♥♥♥♥ Denuvo. The downvote is for Denuvo.

The game is decent though. Not as good as Dying Light 1--one of my favorite games of all time--but playable and fun.

Unfortunately, there are some significant issues. Sound often seems to glitch out and voice lines or music will suddenly silence out of nowhere. I get crashes every few hours (memory leak?).

However, I am pleased to report that this game runs nicely on Kubuntu (Linux) even on my outdated PC. Frame rate is more consistent than DL1 and the graphics are improved.

The most significant issue is the combat. Unlike DL1 where you could easily see and understand why you were hit and what you messed up in combat, DL2 has inconsistent animations. Both zombies and humans will often appear to hit you out of nowhere. If you even try to block a zombie you will immediately get grappled and surrounded, so it is pointless to do anything but hit and run combat against zombies. Takedowns can be interrupted by other zombies and take much longer than DL1. Enemy attacks don't appear to match their hitbox and I find myself randomly taking damage when it appeared I hit and staggered the zombie before they had a chance to strike. Sometimes you will even take damage simply by coming into contact with a zombie without them actually as tracking you.

Humans have most of the same issues I listed for zombies, but also have instant counters, pushes, kicks that seem a bit pointless. Don't get me wrong, difficulty is good. But the best difficulty is from mechanics that the player can learn to understand, rather than uncounterable "screw you" moves that seem to be there only to increase the chaos of combat.

It's possible that I simply need to git gud. Nonetheless it's jarring to come from DL1, where combat works in expected ways, to this game where it appears that every enemy seems to just be programmed to whittle away your health bar without your consent and discourage fighting.

In DL1 one of my favorite parts was wading into a zombie horde and with skill slaughtering the entire mass. The combat here seems to be designed to prevent that, since your extremely low weapon damage, stamina, and inconsistent enemy attacks will have you respawning in a safe house in no time. Additionally, the new noise mechanics where random zombies will "alert" more zombies (read: spawn more in from nonexistence) mean that you'll spend more time clearing the horde over and over and over than whatever loot you're trying to access is worth.

Unlike the nice firecrackers from the first game, distractions only last a pitiful 6 seconds here until you level up their recipes. Leveling up recipes requires trophies from killing rare zombies. Recipes appear to be more of a way to pad out the game's length than an enjoyable fleshed-out system.

Overall, I'm enjoying the game but it could be better.

Fuck Denuvo. The downvote is for Denuvo. The game is decent though. Not as good as Dying Light 1--one of my favorite games of all time--but playable and fun. Unfortunately, there are some significant issues. Sound often seems to glitch out and voice lines or music will suddenly silence out of nowhere. I get crashes every few hours (memory leak?). However, I am pleased to report that this game runs nicely on Kubuntu (Linux) even on my outdated PC. Frame rate is more consistent than DL1 and the graphics are improved. The most significant issue is the combat. Unlike DL1 where you could easily see and understand why you were hit and what you messed up in combat, DL2 has inconsistent animations. Both zombies and humans will often appear to hit you out of nowhere. If you even try to block a zombie you will immediately get grappled and surrounded, so it is pointless to do anything but hit and run combat against zombies. Takedowns can be interrupted by other zombies and take much longer than DL1. Enemy attacks don't appear to match their hitbox and I find myself randomly taking damage when it appeared I hit and staggered the zombie before they had a chance to strike. Sometimes you will even take damage simply by coming into contact with a zombie without them actually as tracking you. Humans have most of the same issues I listed for zombies, but also have instant counters, pushes, kicks that seem a bit pointless. Don't get me wrong, difficulty is good. But the best difficulty is from mechanics that the player can learn to understand, rather than uncounterable "screw you" moves that seem to be there only to increase the chaos of combat. It's possible that I simply need to git gud. Nonetheless it's jarring to come from DL1, where combat works in expected ways, to this game where it appears that every enemy seems to just be programmed to whittle away your health bar without your consent and discourage fighting. In DL1 one of my favorite parts was wading into a zombie horde and with skill slaughtering the entire mass. The combat here seems to be designed to prevent that, since your extremely low weapon damage, stamina, and inconsistent enemy attacks will have you respawning in a safe house in no time. Additionally, the new noise mechanics where random zombies will "alert" more zombies (read: spawn more in from nonexistence) mean that you'll spend more time clearing the horde over and over and over than whatever loot you're trying to access is worth. Unlike the nice firecrackers from the first game, distractions only last a pitiful 6 seconds here until you level up their recipes. Leveling up recipes requires trophies from killing rare zombies. Recipes appear to be more of a way to pad out the game's length than an enjoyable fleshed-out system. Overall, I'm enjoying the game but it could be better.