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Ready for your next quest inside this zombie survival title? Meet you on the other side of the map in about… Ten minutes? Or fifteen minutes? Truthfully, however long it takes to arrive walking or driving, as this intense game seems to despise ease and wants Kyle Crane to struggle beyond his current hardships.

The absence of fast travel in Dying Light: The Beast, the latest entry in an enduring franchise with first-person zombie-killing adventures, is clearly meant to promote discovery, however, its effect for me is encourage frustration. Although thoughtfully evaluating the reasons that explain this sandbox horror title shouldn’t include quick transport, all of them disappoint — much like the main character, when I rush him off a structure quickly.

Why the Omission of Fast Travel Disappoints

To illustrate, it’s possible to suggest that this game’s movement system is superb, and I fully concur, however, that is not to say I wish to sprint, leap, and scale nonstop. Certainly, the game includes automobiles that are available, but vehicles, road access, and energy stocks are scarce. And I accept that encountering unseen places is what defines a sandbox title interesting, however, once you have journeyed through a zone multiple times, there are few things to explore.

Following my initial trip to the city’s historic district, I got the feeling that the title was deliberately increasing my transit period by dispersing goal areas within the same quests.

When a secondary mission led me to a dark zone in Old Town, I viewed my map, looked for the most accessible automobile, located it, drove toward the historic section, exhausted my gasoline, viewed my map again, ran the rest of the way, and, eventually, had a lovely time with the undead in the hazardous area — merely to realize that the following task target directed me back to where I began, across the way of the map.

The Case for Instant Movement

I need to recognize that Dying Light: The Beast does not feature the most expansive landscape ever featured in an open-world game, yet that is a stronger argument to support fast travel; if the lack of it irritates me in a more compact world, it would certainly bother me on a larger one.

Understandably, it would assist to arrange mission goals in a certain order, but are we really talking concerning “fostering adventure” if I feel compelled to minimize my transit? It appears rather that I’d be “decreasing inconvenience” to the greatest extent. Moreover, when I am engaged in a storyline and wish to discover the subsequent events (which is positive, developers!), I don’t wish to accomplish other quest objectives beforehand.

Workable Alternatives regarding Quick Transport

There is a single point I can imagine supporting preventing fast travel: You avoid a simple escape path. And I have to admit, I would not wish to forgo the momentary fear I encounter each time darkness comes – but certainly there are solutions for this. For example, quick transport from hazardous areas might be banned, or quick transport spots could be placed outside safe zones, obliging you to do a quick dash through the night before getting to a safe place. Perhaps even better, Dying Light: The Beast could enable instant movement among quick transport spots only, thus you reduce transit period without the chance of immediate transport.

• Fast travel could be restricted to car locations, for instance,
• involve game funds,
• or be halted by unexpected events (the chance to get assaulted by sudden monsters).

Certainly, it’s only sensible to enable new instant movement locations after exploring their surroundings.

The Best Reason in favor of Fast Travel

Possibly the best reason supporting instant movement, however, is freedom: Although with a quick transport mechanism in place, users who choose to journey exclusively on foot and by car would still possess that choice, while users with reduced availability to game, or with less thirst for driving and parkour, could use that time on other in-game activities. That, in my view, is the real sense of freedom gamers should look for from an open-world game.