Dying Light 2 Will Feature a Zombie Life Cycle

Parkour and zombies are two great tastes that taste great together, as demonstrated by Techland’s Dying Light. While the game features more mutant monstrosities than players can shake a spiked baseball bat at, Dying Light 2’s zombies will transform into an entirely different kind of terror, emphasis on transform.

During an interview with GamesRadar+, Dying Light 2’s Lead Game Designer Tymon Smektala revealed some juicy information about the zombies. Thanks to emergent gameplay, zombies have their own life cycle. As oxymoronic as that sounds, Smektala paints quite the picture.

According to Smektala, all zombies in Dying Light 2 will start off as Virals. They will be quick and deadly, but they will avoid the sun like the plague. Virals who are left to their own devices will eventually metamorphose into Biters. As their name suggests, they will try to bite the player, either to infect or consume. On the bright side, Biters will still hate sunlight and are your typical slow, shambling zombies.

Here is where things get interesting. Biters who spend too much time in the sun or under UV lights will turn into Degenerates, a new kind of zombie that is extremely weak but still ultimately dangerous. However, Biters who survive for long enough will eventually transform into Volatiles, the bane of everyone who played the original Dying Light. As always, the best way to deal with a Volatile will be to run like crazy and hope it doesn’t catch you.

GamesRadar+ also got a taste of some concept art (see above) that features a zombified member of one of Dying Light 2’s factions, the Peacekeepers. This picture could simply indicate Techland’s worldbuilding plans to include zombified members of the game’s various factions. Or, perhaps the art implies NPCs who are bitten will eventually transform into zombies thanks to emergent gameplay. It’s too early to say.

Dying Light 2 doesn’t have a release date just yet, but it will be available on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and the PC.