MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen plunged into the zombie world of Dying Light: The Beast for about an hour at gamescom 2025. And she was relieved when she was finally redeemed from her play session.
Actually, I usually spend my free time playing cozy games or role-playing games with grand stories. Nevertheless, my then-boyfriend somehow managed to persuade me to play a round of Dying Light. We eventually had to stop the game in the middle because it was just too scary for me.
Accordingly, you can imagine my face when I was assigned to try out the demo of Dying Light: The Beast at gamescom 2025. Well, it shouldn’t be that bad
, I thought.
However, after an hour of playing, I actually needed a break to recover from the whole atmosphere. And that could be the reason why fans of the first part will love the game so much.
The graphics created the perfect vacation vibe
In the one-hour demo, I was able to complete a story mission with the protagonist Kyle Crane, known from the first part of the series. Our home base had its water turned off, so we were sent to look for the source. Over time, I went to several stations in the outside world, which had been overrun by zombies.
During my excursion into the game world, I noticed how beautifully everything looks. The new map, Castor Woods, is inspired by the Alps in Switzerland, according to the developers on the official site. And I saw that too: There were forests and mountains everywhere, their peaks covered with snow.
The city where the home base was located reminded me of a Central European holiday destination. If it weren’t for all the zombies, you could consider it a nice holiday spot that has seen better days.
At the beginning, I simply jumped over the roofs of the abandoned city to enjoy the scenery a bit. Dying Light: The Beast looked so beautiful that I would have loved to explore the landscape as a silent observer. But once I focused on the main mission, I had no peaceful minute left.
Dying Light: The Beast cost me a lot of nerves
That Dying Light looks so good and captivated me was unfortunately also to my detriment. Because the zombies seemed much scarier than in the first part, I constantly felt threatened. I couldn’t find a peaceful minute because even in quiet moments, new zombies could appear.
In a factory hall, for example, I thought I had exterminated all the zombies. Suddenly, another door opened, and a big soldier-zombie and several Sprinters charged at me. Panicked, I fled back, barricaded the door, and hoped that the Molotov cocktail would still have an effect through the closed door.
There were several situations where a jump scare was pre-programmed. In seemingly harmless corners, a zombie would suddenly drop on me, or when I thought I had finally found my peace, another undead would rush at me, one I had probably overlooked before.
The game tested my nerves tremendously because I found no peace since leaving the city. The gloomy atmosphere emanating from the abandoned buildings didn’t help either. The lack of ammunition meant I had to primarily defend myself against the zombies with a bat studded with nails.
Things got even worse at night: special zombies appear that are not so easy to deal with. They hunted me down, and I quickly learned that fleeing was the only good option.
Additionally, I was only equipped with a flashlight to see anything in the dark. The constant moaning of the zombies was always audible, but I couldn’t always see them. This created a permanent feeling of tension in me that often released.
I was startled by every little jump scare or even just when I turned around and suddenly saw a zombie. For the developers who sat with me in the room, it must have looked incredibly funny as I flinched or screamed.
A nightmare for me, perfect for fans
I was relieved when the hour was up and I could step out of the zombie world. If I could have determined how long I played in one go, I would have needed some recovery breaks in between.
But this aspect shows that the game is perfect for all those who enjoy scares and want to experience a Dying Light with a bombastic atmosphere. In the community on Steam, there are many advocates who believe that part 1 is better than part 2. This is due to several reasons:
- The combat system is more brutal
- Stronger focus on survival horror
- More threatening atmosphere
And if these three points are important to you, I can promise you: Dying Light: The Beast goes full throttle on these three points and is perfect for all those looking for an atmospheric zombie game.
What I also liked was the selection of weapons for the demo. Besides a flamethrower, I had a crossbow that killed zombies with one shot, and a regular pistol. So anyone expecting creative weapons is also well taken care of.
By the way, there is another shooter that offers creative mods for its weapons. However, you need to make special settings in the options or play at specific times: A new solo shooter on Steam rewards you with a larger magazine if you sacrifice your sleep for it
