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Prepared for your next quest within the new parkour game? See you across the way of the game world in approximately… Ten minutes of travel? Maybe fifteen? Truthfully, however long it takes to arrive walking or driving, because this intense game apparently hates simplicity and aims for Kyle Crane to struggle beyond his current hardships.

The lack of quick transport inside Dying Light: The Beast, the recent addition within an enduring franchise of zombie-slaying first-person games, is clearly meant to encourage exploration, but all it does for me is encourage frustration. Despite meticulously examining the arguments why this expansive undead adventure does not need to include quick transport, all of them disappoint — just like Kyle Crane, when I rush him off a structure quickly.

Why the Omission of Fast Travel Disappoints

For example, one could claim that this game’s free-running is fantastic, and I fully concur, but that doesn’t mean I want to sprint, leap, and scale nonstop. Certainly, Dying Light: The Beast includes automobiles which I can drive, however, transport, pathway availability, and energy stocks are limited. And I would agree that discovering unseen places is what creates an open-world game interesting, however, once you’ve traversed a location multiple times, there is not much remaining to explore.

Subsequent to the first time I went to the urban Old Town area, I got the feeling that Dying Light: The Beast was purposely lengthening my transit period by scattering mission spots within the same quests.

Once an optional task guided me to a hazardous location in the historic zone, I viewed my map, searched for the closest vehicle, located it, headed for the old area, used up my fuel, checked my map once more, hurried the rest of the path, and, eventually, had a lovely time with the zombies in the unsafe zone — merely to realize that the next quest objective returned me to where I began, on the other side of the map.

The Case supporting Instant Movement

I have to admit that the title does not feature the largest map ever created in an open-world game, but that is even more reason to argue in favor of instant movement; if the lack of it bothers me on a smaller map, it would definitely bother me in a more vast one.

Naturally, it would assist to plan quest objectives in a certain order, but can we honestly say about “encouraging exploration” if I am obliged to shorten my journey? It sounds more like I’d be “minimizing annoyance” to the greatest extent. Moreover, if I feel invested in a plot and wish to discover the subsequent events (which is a good thing, designers!), I do not want to accomplish other quest objectives beforehand.

Possible Fixes for Fast Travel

There is a single point I can consider advocating for preventing fast travel: You don’t get an easy exit route. And I need to acknowledge, I would not wish to lose the brief panic I experience whenever night falls – but undoubtedly there are workarounds regarding that. To illustrate, quick transport from unsafe zones can be restricted, or instant movement locations could be positioned outside safe zones, compelling you to do a quick dash through the dark before reaching safety. Perhaps even better, this title could enable quick transport via instant movement points exclusively, thereby you minimize travel time without the chance of instant teleportation.

• Quick transport could be confined to car locations, as an example,
• cost in-game money,
• or be halted by surprise incidents (the risk to get assaulted by surprise enemies).

Of course, it’s only sensible to unlock new instant movement locations following exploring their surroundings.

The Strongest Argument for Fast Travel

Maybe the most convincing point in favor of quick transport, however, is freedom: Although with a quick transport mechanism available, users who choose to travel solely by running and driving would still retain that option, however, users with reduced availability to play, or with reduced interest for driving and parkour, could use that period on additional virtual pursuits. That, in my opinion, is the genuine experience of liberty gamers should look for in a sandbox title.