Dying Light 2: Stay Human is an open-world first-person survival horror game developed and published by Techland. As the sequel to the original Dying Light, the game combines a survival horror setting with action role-playing gameplay. It was released in 2022 to various platforms, including PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Unlike the first title, Dying Light 2: Stay Human is also available for Nintendo Switch. The game is distributed by Square Enix.
Here we’ll dive into what the game has to offer in terms of gameplay and characters, as well as explore the cheats available for the game.
Dying Light 2 Premise
In Dying Light 2: Stay Human, players drop into a heart-pounding post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. They must survive the undead-ridden environment and explore the rich world of the fictional city of Villedor. The story unfolds 22 years after the events of the first Dying Light title, and players find themselves controlling a new protagonist. Aiden Caldwell is searching for a doctor in the city to find out more about his past. All this while the Tachytransmissive Harran Virus runs rampant.
The players control Aiden with unique, fluid movement mechanics familiar to players of the first title, including parkour with thousands of movement animations. The character can also use grappling hooks and paragliders to advance faster and more efficiently through dangerous terrain. In terms of weaponry, Aidan has to fend off zombies and other enemies in close combat and with firearms and other ranged weapons. In addition, Aidan is not a regular person, as he has superhuman capabilities due to an infection. As the game progresses, the character and equipment are improved, which allows Aidan to defeat stronger foes. However, players need to be wary of the sunset, as the zombies become much more aggressive in the dark.
Dying Light 2 Characters
Central to the narrative is Aiden Caldwell, a survivor with epic parkour skills navigating a city overrun by zombies. The story follows Aiden, as he tries to find people that know more about his past and of his lost sister, Mia. Aidan comes across various personalities, both friendly and not-so-friendly. Here are some of the key characters of Dying Light 2: Stay Human:
- Aiden Caldwell: The main protagonist, gifted with parkour skills and infected superhuman abilities. Voiced by Jonah Scott.
- Mia Caldwell: Aiden’s sister, who’s lost. Aidan and Mia were both experimented on by Doctor Waltz when they were children.
- Hakon: He is, or was, a member of the Nightrunners, a faction that used to help survivors. However, he has a much more complex relationship with the faction than he used to. Voiced by Jonathon Forbes.
- Spike: Spike, real name Rudolph, is a former professor from the University of Southern California. He is now the leader of a group of survivors that are protecting a medical center trying to discover a new cure for the virus. Voiced by Kevin Daniels.
- Lawan: One of the more important characters during Aidan’s journey. She joins Aidan as an ally on her path of revenge trying to kill Hakon and others on her hit list. Voiced by Rosario Dawson.
- Veronika Ryan: She is one of the doctors that worked for the Global Relief Effort trying to find a cure for the virus. She is hiding from Waltz and others in the Old Villedor and works at the Bazaar. Voiced by Kosha Engler.
- Chris Williams: Chris, also known as the Colonel, is the dangerous leader of a group of ex-prisoners known as the Renegades. Voiced by Jack Myers.
- Frank Marwey: Frank used to be the commander of the Nightrunners, a military faction in the city of Villedor. He owns and lives at the Fish Eye Canteen. One of the main antagonists of Dying Light 2: Stay Human. Voiced by Stewart Scudamore.
- Vincent Waltz: Waltz is a former doctor and scientist who worked for the Global Relief Effort. He conducted experiments on children to test a potential cure for THV and was fired for unethical practices. Voiced by Demetri Goritsas.
Games in the Series
Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a continuation of the survival narrative that began with the original Dying Light in 2015. Techland launched the game in 2022 as the second title in the series. The Polish game studio developed both titles with Warner Bros. publishing the first title and Techland taking the publishing duties to themselves with the second one.
- Dying Light (2015): The game that introduced players to the city of Harran and the first zombie outbreak.
- Dying Light 2: Stay Human (2022): Set 22 years after the original, presenting a new protagonist, city, and challenges in a familiar world.
Dying Light 2 Cheats
The developers of Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Techland, did not include a built-in cheat system in the game. This means that by default, players cannot get cheats. However, by accessing the developer menu with third-party applications on the PC, gamers can adjust the experience. This requires installing the Dying Light 2 Developer Menu Mod. With that installed, players can add money to the character, heal up, and much more. It is worth noting that this modifies the game files, and there’s always a possibility to break something. So, do this at your own risk.
First, players need to install the program according to the instructions. This includes downloading either the Steam or Epic Games Store version of the mod, and copying the contents to the main Dying Light 2 folder. Back up your save games before doing this by copying them to a separate location. Note that after installing the mod, you cannot play with players that don’t have the same mod. Future patches might also break the mod or even the game, which might require re-install or other fixes.
Now, you can access the cheats by pressing Escape in the game. This brings up the menu of cheats with various options. We’ll go over some of the more popular options, although there are too many cheats to go through all of them individually.
Money Cheats
One of the most popular cheat categories is money. Open up the developer menu and click the Player menu item. From there you can click the Give 1000$ option to give yourself some more cash. It is easy as that!
Health Cheats
Healing your character up is very easy as well, thanks to the developer menu. Open up the developer menu with Escape. Choose Player and from there you can press Restore Health. This heals your character fully, and you are again ready to slay zombies!
Note: While there is a God mode in the developer menu, this doesn’t seem to work. The same goes for the Immortal option. So, don’t rely on these to keep you character from dying.
Weapon and Item Cheats
The Items menu option opens up a completely new world of cheats. There is an extensive list of weapons, consumables, blueprints, and other items available to the player. To find what you are looking for in the long list, just type it in the search bar to filter out the list.
In addition to traditional items, you can also add money this way. Just search for cash, and you’ll find options to add 10, 50, 100, 200, or 1000 dollars to your wallet.
FAQ
Is Dying Light 2 the same as Dying Light 2: Stay Human?
Yes. Dying Light 2: Stay Human is often simply referred to as Dying Light 2, without the subtitle. However, Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties is an actual DLC, or an expansion, for the game. Techland released the first expansion in November 2022.