Are Dying Light 1 and 2 Connected?

The short answer is yes and no. While Dying Light 2 Stay Human is set within the same fictional game universe as the original Dying Light, featuring loosely connected lore and references, the two titles feature completely separate storylines centered around different protagonists and locations. You do not need to play the first game to understand and enjoy the sequel.

As a passionate gamer and content creator myself, I wanted to provide some deeper insights and analysis around the connections between Dying Light 1 and 2 for those curious to know more about this brutal zombie franchise!

Understanding the Dying Light Narrative Universe

Let‘s first recap the key narrative elements of each game:

Dying Light 1 Plot Summary

The first Dying Light centers on an undercover GRE agent named Kyle Crane deployed into the quarantined city of Harran located in Turkey. Crane‘s mission is to infiltrate a faction of survivors to recover a sensitive stolen file, but he becomes invested in helping save Harran‘s remaining civilians amidst a raging viral outbreak transforming people into aggressive infected zombies.

In the Dying Light: The Following DLC expansion, Crane pursues rumors of a secretive faction living outside Harran seemingly immune to the virus. But in the climactic finale, Crane tragically begins mutating into an advanced infected himself after being severely wounded defeating a monstrous viral leader.

Dying Light 2 Plot Summary

Set around 20 years later in the midst of a global viral apocalypse, Dying Light 2 Stay Human shifts the focus to a new protagonist named Aiden Caldwell searching for his long lost sister Mia in the anarchic City of Villedor located in Europe. Caldwell utilizes exceptional combat skills and mobility as a Nightrunner Mercenary to navigate Villedor‘s warring human factions and bloodthirsty infected to achieve his goals.

Over the course of his mission, secrets emerge indicating both Aiden and Mia‘s past may be mysteriously linked to Villedor‘s history – and the global viral outbreak itself.

So how exactly are these two games connected given their differing protagonists, settings, and time periods?

Connecting Plot Threads

While Dying Light 2 takes place roughly 20 years after the first game‘s events, both titles notably occur set against the backdrop of a global viral zombie outbreak that has ravaged human civilization.

The exact origins of the viral plague in Dying Light‘s universe remains mostly shrouded in mystery within both games. Only vague references made to the initial outbreak occurring in South America.

However, fans have speculated that Kyle Crane himself may have been somehow involved in inadvertently accelerating the early stages of the worldwide pandemic based on story elements from The Following‘s climax.

Perhaps in the aftermath of Dying Light 1, the dangerous mutated viral strain that Crane briefly transformed into managed to eventually trigger an uncontrollable cascade of infections globally. But concrete evidence around these theories remains lacking for now.

Regardless of origins, both games‘ occurrences of viral undead outbreaks do seem intrinsically linked even across different countries and two decades based on the shared dystopian themes of attempting to preserve pockets civilization in humanity‘s darkest hour.

Let‘s explore further connections:

These references indicate Dying Light 2 happens against the backdrop of the same broad fictional universe. But again, knowledge of prior events or characters is not at all required to enjoy Stay Human‘s self-contained storyline.

Think of it like comparing Disney‘s first Star Wars trilogy to the newer sequel entries. Shared universe with loosely intersecting plot threads – but still distinct eras and protagonist journeys centered around central themes living on.

The Takeaway: Enjoy Each Game Independently

So in summary – while this franchise occurs against an overarching connected world with some retuning side characters and location references, Dying Light 2 stands completely alone as it‘s own exciting narrative experience separate from past events in Harran.

I personally loved discovering how Techland managed to build upon unresolved questions around this zombie universe while crafting an entirely novel adventure focused exclusively on Aiden‘s mission in Villedor City.

For those fellow passionate gamers who can‘t get enough of slaying hordes of murderous infected, I‘d absolutely recommend playing both titles to fully dive into the expanded Dying Light saga! Each entry captures the desperate struggle for survival against seemingly impossible odds brilliantly with plenty of gory action to get your heart pounding.

Stay human out there runners!