Dying Lightwas first released over a decade ago on July 23, 2025. Following GRE agent Kyle Crane as he navigates the zombie-infested city of Harran,Dying Lightgarnered attention thanks to its first-person parkour gameplay and tense nighttime exploration. Techland built upon the success and narrative ofDying LightwithThe Followingstory DLC and a sequel in the form ofDying Light 2– and even after all that, the best time to playDying Lightis now.
Due toDying Light 2’s mixed bag of gameplay mechanicsand weak narrative, the originalDying Lightis generally still viewed as the definitiveDying Lightexperience. To celebrate the game’s 10th anniversary and promote the upcoming sequel,Dying Light: The Beast, Techland has released a significant update make the firstDying Lightworth revisiting in 2025.
Dying Light’s Technical Improvements and Newfound Relevance
Techland had supported and updatedDying Lightfor years after its release, but whenDying Light 2came out in 2022, the developer shifted its focus to the sequel. Techland shifted its focus even more so when it decided thatThe Beast— which was originally intended to be astory DLC forDying Light 2— could become a fully-fledged game of its own. Therefore, it came as a surprise when it was revealed that the originalDying Lightwould be receiving a brand-new update this year.
Every Enhancement in Dying Light’s Retouched Update
The Retouched Update forDying Lightreleased on June 26. Taking lessons learned from playing with the series' engine inDying Light 2, the development team has gone back and added a number of visual enhancements to the game. These include improvements to environmental textures, an increased LOD (level of detail) range, and the introduction of 8K Ultra shadow quality. Regarding the game’s engine, Technical Game Director Grzegorz Świstowski stated, “Over the past couple of years, we’ve added a lot, customized a lot, and learned how to squeeze more from the tech we already have. One day, someone just started applying those learnings to some old assets - and it just clicked that we could do that across the whole game.”
The Retouched Update has also impactedDying Light’s audio in a variety of ways. Besides enhancing the hit reaction audio in combat to make strikes feel and sound more satisfying, Techland also brought back the game’s composer, Paweł Blaszczak. Blaszczak not only fully remastered the game’s existing soundtrack but added brand-new tracks and ambient sounds in order to assist in “deepening the mood and cranking up the tension as you explore,” according to arecent Techland blog post.
How Dying Light: The Beast Makes the Original Game a Must-Play
Besides commemorating the game’s 10th anniversary, the decision to modernizeDying Lightmakes perfect sense given how crucial that game’s plot is toDying Light: The Beast. This game is the next mainline entry in the series, and it sees thereturn of protagonist Kyle Crane, whose fate was previously left up in the air.Dying Light’sThe FollowingDLC had two drastically different endings that could be obtained depending on how the player decided to approach the story’s finale, and Kyle Crane was nowhere to be found inDying Light 2— save for a few references and Easter eggs. Now that Crane has returned to the series, the story ofDying Lightwill be much more integral toThe Beastthan it was to the mostly separated plot ofDying Light 2.
Between the Retouched Update and the game’s relevance toThe Beast’s narrative, now is the perfect time to playDying Light. Veteran fans will be able to re-experience the game with enhanced visuals and audio while refreshing themselves on the game’s story. New fans, on the other hand, will be able to catch up on the first game’s plot and play through the most accessible version of the game yet. With the August 22release ofDying Light: The Beastdrawing near, players will have more than enough time to complete the first game in preparation.
