We returned to the world of Dying Light and played the latest DLC, Dying Light: The Following. The questions is, should you?

Read on to find out

Generally, when looking at games that I have already beaten I find it difficult to revisit them, especially a year later. But, last week Techland released their newest DLC expansion for one of my favorite games of last year, Dying Light and it has absolutely renewed my love for the game. If you are looking for a review of the base game, I will loosely touch upon it here due to the new Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition, as it combines the game and all of the post-release content, but the focus will be on its latest and biggest expansion, The Following.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Dying Light before, this could not be a better time to take the plunge. At its core, Dying Light is a one to four player co-op zombie survival title with one of the best free running systems I have ever seen, but the depth of its content goes even beyond that. Using a robust weapon crafting and upgrading system, players are able to unlock and add abilities and perks to a wide variety of weapons. Numerous gadgets and skills give players a number of options to choose from that help traversing the games two main cities in unique and interesting ways.

To say that Dying Light is simply a zombie survival title is a disservice, as it is one of the most immersive an frightening games in the genre I have ever played. The key way that it does this is by never taking the player out of its first-person perspective, even when it would have been easier to do such. Visibility in the apocalypse can mean life or death, and in Dying Light, as the sun goes down, you chances of survival plummet. This isn’t simply because of your limited line of sight, but because that is when Night Stalkers come out. A super powered monster that patrols the grounds during the night, who calls in other Night Stalkers if you are spotted. This, this is just the main game and the tip of what is available now.

After getting through the main game, and after maxing out the available skills, players are now able to add Legend levels, which buff the player up to extraordinary levels, giving the players a huge extension to Dying Light‘s endgame content. On top of that, players will be able to up the challenge by taking things to hard mode, or even to a nightmare difficulty level.

Now, lets actually talk about The Following. Set in a new part of the world, The Following takes away the urban setting and gives the player a giant open area to run around in. Given the game’s free running roots, this would at first seem more detrimental to the core mechanics than anything, as there are far fewer things to climb on than before. But, in reality, what this does is kick out the training wheels from under the players, by removing their ability to survive by simply grappling from building to building like Spiderman. Instead, you are now responsible for your own transportation, you are now even more responsible for managing your time, you are now responsible for your own survival in a way you never have been before, you are truly exposed.

The primary new feature that The Following adds is the new off road vehicle that becomes your only real chance to make it past the throngs of infected that scatter the open landscape. That vehicle or Buggy is the new attraction, as you are now able to customize not only its look, but slot in a few perks to help you out on the field. Need a distraction? Use a remote to set off a car alarm to draw the horde away from you. Need to shake off an infected who is hitching a ride? install the shock cage to send them flying. Stuck out in the open at night? Use the UV lights to create a temporary safe zone around your Buggy.

While the Buggy may seem like a one stop shop for all of your needs, it is up to you to maintain it as it can become damaged or simply run out of fuel. Using screws and fuel found in abandoned cars, players will need to repair or upgrade various parts such as suspension, engine, breaks, turbo, and traction to keep it moving and keep you out of certain death. This concept was originally one of my turnoffs, but after spending some time with it, it is easy to see that The Following isn’t filling pushing busy work, but instead balancing a highly valuable tool with a marginal level of maintenance as a trade off.