TheDying Lightfranchise is best known for two things: zombies and parkour. When faced with a horde of Infected, players can choose to either stand their ground and fight or book it in the most stylish way possible. It’s these choices of fight or flight that make everyDying Lgihtencounter dynamic and immersive.
WhatDying Lightisn’t well-known for are its boss battles. These lengthy fights often confine players in set arenas and force them to fight souped-up versions of standard enemies. Boss fights tend to feel likestop points inDying LightandDying Light 2’s narratives and gameplay loops, so much so that one has to consider their validity in the franchise.
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Dying Light and Dying Light 2’s Bosses Don’t Play To The Franchise’s Strengths
As mentioned, theDying Lightfranchise thrives on moment-to-moment decisions. Players could be happily hopping from rooftop to rooftop one moment andfinding themselves beset by Virals the next. It is the players' choices that determine their progression. Fighting can use up precious resources like Medkits and weapon durability, but players stand to gain combat experience and new loot. Making use of the game’s parkour system can allow players to save on the same items while gaining freerunning experience instead. Choosing whether to fight or run directly influences players' builds and how they approach the worlds ofDying LightandDying Light 2.
The franchise’s boss battles provide none of these freedoms. They force players to fight a set number of zombies or humans and deal with bosses that usually have larger health pools than standard enemies. Players who aren’t keen on fighting can find themselves ill-equipped and unprepared for these scripted scenarios. Since part of the fun ofDying Light’s combat involves killing tons of zombiesin a short amount of time, fighting a single enemy for an extended period isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. One good example of a tanky boss isDying Light 2’s Waltz. Not only does he have multiple phases to his boss fight, but he also has very predictable movements that players need to wait through to reach his vulnerable states.
Another example of a bad boss fight in theDying Lightseries is none other than the first game’s main antagonist, Rais. After climbing up his tower and defeating hordes of Infected and his men, Rais’s boss fights turns out to be nothing more than a series of quick-time events. These button prompts don’t use any of the skills players learned throughout their adventures but simply require them to have good reflexes. This makes the finalDying Lightboss fight extremely disappointing for players who wanted anepic showdown between Kyle Crane and the merciless leader.
Dying Light Games Already Have Strong Gameplay Loops
Rather than forcing boss battles into theDying Lightfranchise,Techland should incorporate scenarios that allow players to mix parkour and combat. Larger areas with well-placed enemies and parkour-enabling structures would allow for multiple ways of completing objectives. Likewise, more regular enemies instead of tankier ones can let players flex their combat skills instead of wailing on a single enemy’s health bar. The coreDying Lightexperience is already very strong, so all the developers have to do is make it more challenging for players in areas where they think it would fit the narrative and gameplay. Boxing players into a room with a single, beefy foe doesn’t constitute as anyone’s idea of fun, especially in a video game franchise whose main draw is parkour.
Dying Light 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
