If you’re into rooftop parkour, close-quarters combat, and zombies that don’t wait around for you to catch your breath, Dying Light: The Beast might be worth keeping an eye on. It’s set to launch on September 19, 2025, for PC (Steam and Epic), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Xbox Series X|S.
New to the series? Doesn’t matter. The story’s built so you can jump in fresh. You’ll pick things up as Kyle Crane does, waking up in a world that’s changed while you were gone.
Dying Light The Beast Gameplay
In The Beast you play as Kyle Crane, only this time, he’s not entirely human. Years of experiments have left him with zombie DNA, which means you’re switching between survivor instincts and raw, infected rage. Two playstyles, one body.
Combat: Primal Brutality
Combat leans heavy into close-quarters brutality. Crane’s powers ramp up with rage, letting you tear enemies apart with your bare hands. Techland’s calling it "primal brutality." Expect fast kills and a focus on melee mayhem.
Day-Night Cycle Returns
The day-night cycle returns, and it’s still a big deal. Daylight is for looting and exploring. Nighttime flips the script, stronger enemies come out, and your options narrow fast. You’ll either run, hide, or fight, and none of those feel safe.
Parkour and Off-Road Vehicles
Parkour remains a core mechanic. Movement is slick and responsive, letting you flow over rooftops or slip inside buildings when things get tense. New this time is a drivable off-road vehicle for plowing through zombie hordes.
The world’s wide open, with lots of verticality and room to explore. The setting, Castor Woods, is inspired by the Swiss Alps, with biomes like tourist towns, national parks, farmland, and swamp zones. Visually diverse, but all showing decay.
Full Campaign Co-op
You can tackle the entire game in co-op with up to four players. All fights, quests, and progression sync for everyone. Loot sharing, revives, and shared success (or failure) are part of the deal.
Something New in the Old World
The biggest change is the dual identity system. Kyle’s no longer just human — he’s part infected. This shapes both gameplay and story. Castor Woods replaces the series’ past urban maps with Alpine environments. Techland is also pushing visual fidelity, with sharper detail, improved lighting, and smoother animations built for PC and current-gen consoles.
Key features:
- A proper open-world zombie game with strong survival mechanics
- Dual-role characters with an internal struggle as part of the story
- Melee combat that feels fast and punishing
- Parkour systems that stay smooth and responsive
- Full campaign co-op for group play
- High visual polish with detailed world design
