Dying Light 2: Stay Human reportedly takes place 20 years after the events in the first game wherein humanity has failed to contain the Harran virus. What was once a local endemic became a global pandemic that wiped out 98% of the Earth’s total population.
Dying Light 2’s official prequel comic explained how the situation severely escalated between the two entries. ‘In Banshee – I am the cure’, the army purposely spread poisonous gas called “Harran-19” to turn people into zombies. They did this in order to coax the uber-rich to pay billions for a working vaccine.
Because of their greed, civilization has regressed back into the modern dark ages where only a handful of human settlements survive.
With the whole world ravaged by the infection, the question in every fan’s mind right now is where does Dying Light 2 take place?
Dying Light 2’s Setting
Dying Light 2 is set in a fictional location called The City. It is also referred to as the Villedor by the citizens residing there. Villedor is dubbed the last bastion of humanity on Earth and is the reason why many citizens seek refuge within its secure borders.
In the previous installment, the main setting of the game was also a fictional place called Harran, a city-state located within Turkey. While Villedor isn’t rooted within a particular country, its architecture anchors it within urban Europe.
The City is a healthy mix between many cultures and their inspiration and influence show in their buildings. Aside from the dilapidated skyscrapers and broken towers shown in gameplay footage, there are also religious institutions like a cathedral and mosque.
The name Villedor itself is a french word meaning City of Gold or Golden City (Ville d’or). French influence is also apparent in the 2018 E3 Gameplay World premiere for the game, featuring a store with the words “Les Parfum” written on it. Additionally, a few seconds before that clip, there was a huge sign above the market written in Spanish.
If we’re strictly speaking geographically and not culturally, Villedor is most likely placed within Central Europe, specifically Germany. For one reason, the City is surrounded by a huge and extensive mountain range reminiscent of the Alps.
There’s also footage of the Brandenburg Gate complete with the horse statues on top.
This monument is found within Berlin, Germany’s capital. For even more evidence, there’s an achievement called “Herzlich Wilkommen!” (warm welcome in German) gained from entering the bazaar for the first time.
Dying Light 2 takes place within a huge fictional city influenced by many real-life countries and cultures. From the gameplay footage alone, it looks like a diverse environment oozing with hundreds of years of history within its walls.
At first glance, it might be hard to soak in all the details when volatiles are chasing you around the rooftops.
The City is Alive
In-game, survivors built makeshift shelters on rooftops to avoid the infected residing on street level. There are various safe zones scattered around the world with quest givers and shopkeepers. Some missions are only available during the dangerous nighttime.
It is mostly safe to explore the city during the daytime since the infected are weak to sunlight. Of course, be careful with any bandits lurking about.
At night, the living dead start pouring out into the streets, including some of the mutated infected who can match your parkour skills. However, if you’re willing to take the risk, there’s also useful loot ripe for plundering within the recently vacated buildings. Just make sure you know where the nearest safe zone is in case you need to make a run for it.
Dying Light 2 is based within a city home to multiple factions vying for control. The narrative of the game relies on your decision to choose between different factions, affecting the world and environment.
Techland approached Chris Avellone of Obsidian and Fallout fame to help write story segments that react to the player’s choices.
Your decisions as the protagonist Aiden Caldwell will shape the future of Villedor.
For example, after restarting a valuable power station, you can relinquish control over to the Peacekeepers or the Survivors. Aside from the story-related consequences, the former will install traps that would help in combat, while the latter will place vents that would make traversal easier.
Choosing who to side with drastically affects Villedor’s environment and surroundings. Since you have to choose between factions, this offers some replayability to the game.
If you’re an achievement hunter willing to dedicate (reportedly) 500 hours to see it all through, you can try to compete in the Dying Light 2 trophy race.