Being a zombie game, Dying Light 2 includes multiple types of Infected. There are fast zombies, slow zombies, zombies that can take a huge amount of punishment, and so on. In fact, there is probably a zombie archetype for everyone who enters Villador - the fictional European city that serves as the setting for Dying Light 2. To survive, players must become accustomed to fighting different types of Infected simultaneously.
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Slow And Steady Wins The Race
At the bottom of the food chain are the Biters - common Infected that lumber slowly towards the player. While not particularly dangerous on their own, Biters can easily swarm a player if their numbers remain unchecked. Bombers fill a similar role to Biters, as they aren’t dangerous at a distance. When in close proximity to an enemy, however, these chunky zombies will explode and deal a lot of damage to anyone within the blast radius.
While Bitters and Bombers try to get within melee range, Splitters and Howlers make things difficult from a distance in Dying Light 2. Spitters, as their name implies, spit toxic chemicals that hurt anyone unfortunate to get hit by them. Howlers don’t have a ranged attack, but they can attract other undead (mostly Virals) to the player’s position if they catch sight of them. Howlers mostly appear at night and alerting one is the only way a player can start Dying Light 2’s famous chase sequences.
Three slow zombie archetypes are located at specific points of interest that make progression hard for the player. Goons and Demolishers can usually be found protecting rare loot and objectives that require player interaction. These tanky zombies hit hard and can knock the player to the ground in a single hit. Revenants guard GRE Anomalies - places that house valuable Inhibitor items that the player can use to upgrade themselves. These spiky Infected can revive and call upon more zombies as well as provide them with a toxic buff that makes them more lethal. These three enemy types are prime examples of zombies that don’t need speed to be dangerous.
Speed Kills
Speaking of speed, faster zombie archetypes fill out the other end of the spectrum. These zombies tend to be weaker than their slower counterparts but can easily catch up to the player. Starting with the Viral, these recently-turned Infected’s motor functions haven’t quite devolved to that of a standard Biter. As such, they can sprint and even climb up rooftops to close the distance between them and their prey. Virals are the Infected most called upon by Howlers during chase sequences, but they can also be found wandering the open world and in dark zones.
Biters and Banshees tend to be found on their own. Bolters will run away from the player once they notice them, in contrast to what everyone believes about zombies. These weak Infected can be found gorging on the remains of dead humans, so they seem to be scavengers more than hunters. Banshees, on the other hand, will use high platforms and the surrounding Infected to leap off and attack Dying Light 2 players with their sharp claws. Chargers and Drowners are faster variations of the Demolisher and Drowner respectively, and their speed makes it harder to take them down before they have a chance to connect an attack.
The last of the speedy Infected are the Volatiles, which are fast, resilient, and extremely deadly. Unlike the first Dying Light, Volatiles can only be found in dark zones during the day and during level 3 or higher chase sequences. While their presence isn’t as common as before, the threat they pose is still very big. Volatile attacks can take out the player in seconds, and their large health bars mean that taking one out will require a lot of resources. It is possible to take one down, but by the time the player has done so, another one will most likely have taken its place. With this in mind, it is almost always favorable to run away from a Volatile as opposed to fighting one.
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Variety Is The Spice of Life
Each of the zombie archetypes is dangerous on its own, but together, they create different problems for the player to solve. The player can either kill the faster, less resilient zombies or thin out the herd of slow Biters to make things easier. Avoiding combat is an option altogether; the player may lose out on valuable resources such as crafting materials and new equipment, but can escape with their life and the experience points they have gained from executing combat and parkour moves in Dying Light 2.
It’s situations like these that make Dying Light 2 enjoyable to play. Tackling different zombie archetypes at the same time forces players to make tough, on-the-spot decisions about how and if they should fight or not. This immediate decision-making further immerses the player in Dying Light 2’s fictional world.
Dying Light 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version is in development.
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