The Dying Light franchise has been a long-running icon in the zombie-survival genre, balancing horror with parkour at the same time, which keeps the player hooked. Moreover, with the upcoming Dying Light: The Beast, the developers seem to be going an extra mile by including a mechanic that takes inspiration straight out of a legendary arcade game.
The upcoming game introduces Beast Mode, which is far from being just another rage meter, and is instead a twist on nostalgia from an arcade game you never saw coming.
Dying Light: The Beast’s Beast Mode is inspired by this iconic arcade game
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Dying Light: The Beast, while having the same fundamentals from previous installments, steers off course by doing everything with twice as much exaggeration. One of the innovations in the new game is the addition of Beast Mode, a mechanic where the player can enter a state of rage and focus and deal huge damage to zombies.
But would you believe it when I say this feature was inspired by none other than Pac-Man? Yes, you read that right. According to Timon Smektala, in an interview with Famitsu and as noted by Automaton Media, Beast mode was heavily inspired by the iconic moment in Namco’s classic when Pac-Man eats a Power Pellet and suddenly goes from prey to predator.
In Dying Light: The Beast, your character, Crane, can unleash Beast mode once a special meter is filled by landing attacks or taking damage. Once activated, he then taps into a rage-fueled transformation that borrows the very DNA of the monsters he’s fighting.
Rage modes are nothing new. Players have seen it take a major role in games like God of War and Devil May Cry. But there’s no shame in admitting one of the first ones to do it was Pac-Man, and that’s precisely where the brains behind Dying Light: The Beast take inspiration from.
How the Beast Mode in Dying Light: The Beast will change the franchise forever
Some might not understand how big of an impact Beast Mode will have on the Dying Light franchise. In your usual go-to zombie-survival games, the player usually has to keep themselves out of sight from the monsters, living a life always hidden away and in fear.
But that’s not the case with the upcoming game. When Crane has had enough, he will fight back, and he does it with style. Techland, the studio behind the franchise, has managed to mix modern brutality with classic inspiration from Pac-Man in a way that feels both fresh and nostalgic.
Pac-Man may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you face a horde of zombies, but once you enter Beast mode, you’ll never see pellets or power-ups the same way again. Always remember, this new mechanic is carefully balanced and meant to feel earned. You don’t get to go full rampage mode often, and when you do, it’s time to unleash pure chaos.
