Dying Light is seemingly a game that just won’t die. Released back in January of 2015 by developer Techland (the studio behind Dead Island), Dying Light received favorable reviews and garnered a strong fan base. Techland would reward that fan base with continued post-launch support and content.
Along with general bug fixes and quality-of-life updates, the game’s first two DLC content packs, Cuisine and Cargo, added two new quarantine zones. After that, The Bozak Horde added a new stadium location and a horde mode to participate in (inside said new stadium).
This was followed up by 2016’s hefty The Following. Included in the season pass (or $20 for standalone purchase), this was effectively a second game. It took place in a new map that was as big (if not bigger) than the base game’s multiple maps combined, and it added a brand-new storyline and driveable dune buggies. It was a huge batch of content and — I would assume — quite the undertaking.
2018 saw even more content, with a standalone battle royale mode called Bad Blood, which was available initially in early access for the PC version of the game. It became free (for anyone who owned the original Dying Light) in January of 2020 to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the game’s launch.
An this brings us to 2020 and the addition of Hellraid.
Hellraid was supposed to be another Techland game, but it was either scrapped or put on hold (it’s not completely clear which). The content will soon be making its way into Dying Light.
Hellraid is another paid DLC ($9.99) that changes the game — quite literally. After finding a mysterious arcade cabinet, players are transported into a hellish first-person fantasy slasher. It basically trades zombies for fire-wielding skeletons and other classic fantasy game enemies and elements. Some of this even brings to mind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
It was originally slated for release on July 23, but it was (inevitably?) delayed, though not by much. It is now looking like it should release on August 13th for PC and August 14th for PS4 and Xbox One.
Oh, and Techland says they aren’t done with the original Dying Light quite yet (even though Dying Light 2 has long been in development).
First zombies, and now skeletons. Do I smell a possible Minecraft crossover event? Please, yes, and thank you.
