Dying Light: The Beast Preview

It’s been 10 years since the original Dying Light released, bringing its excellent blend of storytelling, zombie bashing, and parkour movement. The game was an instant hit, and since then, it’s seen expansions (such as The Following) and a sequel, Dying Light 2, that has seen a tremendous amount of support.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the original protagonist, Kyle Crane, but he returns to The Beast, having been experimented on and ready for some revenge. Gamer Guides were invited to an exclusive hands-on with the game at Gamescom 2025, and we liked what we saw!

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Dying Light: The Beast sees the return of Kyle Crane as the protagonist. Image credit: Techland

Our focus for this demo was on a particular side quest that tasked us with dealing with the issue of the water being cut off. For the most part, you usually expect side quests to be shorter affairs, but what impressed me the most about this one in The Beast was that by the time I was finished with it, it felt like it would easily have been right at home as one of the main quests.

As a big fan of Kyle Crane from the original Dying Light, it was nice to see him back in the driving seat, and the dialogue remains a constant joy as you get the lowdown on the quest. So, the first task was to hit up a site and check out the water pressure there, simple enough, right? Not in the world of Dying Light, as you’ll need to deal with the Infected that can be found roaming the streets of the city. Fortunately, parkour feels as good as ever, and I found my way across the rooftops.

Along the way, I did spot on the map that there were some vehicles that I could commandeer, but being aware of my time with the demo, I didn’t have time to take out the guards that were patrolling around there. Still, having enjoyed the vehicles in the original Dying Light’s expansion, it’s great to see these make a return.

Once I arrived at the pumping station, naturally, I had to clear out a group of Infected, and the combat is as brutal and satisfying as ever. New to The Beastis a gauge that fills up as you attack and are attacked yourself, and once full, will allow you to activate Crane’s new “Beast Mode”, a new feature for this title. Once active, Kyle will change into a melee powerhouse who can easily take down hordes of Infected, making it perfect for those moments where you may be a bit overwhelmed. I had a quick peek at the skill tree, and there are many opportunities to develop your Beast prowess even further.

Still, I was here to check out the water pressure, and after a brief look around, I found a hole in the wall where a car had been driven into. This was my way inside. After dealing with the Infected inside, I was able to learn that the water pressure here was fine. With that lead cold, the next viable option was to check out the water repair facility, so once again, I made my way across the rooftops to reach this building, only this time, a massive Infected could be found outside, perfect for making use of Beast Mode. Regardless of how I dealt with them, I eventually had to make my way to the Chief Engineer’s Office.

Fighting my way through hordes of enemies, I had to piece together a code from some notes and get inside the building, where yet another group of enemies awaited me. Eventually, I was able to hear some banging on some pipes; clearly, someone was trying to get my attention, and when I followed the yellow pipe, it led me to the sewers. The sound design of the clanging of the pipes in the sewers really amped up the tension, and after working my way through them, I eventually found a large area full of Infected.

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There are so many ways in which you can take out the Infected. Image credit: Techland

Once I finally cleansed the area of Infected, I finally learn the source of the banging. I don’t want to spoil the outcome of the quest here, but suffice to say, I was impressed at how many layers there were to it and how deep the storytelling was that I honestly felt it could’ve been a main quest. This was enough to get me interested in the events of Dying Light: The Beast.

That was just one single side quest in what promises to be a large game. The world looks fantastic, the writing is great, and pummeling on Infected has never felt better. All of this is without delving into the loot and build opportunities that The Beast looks to have. If this is just a small slice of what we can expect when it launches in September, we honestly couldn’t be more excited. Welcome back, Kyle Crane, you’ve been missed!