Here’s How Dying Light 2 Factions Have Changed Since the Original

The original Dying Light featured three core factions—Brecken’s group, Troy’s Embers group, and Rais’ gang. Techland aims to include even more factions in Dying Light 2. The key difference, though, will rest in how these factions function in the open-world and behave in the game’s narrative. Just as player choice has an effect on Dying Light 2’s setting and story, it’ll also prove essential to the factions’ progression.

In an interview with SegmentNext, Lead Game Designer Tymon Smektała explained a bit about factions.

…to be honest [Dying Light’s factions] were just groups needed by the narrative whereas in Dying Light 2 these are factions you can interact with using various game systems. For now we’re introducing two main factions—the Peacekeepers and the Scavengers. They’re an example of a few “big factions” we have in the game; don’t want to spoil the number but rest assured it’s not just these two. The important thing is that each of those factions have their ideas how they want to survive this apocalypse; for example, the Peacekeepers believe that they can kill all of the infected, that’s the ultimate goal of these people.

You can support them, but you’ll also see that perhaps their agenda doesn’t make sense—you can kill some, but more will come, right? And while working with them you’ll also realize that they have a different, darker side—they believe in their philosophy so much that they start oppressing people that are living in the areas they “liberate.” This makes you question your decisions. Aside of the huge factions we also have smaller groups that “just want to survive,” but by interacting with them you can change the flow of the narrative–and also get access to different gameplay options. It’s a complex puzzle of political relations, but we hope players will find pleasure in finding their own solution to it.

Since Dying Light 2’s announcement, Techland has remained insistent about the importance of choice and consequence. Based on Smektała’s take, it will be interesting to see how game systems from the previous entry are being integrated into an entry where choices really matter. Is it possible for players to steer factions with depraved world views in a new and promising direction? Could the corruption of one group potentially provoke another? It’s impossible to know, until the game gets in the hands of audiences.

Dying Light 2 does not yet have a release date, but the game will launch in 2019.

[Source: SegmentNext]