Dying Light 2 adds New Game Plus to ‘significantly alter’ gameplay

Dying Light 2’s latest patch, 1.3.0,  is here and it brings the long-awaited New Game Plus mode to the game, alongside many other changes and improvements. 

From now, after you complete Dying Light 2 you can return to the game and play it all over again “with modified game parameters” that will make it a rewarding, different experience to the first playthrough. 

In the patch notes for the update developer, Techland, doesn’t go into a huge amount of detail around exactly what players will see in New Game Plus but it does mention new enemy behaviors, 30 new inhibitors, new platinum objectives for parkour challenges, a new legendary weapon tier, gold encounters and enemy difficulty levels that scale to the player’s level. 

These and “many more changes” will, Techland says, “significantly alter the gameplay style and allow the player to develop their character further.”

In addition to New Game Plus, the patch notes also mention a number of changes to the game’s co-op mode which should make it a smoother experience. These include improvements to general co-op performance and fixing connection issues that players were experiencing when playing with those who were further advanced in the story. 

There’s also a brand new quest called “Something Big Has Been Here”, which includes “special elemental Goon variants”, alongside a host of other bug fixes and quality of life improvements to the game as a whole.

Dying Light 2 released back in February of this year for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4 and PC. In our review, we gave it four stars out of five, calling it “without a doubt one of the most ambitious zombie games ever made”.

Analysis: Not the last of it

This release of New Game Plus comes hot on the heels of the late March revelation that it was something that was “on the table” for the studio. While New Game Plus has certainly been a highly-requested and long-awaited addition to Dying Light 2, it won’t be the last improvement that Techland makes. 

Prior to the game’s release, the developer committed to five years of post-launch content which would include a mix of free and paid content, ranging across “new stories, locations, in-game events and all the fun stuff you love!”

In terms of what we can expect to come after this, Techland has previously mentioned a Photo Mode being “on the table”. We also know that there’s a story DLC coming in June, with a second to follow at an unspecified date. Lead Game Designer, Tymon Smektała, has said it takes place “sideways to the main events” of the game, rather than extending the narrative past the end of the main game. 

That’s not to mention the previously delayed Nintendo Switch launch that’s still on the cards. This addition of New Game Plus will certainly tide over players who have, or are about to, complete the game ahead of the release of the DLC.