It's rare that you see a developer going out of its way to right its own wrongs the way Techland does with Dying Light: The Beast's stunning open world. In crafting the dense yet compact environs of Castor Woods, a picturesque suburban wilderness where vines, trees, and greenery throttle what's left of humanity's claim to it, the Polish studio essentially reneges on the entire design philosophy of its last game. And that's a very good thing in this case.
Where Dying Light 2's Villedor boasted a staggering map with up to 500 hours of content to pick through, it took me just 52 to explore almost all of The Beast. Similarly, as per our Dying Light 2 review, the addition of player-led narrative choices were unpopular with many fans (myself included) and its overall narrative suffered for it. This time, The Beast's story is fully taken into Techland's hands as it delivers an immensely satisfying conclusion – and lays foundations for a new beginning.
