I Really Wish The New Zombie Adventure Had Fast Travel

Prepared for the next adventure in Dying Light: The Beast? Catch you over there of the map in approximately… A ten-minute trek? Fifteen? Honestly, however long it takes to reach it walking or driving, because the new release apparently hates convenience and desires the protagonist to suffer beyond his current hardships.

The omission of fast travel inside the newest entry, the recent addition within a long-running series featuring zombie-slaying first-person games, is clearly meant to encourage exploration, yet what it achieves from my perspective is to breed irritation. Even after thoughtfully evaluating the justifications why this sandbox horror title shouldn’t have a fast travel option, all of them disappoint — much like the main character, when I rush him off a structure quickly.

The Reasons the Absence of Quick Transport Disappoints

For example, one could claim that The Beast’s free-running is fantastic, and I completely support that, however, that is not to say I want to run, jump, and climb nonstop. Certainly, Dying Light: The Beast provides vehicles I can use, but vehicles, road access, and gasoline resources are scarce. And I would agree that discovering new locations is what creates a sandbox title interesting, but when you have journeyed through a location several times, there is not much remaining to discover.

Following my first visit to the metropolitan Old Town, I got the feeling that the title was intentionally extending my journey duration by dispersing mission spots inside identical missions.

Once one of the side quests guided me to an unsafe area within the old district, I checked my map, sought out the nearest car, found it, drove toward the old area, exhausted my gasoline, viewed my map again, ran the rest of the way, and, finally, had a great encounter with the zombies in the unsafe zone — just to discover that the following task target returned me to where I began, on the other side of the map.

The Case in favor of Instant Movement

I have to admit that this game doesn’t have the most expansive landscape ever seen in an expansive adventure, yet that is a stronger argument to argue in favor of fast travel; if its absence bothers me on a reduced landscape, it would surely bother me on a larger one.

Understandably, it would assist to organize quest objectives in a specific sequence, but is it truly about regarding “promoting discovery” if I feel compelled to shorten my journey? It sounds more like I would be “reducing hassle” as far as I can. Moreover, when I am engaged in a narrative and desire to learn the subsequent events (which is a good thing, developers!), I don’t want to accomplish additional mission goals first.

Potential Solutions for Instant Movement

There is just one argument I can imagine supporting preventing fast travel: You don’t get a simple escape path. And I must confess, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the brief panic I encounter each time darkness comes – but surely there are solutions regarding that. To illustrate, fast travel from Dark Zones could be prohibited, or fast travel points could be placed beyond secure areas, compelling you to make a short run through the dark before getting to a safe place. Maybe even more effectively, Dying Light: The Beast could enable fast travel via instant movement points solely, so you decrease travel time without the option of sudden movement.

• Fast travel could be limited to automobile spots, for instance,
• require virtual currency,
• or be halted by surprise incidents (the chance to get assaulted by unexpected fiends).

Certainly, it is only logical to activate new quick transport spots following investigating the nearby area.

The Strongest Argument supporting Quick Transport

Perhaps the strongest argument in favor of quick transport, nevertheless, is options: Even if an instant movement feature in place, gamers who like to travel solely on foot and by car would still have that choice, whereas gamers with limited time to play, or with less thirst for vehicles and free-running, could use that time on other in-game activities. It, from my perspective, is the real sense of freedom players should anticipate from an expansive adventure.