Dying Light 2 - Delay Explained

Wccf Tech saw an interview of Tymon Smektala, lead designer at Techland, explaning why the game was delayed.

Dying Light 2 Delay Explained; Dev Says Every Skill Will Be a Game-Changer, the Hook Is More Physical

Dying Light 2 recently suffered yet another delay as Techland moved the game from the previous December 7th, 2021 date to February 4th, 2022.

In an interview published in the latest issue of EDGE magazine, Techland Lead Designer Tymon Smektala explained the reasons behind the delay.

"We're double-checking everything in the game. Dying Light 2 is full of complex, intersecting systems created by hundreds of people – at some point in the production they all really click and start working together, but you also start discovering various edge cases where maybe they don’t, and you want to fix that. Those are usually simple fixes, but you want to make sure you test and catch as many of those as possible. Those extra two months will be spent exactly on this. And maybe we’ll also squeeze in an Easter egg or two…

It’s a case of needing a little bit more runway, or maybe even the control tower suggesting another approach to make the landing more clean. You have to think about the crew the same way you think about the passengers, you know."

Smektala then discussed the improved character progression systems, stating that all skills will be meaningful additions to the player's arsenal in Dying Light 2.

"It’s very difficult to create a sequel to a game with this kind of power curve. You’ve already
spent 50, 100, 200 hours on increasing powers, and now you have to do the same thing from scratch.

In the original some skills were filler, just tweaking attributes. In Dying Light 2, every skill is a game-changer. Almost every one gives you a new ability you can instantly try on enemies."

The grappling hook is also different than the original one, which according to Smektala was bending the laws of physics a lot, a bit like Spider-Man's web-shooting capabilities.

"In Dying Light 2, it’s more like Tarzan’s rope. You use it to swing on things, and it’s more physical. You get the most satisfaction when you do parkour, and you see a huge gap in front of you, but maybe there’s something you can attach your grappling hook to, so you swing to the other side of the gap and then you continue the parkour.

We understood the tool from the start of the project, and were trying to find a formula that would allow us to keep it, but also make it more supportive of the gameplay rather than overwriting it."

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