‘Dying Light 2’ bigger and scarier than first

‘Super Mario Party’ coming to Nintendo Switch

In 2015, “Dying Light” became a surprise critical and commercial hit. Its developers think they can do even better in the sequel.

Announced on Sunday, “Dying Light 2” will continue in the same universe, 15 years after the events of the first apocalyptic action game. Previously, humankind fell to a viral infection that turned people into aggro zombies and things have only gotten worse.

Where the original game was set in the fictional European city of Harran, “Dying Light 2’s” lead designer Tymon Smektala said that the new game will take place in a different location which is “possibly the last surviving human settlement.” There players will try to bring hope to the struggling remnants of humanity, and try to survive.

In a closed door, hands-off demo at E3, Smektala described what makes the new game improve upon the original.

“Every system is tweaked,” Smektala said, referring to the movement system, the crafting system, combat, skills, and more.

“Dying Light” had a fluid system of parkour-like travel. It allowed you to climb, shimmy, jump, and navigate your way through a destroyed world. “Dying Light 2” will expand upon that, offering new moves and new ways to use your environment. It will also include a number of new parkour attacks. In the demo shown, the character launched himself at enemies through windows and over obstacles, using the layout around him as another weapon.

“Dying Light 2” will also have what Smektala called “parkour puzzles.” These are scenarios in the game which demand players used their learned skills and the environment around them to get from point A to point B.

Combat looks to be greatly improved as well, though it was pretty realistic and enjoyable in the first game. The combat shown in the demo seemed very dynamic, relaying on the player to anticipate attacks, find openings, and use whatever is laying around as an asset. The character in the demo had crafted a blade out of a now-useless street sign and the way it was used to block and parry looked complicated and satisfying. And at one point, the character threw a bucket at an adversary to distract them before rushing in for the killing blow.

As with the first game, “Dying Light 2” looks great. It’s a squalid, lived in city that has some touches of color and personality added to the extensively brown color palette from the original.

And the game will be a lot bigger as well.

“The map is four times the size of the map of the first ‘Dying Light,’ Smektala said.

Also: LOS ANGELES: A new trailer reveals “Super Mario Party” is coming to the Nintendo Switch, unveiled during Nintendo Direct on Tuesday.

The original Mario Party mode will be included with new features including “character dice blocks, a party system, and new boards to explore” according to the game’s official website.

Players can also pair up two separate Switch consoles to play in tabletop mode called “Toad’s Rec Room.”

“With new modes and new minigames coupled with original board gameplay, the party starts anywhere, anytime, and with all kinds of players,” the official website states. “The original board game style has been kicked up a notch with deeper strategic elements, like specific Dice Blocks for each character.” (RTRS)