Dying Light: The Beast Review

I managed to finish Dying Light: The Beast in around 40 hours, and it delivered some of the tensest experiences I’ve ever had in a horror game — but also some of the most fun and freedom I’ve felt in a long while.

With its fluid parkour mechanics, incredible visuals, and immersive sound design, the game is a feast for the eyes and ears. While daytime gives me a sense of freedom and serenity, nighttime — paired with the dynamic ambient music — creates some of the most fear-inducing and intense moments I’ve experienced.

There are bits and pieces of jank (or simply elements I didn’t enjoy as much), but overall the experience is intense, rewarding, and genuinely memorable.

Atmosphere and Sound Design

Right off the bat, what impressed me most in Dying Light: The Beast was the sound design and the way the music subtly changes depending on where you are. In the park or main town, you get this idyllic ambient music. At night, it switches to tense, repetitive tracks that keep your eyes peeled for horrific surprises. In tight spaces, like rooms and crawlspaces, it even starts feeling horror-like. Add in the eerie silence, moaning, and gurgling from zombies nearby, and you’ve got a game that knows how to keep you on edge without going over the top.

Freedom and Movement

The mobility is another big highlight. It’s first-person freerunning done right — fast, fluid, and rewarding.

It feels like Dead Island but with actual parkour freedom, letting you traverse rooftops, leap between ledges, and chain movements in a way that feels natural.

Combat and Day-Night Cycle

Combat itself is serviceable, I did not find it that special and I found Dead Island to have more variety and enjoyable combat. Anyway, I’ll get back to this later.

Fighting zombies in daytime is overall very chill since you can be aware of your surroundings and what kind of enemies you are fighting. At night, though, the entire vibe changes. There’s always a sense of danger, and Volatiles — the special infected — are no joke. Get caught and if you’re as bad as me when running around at night time, you might as well just close your eyes and accept your faith. Volatiles are the kind of enemy that makes you think twice before stepping out of your safe zone.

The Beast Skill Branch

One thing I also enjoyed was the “Beast” skill branch. It’s a fourth branch tied to the story that reflects Kyle not really being human anymore. It also doubles as a kind of story-progress tracker.

As you hunt Chimeras, you unlock more beastly skills. By the time you’ve unlocked everything, you know you’re at the end of the line. It’s a neat way to tie gameplay progression to the narrative.

Puzzles and Environmental Design

I like that the game doesn’t just rely on fighting. There’s a little bit of puzzle-solving sprinkled in — connecting electric cables and figuring out the shortest route to the outlet so you don’t run out of cables, or unblocking vents and crawlspaces to progress.

These aren’t overly complicated but they break up the action in a way that feels natural. Little touches that help you out in exploration like shortcuts or camouflage adds a little layer of complexity to the game.

Story and Characters

Story-wise, it’s pretty straightforward with a few twists but nothing huge. Characters are likable, and none of them feel unnecessary. Even side characters exist without hindering the logic or flow of the game.

The ending, however, feels abrupt. As someone whose first entry into the franchise is this, I didn’t hate it, but I can see how returning fans might be upset. It feels like they’re setting up a DLC expansion, side story, or sequel.

Prologue and Storytelling

The prologue deserves a mention. It’s not iconic or memorable in the way some games pull off, but it sets a tone of weakness that fits Kyle Crane’s state. It actually reminded me of those forced-crawl, vulnerability-heavy intros from other games.

The knife-throw moment in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Waking up from a coma in the newer Wolfenstein series with B.J. Blazkowicz. Snake’s hospital scene in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. These are niche references, sure, but they give you an idea of what The Beast’s intro is going for — grounding you in the character’s limitations before you start building him up.

Other things That Don’t Work as Well

That said, the game isn’t perfect. Combat can feel a bit janky or floaty at times. Stealth, especially on mouse and keyboard, is awkward — you can’t slow walk or crouch-walk smoothly, and it’s frustrating that you have to unlock stealth instead of having it from the start.

The diving/swimming controls are also overly sensitive. A tiny press of W and looking down immediately makes Crane dive, which gets annoying. And while the game is great at building tense, scary moments, there are a few cheap jumpscares in the story that I just think does not feel necessary.

Another small gripe is how clearing areas doesn’t really clear them. Zombies will respawn even if you’ve been gone for just 30 seconds. It makes sense mechanically but can be frustrating when you’re trying to secure a space. And compared to Dead Island, the character skill/progression system feels a little limited. The level cap is only 15, with three main skill branches (plus the Beast branch). It works, but it’s not as customizable as I’d like.

Is Dying Light: The BeasT A Good Game? Is Dying Light: The BeasT Worth it?

Yes, but do not play it in the dark!

Dying Light: The Beast nails its atmosphere with excellent sound design, dynamic music, and truly scary nights. Its parkour and mobility make exploration fun, and the puzzles and Beast skill branch add variety to the gameplay. While combat and stealth can feel janky, and some jumpscares cheap, the overall experience is tense, rewarding, and memorable — even if the ending leaves you hanging.

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