Dying Light Games Ranked: Best to Worst in the Series

Dying Light is one of the most influential zombie survival franchises. In this article, we rank every Dying Light game, from the original to its expansions and sequels.

This series has been around for a while, and each game throws something new into the mix. From parkour and survival to full-blown open world chaos, there’s a lot to dig through.

	Game	Release	Genre	Developer	Video
	Dying Light	2015-01-26	Adventure & Role-playing (RPG)	Techland
	Dying Light The Following	2016-02-08	Role-playing (RPG) & Adventure	Techland
	Dying Light 2 Stay Human	2022-02-04	Role-playing (RPG) & Adventure	Techland Publishing
	Dying Light: The Beast	2025-09-18	Role-playing (RPG) & Adventure	Techland

So here’s a straight up look at every Dying Light title, from the original, through its big expansions, to what’s coming next

Overview of the Dying Light Franchise

The series comes from Techland, and they really nailed the balance between fast movement, gritty combat, and a world that feels like it’s always trying to kill you. Here’s what really defines Dying Light:

• Parkour: you run rooftops, climb walls, and keep moving. Stopping usually gets you trapped and killed.
• Survival: it’s about crafting what you need, finding what you don’t have, and not dying along the way.
• Open world: big, vertical spaces full of danger, loot, and side stuff worth doing
• Combat: mostly melee. Swing a pipe, slice with a blade, break bones. Guns show up, but you won’t rely on them much.
• Day and night: during the day, things are bad. At night, they’re even worse. Some enemies only come out after dark, and that flips the game’s rhythm completely.
• Co-op: up to four players can jump in together. Whether you’re doing missions or just messing around, it’s better with backup.

This series doesn’t hold your hand. It expects you to learn fast, move smart, and fight dirty. And honestly, it’s one of the few zombie games where moving feels just as important as fighting. If you stop thinking, you’re dead.

Dying Light Ranked

Let’s go through them, one by one.

Dying Light (2015)

The one that started it all. Dying Light dropped you into Harran, a city falling apart under a viral outbreak. You play as Kyle Crane, a guy sent in to handle things, except nothing goes as planned.

The gameplay loop hits hard. You explore, grab what you can, fight what you have to, and then get out before the sun sets. Once night falls, the monsters change, and suddenly you’re the one being hunted.

Combat feels raw. Every swing connects, and crafting matters. It’s not clean or stylish, but it’s satisfying. Co-op turns it into a different kind of fun, chaotic, messy, but always entertaining.

Techland supported this game for almost a decade. Four main expansions, loads of skins and weapons, and a fanbase that stuck around. And I need to admit, this is still my favorite. Nothing beats that first time you get caught out at night and realize how completely screwed you are. It’s one of those games where the tension never really wears off, even years later.

Dying Light: The Following (2016)

Technically an expansion, but it’s big enough to stand alone. This time, you leave the city behind and hit wide open countryside. Same main character, but new threats, new factions, and a strange cult that might know something about the virus. The big addition is a buggy you can drive, upgrade, and weaponize.

The Following might be the best zombie expansion I’ve ever played. That buggy adds so much to the game, and the rural setting is a nice break from the city grind. It somehow keeps the tension even though you’re in the open. It changes the pace completely.

The other DLCs from the Definitive Edition are worth a shout too:

• The Bozak Horde: combat and parkour challenges in a stadium arena.
• Cuisine and Cargo: two tense, horror leaning side missions.
• Hellraid: a fantasy style side mode built from an old Techland project. Weird but fun.

Dying Light 2 (2022)

The sequel everyone had been waiting for. You’re Aiden Caldwell, a Pilgrim moving through what’s left of society in search of your sister. The city’s called Villedor, and it’s a mess, politics, power struggles, and lots of infected.

Combat still focuses on melee, but with more flair. The systems are deeper, though not always cleaner. Sometimes the ambition stretches the design a bit thin. The choices you make shift the balance between rival factions, unlock new routes, or lock you out of others.

Personally, I had mixed feelings on this one. Movement felt amazing, way more polished, but the story lost me in spots. Still, the city is fun to explore, and it’s got that “just one more rooftop” pull that kept me going way longer than I expected.

Dying Light: The Beast (Coming 2025)

Not out yet, but the setup looks promising. Kyle Crane returns, but he’s changed, experiments left him half human, half monster. Now you switch between forms depending on how you want to fight.

The setting moves to Castor Woods, a new alpine inspired region full of cliffs, forests, and danger. Vehicles are back. The day and night cycle still matters. And yes, co-op is in.

This one leans into brutality. Ripping enemies apart with your bare hands is part of the skillset now. Whether that adds depth or just gore remains to be seen.

And if you picked up the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2 you’ll get this game at no extra cost.

Conclusion

The Dying Light series didn’t lose its edge. Every entry builds on the last without ditching what worked. The parkour, the danger, the tension, they’re still at the core.

The first game is still the high point for a lot of players, but the expansions and sequels bring their own wins. Whether you’re bashing skulls in Harran, driving through The Following, shifting alliances in Stay Human, or waiting to go full beast mode in 2025, the series keeps pushing forward without forgetting where it came from.

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