Techland has announced a story event for Dying Light, which looks like it might be a bridge between the first game and the upcoming sequel.
The developer has announced the Spike’s Story: Last Call event which seems to be bringing a little narrative content to the franchise in its time of transition. That being said, you will have to get moving. The free event is in two parts, and Part 1 is currently ongoing.
Part 1 tasks players with helping Spike, a character who has remained relevant through Dying Light’s lifetime. Despite bad guy Rais being gone, his followers are causing havoc around Harran. Spike is organizing a survivor’s sanctuary for those lost in the chaos of zombies, and even worse, violent humans.
Here’s a trailer for the event, you can check it out here.
For participating in Part 1, Spike will offer you his special weapon, the Crankshaft. Think of a big mean pipe with a big rotary gear on the top and you'll be pretty close. It looks like nasty business. On top of that, there are smaller incentives, like Spike giving you 2 Trap Bombs every day, as well as friendly survivors in protective suits showing up to fight alongside you.
Part 2 will launch on January 28, and it hasn't been announced yet what to expect from it or how long it will run. That being said, with Dying Light 2 arriving on February 4, it seems likely it will be up to or near then.
Turning to the future
The timing of this new event seems quite suspicious, with the arrival of Dying Light 2 so close. It seems odd to promote an older game to cannibalize a sequel release, so it looks like this will be some kind of bridge for the two games. It’s not stated if this will be story content that is related to Dying Light 2, but it seems clear that Techland is positioning Spike for something.
It’s impossible to say that Techland hasn’t done right by 2015’s Dying Light. The game, despite approaching seven years old has had a string of constant updates giving players new content and tools to play around with. That’s rare for a single-player-focused game.
On top of smaller content, the game also received three major story expansions, as well as an expansion inside Dying Light that was based on a canceled fantasy project from Techland.
For a single-player-focused game, Dying Light’s support seems almost unparalleled. If Dying Light 2 sees the same kind of love, it has a long and prosperous future ahead.
There is a whole, supposedly enormous game imminent, so thinking about post-launch support already feels premature. That being said, if Dying Light 2 lives up to its promise, it's hard not to get excited about the prospect of what Techland could do with its new and improved engine and narrative focus. Here's hoping it all goes well, and Dying Light is a game that is talked about seven years after its own release.
