after both the entries in the Dying Light timeline, you don't need to have played any previous titles to enjoy the storyline of the sequel, as stated by developer Techland, although it will provide a clearer insight into the character of Kyle Crane and his struggles.

The latest entry is also aiming to be the most visually ambitious entry in the franchise yet, as Dying Light: The Beast is officially slated to release on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and the Xbox Series X|S at launch. Despite their absence, Techland is still working on versions for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which are set to release sometime before the end of 2025. Even with the gameplay improvements aside, the visuals of The Beast look better than ever, with dense foliage and dynamic environmental effects bringing the action to life with even more realism.

Despite Dying Light: The Beast being priced at a full $60 for the standard release and $70 for the Deluxe Edition, some players will be receiving the release at a significant discount. If you were lucky enough to purchase Dying Light 2: Ultimate Edition or its Ultimate Upgrade before their removal on September 30th, 2024, you'll receive a free digital copy of Dying Light: The Beast and its pre-order bonus on release.

All Dying Light: The Beast Pre-Order Bonuses & Editions

Limited-Edition Rewards For Dying Light: The Beast

If you're already planning on buying Dying Light: The Beast, there's more incentive to pre-order the game thanks to the Hero of Harran bundle. Included in this pre-order bonus is the Ultimate Survivor outfit, the Castor Woods Patrol vehicle skin, alongside the Harran Combat Knife, The Follow Crossbow, and the In Jade's Memory Pistol, each with an upgradeable blueprint to get more longevity out of your limited weapons. Currently, Techland has no plans to add these rewards for purchase at a later date, making them an exclusive bonus limited only to pre-order copies of The Beast before August 22, 2025.

Unlike both previous entries in the Dying Light franchise, there has been no official word of a collectors' edition for The Beast yet, and the game's impending makes it seem unlikely that there will be at this point. Given that Dying Light: The Beast was originally planned as a simple digital DLC for Dying Light 2: Stay Human, the absence of a collectors' edition isn't too shocking, but is still a notable departure for the franchise. Instead of a collector's edition, Dying Light: The Beast still offers a Deluxe Edition upgrade that includes the base game alongside extra digital rewards:

• Dying Light: The Beast
• Official Soundtrack
• Wallpaper Pack
• Castor Woods Tourist Map
• Castor Woods Prepper Bundle

While the official soundtrack and wallpaper pack are standard offerings available outside the game, the Castor Woods Tourist Map and Prepper Bundle provide a head start for Kyle Crane's revenge story. The Tourist Map itself will mark notable loot locations for exploration on your in-game map alongside additional notes, while the Prepper Bundle offers the Prepper Outfit and Survivalist SMG + Upgradable Blueprint for you to craft later on. No story or playable content is locked behind these inclusions, so the Deluxe Edition is for fans who want to get even more out of their overall experience while ing the developers.

Dying Light: The Beast Gameplay Details

Taking The Dying Light Formula To Even Greater Heights

Aside from Kyle Crane's obsessive revenge narrative, the gameplay for Dying Light: The Beast is easily where it shines the most, bringing back the best elements of both entries and their DLCs to full effect. From adding a greater focus on gunplay, the return of open world driving, a more diverse array of enemies, and supernatural powers to fight them with, Dying Light: The Beast should have plenty of surprises for both new players and veterans to the series. Even with the changes, the satisfying zombie killing and parkour could be at their best in the latest Dying Light entry.

The most innovative of these new mechanics is Crane's monstrous abilities, likely gained through the biological experimentation at the hands of the Baron. While the full extent of these abilities hasn't been revealed just yet, the trailer already shows Crane not only blocking an attack from a hulking new infected but also using its own weapon to incapacitate the creature. Even with these newfound abilities, Kyle Crane is still far from invincible, as Dying Light: The Beast still intends to make the night gameplay significantly more challenging and tense than the more carefree daytime exploration.

Despite the solitude Crane is likely to encounter after his terrifying mutations, you won't have to play through Dying Light: The Beast alone, as it includes co-op functionality with up to four players with simultaneous story progression. Balancing between the beast and human sides of Kyle Crane's new body, Dying Light: The Beast has unique challenges to overcome for its scare factor, but the terrifying new enemies on display seem to up the stakes in more than just difficulty.

The return of vehicles coming to The Beast comes alongside even larger environments to explore compared to its most recent predecessor, which could be perfect for co-op exploration. Taking place in the contrastingly gorgeous Swiss Alps-inspired valley of Castor Woods, Dying Light: The Beast includes several biomes ranging from a tourist town, an industrial area, a national park, farm fields, swamps, and more, each filled with even deadlier infected.

Sources: Dying Light, Dying Light/YouTube