The action game Dying Light 2 has lost favor with fans as the developers added a controversial feature.
With Dying Light 2, the Polish developer Techland aimed to build on the success of its predecessor. The game relies on familiar mechanics such as slicing zombies with powerful melee attacks and the well-known parkour gameplay that lets players chase over the rooftops of the city of Villedor.
Almost 1.5 years after the release, the title still occasionally receives updates that bring new skin bundles and events to the game. The summer update released on September 07 was not well received by players.
Many angry reactions to the new update for Dying Light 2
What are players criticizing? With the summer update, Techland introduced the so-called “Dying Light Points.” This is a new in-game currency for the game that can only be purchased with real money, and fans of the action game are not thrilled about it.
The developers announced the Dying Light Points (DL Points) with the promise that skin bundles can now be purchased “faster and more conveniently.” Players no longer need to buy skins in the store where they own the game – such as Steam – but can shop directly in the game. Additionally, Techland gave away 500 DL Points to every player.
On the release day of the update, negative reviews for Dying Light 2 flooded in on Steam, and it did not improve in the following days. Only 22% of the 1,654 reviews submitted between September 07 and September 12 are positive (as of September 12).
What exactly bothers players about the DL Points? Players’ criticism targets various aspects of the DL Points. Many are already bothered by the mere existence of microtransactions in a full-price single-player game (via Steam). Others describe the points as “greasy and predatory” (via Steam).”
A Steam user also explains that the smallest package of the currency includes 500 DL Points, but many bundles would cost 550 points – for these bundles, it is thus not enough to buy the smallest package, which forces players to spend more than they should and always have leftover points (via Steam).
How do the developers respond to the criticism? In a statement on Twitter, Techland responds that they know the “frustration” stems from the “pricing of the packages and the resulting leftover DL Points.”
Techland is now examining whether it will be possible to purchase individual items from existing packages in the future. However, they state that this will take time.
Furthermore, Techland “reminded” in the statement about some bundles that can be purchased in the shop for less than 500 DL Points.
A user who also seems to be no fan of the new currency responds to the statement on Twitter:
The only good solution is to remove them [the DL Points] from the game and simply put the bundles in the shop where people bought the game. No one asked for Dying Light Points. This is consumer-unfriendly and a step back in every respect.
Over 550 users expressed their agreement with the Twitter user’s comment with a “like.”
Another game is currently under criticism by players because it relies on microtransactions while simultaneously offering no improvements compared to its predecessor:
