Simply in case you had been questioning, Dying Gentle protagonist Kyle Crane has been in captivity, struggling the unethical zombie-DNA-splicing experiments of the brutish Baron for the perfect a part of a decade. Yeah. He’s had a reasonably tough go of it, however I’m happy to report that Crane has now escaped, and, understandably, he’s out for blood.
Crane is the titular monster of Dying Gentle: The Beast, an 18-hour stand-alone journey that began life as story DLC for Dying Gentle 2. Stated DLC was leaked by hackers final yr, so the builders at Techland pivoted and determined to craft one thing with even larger ambition. Dying Gentle: The Beast takes place in an enormous new area, a forgotten forest referred to as Castor Woods the place households used to trip pre-zombie apocalypse. Now it’s a playground for an apex predator like Crane, an enormous parkour-friendly smattering of business compounds and plazas, affected by raiders and shambling plague vectors. It’s not all dangerous, although — Crane’s decade from hell has left him with new skills, which he’ll must deal with the Freaks (what stays of The Baron’s different topics).
Regardless of its apparent attachment to the legacy of Techland’s collection, Dying Gentle: The Beast is meant to be an entry level for brand new gamers, a centered expertise that evokes the moreish zombie-bashing essence of Dying Gentle 2, with added superpowers. A hands-off demo I caught at Gamescom noticed Crane parkour by way of the Previous City, filled with dilapidated flats the place mud particles hung fantastically within the air. Finally, he reached a distant woodland and began stomping throughout mossy cable automobiles towards a hideout. When the solar lastly set, there was a stealthy gait to Crane’s actions, as he ducked into tall grass to lob decoys and management the eye of distinctive enemies that solely seem at evening.
Inner encounter environments had been properly detailed with long-forgotten ephemera, however I used to be rapidly divorced from the tense environment by some referential blood graffiti on the hideout partitions, studying “Don’t Open Useless Inside.” The necessary factor is that the fight environments are reactive, with poppable fuse containers and burning pyres offering different routes past the reliability of Dying Gentle’s “smack and gash” melee. Up shut, the fight seemed splendidly disgusting. Aspect swipes with a baseball bat tore a crevasse right into a gesticulating zombie’s cheek — then a ending blow accelerated the facial decay, abandoning an unrecognizable indent. As Crane secured the shelter within the demo, there was a glimpse of some exploration-based puzzles, customary cable-following fare specializing in activating mills and choosing locks, with just a few fights thrown in between.
Outdoors, inclement climate occasions introduced storms of dynamism to the open world, which options reactive encounters to stumble into, like dopey raiders huddling round a loot crate. Elsewhere, Crane leveraged his parkour expertise to dash across the innards of a stone silo and attain an enemy vantage level, which doubled as a blooming vista. Crane can leap, climb, and skulk across the open world on foot or, if it serves, hop right into a pickup truck for a far much less refined zombie administration system.
For those who’re not into stealth, you may also play The Beast like a first-person shooter, but whereas the gunplay appears strong sufficient, it’s merely one other arrow in your quiver alongside throwing knives, propane tanks, and face-melting beast powers. Gib-friendly gore mechanics sweeten the pot, although. A shotgun blast to the hip bone tears the aforementioned army males asunder, intestines dangling within the air whereas their decrease halves stay on terra firma.
Picture: Techland
Throughout interspersed cutscenes, Roger Craig Smith’s Crane is cynical and sarcastic, responding with terse tough-guy quips to the directions of his handler, Olivia. He’s not essentially the most likable character on the earth — Crane all the time appears like he’s gargling fish tank pebbles — however his emotional unmooring is to be anticipated, given the last decade of deeply unethical psyche-dabbling by the hands of The Baron.
The massive dangerous didn’t seem in my Gamescom demo, however in place was one in all his creations, Behemoth, a mass of flesh carelessly flecked with horseshoe-shaped steel handles. Crane lured this rebar menace into an ominously formed clearing to provoke one in all Dying Gentle: The Beast’s boss battles. They’re par for the course, with Crane dodging and dashing to pepper in machete assaults and outmaneuver the lumbering hulk. My consideration spiked when, on the midpoint, Crane engaged “Beast Mode,” which added an orange vignette to the display screen. In addition to forcing Crane to combat together with his naked palms, going Beast Mode enabled the flexibility to select up close by environmental objects (on this case, a stone bollard) and lob them at unsuspecting zombies.
All instructed, Dying Gentle: The Beast appears like a pretty follow-up to Dying Gentle 2, particularly for those who’re nostalgic for Crane’s authentic journey in Harran. However I’d count on a renovation reasonably than a revolution. I’m significantly eager on the concept of hopping into Castor Woods in four-player co-op like the great outdated days of Useless Island, sharing development with buddies and seeing how the programs intersect for some raucous post-apocalyptic enjoyable. I simply hope Crane’s glib banter doesn’t undermine what the collection is finest at — ragdoll parkour fight comedy.
Dying Gentle: The Beast is coming to PlayStation, Home windows PC, and Xbox. There’s no launch date as of writing, however in an ode to the sport’s growth historical past, it’ll come for free of charge to those that personal the Final Version of Dying Gentle 2.
