In the ten years since Techland released the original Dying Light, it’s cemented itself as one of the pillars of the zombie genre, rivaling icons like Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead. As of the time of writing, it sits at a 95% Steam rating from a frankly absurd 340,000 user reviews, with at least 10,000 people playing it on the storefront every day. I’d wager that these numbers are about to grow, too, because Techland has just revealed a major upgrade, which is entirely free if you already own the game. With Dying Light The Beast around the corner, now’s the time for zombie-slaying action.
Back in January, Techland teased some big enhancements for the original Dying Light. It’s been more than a decade since we first stepped into Kyle Crane’s shoes and ventured into the infested streets of Harran, and the new Retouched Update will introduce an extra layer of polish to the experience, making one of the best zombie games on PC even better.
That said, Dying Light franchise director Tymon Smektała makes it clear from the jump that this isn’t a typical remaster at all. “So, let’s set the record straight: the Retouched Update is about squeezing out even more from the Dying Light you already love. It’s not a complete overhaul or remaster.”
This means you can expect increased texture quality across some of Harran’s surroundings. Techland is upscaling these assets to make Dying Light look better than ever, with the team providing a comparison image of some wooden wall panels as an example.
Lighting and physics-based rendering have also been improved, which means metallic surfaces reflect light better, and look even more realistic than before. The maximum LOD (level of detail) range has also gone from 260% to 340%, which means more modern hardware can increase the distance of highly detailed assets.
Techland has also woven in new music tracks and ambient sounds throughout Dying Light, which should bring Harran to life like never before. “We seriously juiced up the hit reaction audio in combat,” Smektała writes. “Every swing, every crunch, every zombie takedown will sound more satisfying, more impactful. You’ll feel those hits.”
Techland is releasing the free Dying Light Retouched Update for all owners on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on Thursday June 26.
Then, once the Retouched Update arrives, it isn’t long until the Dying Light The Beast release date either. My colleague Jamie even got to play it at Summer Game Fest, and his brilliant preview is well worth a read ahead of launch.
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