Dying Light 2 - Stay Human is a fantasy action Role-Playing Game (RPG) survival horror game set in a zombie apocalyptic-themed open world. Dying Light 2 can be played single-player or play in up to four-player co-op online. The game was developed and published by Techland. Dying Light 2 was released on February 4, 2022.
Dying Light 2 is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. For PS5, Dying Light 2 - Standard Edition can be purchased for only $59.99. Dying Light 2 - Deluxe Edition comes with access to a story DLC #1, exclusive weapon charms, a legendary skin pack, printable wallpapers, digital comic, artbook, and soundtrack for $79.99. Lastly, Dying Light 2 - Ultimate Edition is $99.99. The Ultimate Edition has everything in the Deluxe Edition plus a 2-hour night XP boost, crafting items, and access to story DLC #2.
Dying Light 2 - Stay Human is available across all main gaming platforms.
As I have said before, game developers and hardware manufacturers have been striving to enhance the gaming experience for years. I'm an avid gamer and have a custom-built liquid-cooled gaming computer running an EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card, Intel Core i9-9900K processor, ASUS ROG Strix Z390-H gaming motherboard, and 96GB of RAM.
In addition, my gaming rig is hooked up to a 34" Alienware ultrawide curved gaming monitor with numerous Razer accessories. As you can surmise, I think gaming with a capable computer and gaming monitor is great, or else I would not have spent my hard-earned money on my current setup. However, I'm here to articulate that gaming with a gaming projector and massive projector screen provides a different type of gaming experience.
BenQ sent Projector Reviews demo samples of the TK700 and X3000i gaming projectors.
BenQ sent Projector Reviews demo samples of the TK700 and X3000i gaming projectors to write our monthly gaming on projector articles. Did you know that BenQ owns ZOWIE, the makers of gaming monitors for eSports? ZOWIE is BenQ's brand dedicated to developing professional eSports equipment. But BenQ doesn't stop there; BenQ also has MOBIUZ gaming monitors.
As a matter of fact, as I was casually rooting around on BenQ's website the other day, when I noticed that BenQ has the MOBIUZ EX3210R - Dying Light 2: Stay Human Night Runner's Edition gaming monitor. The monitor even comes with Dying Light 2 for FREE until BenQ runs out of the exclusive gaming monitor! The EX3210R gaming monitor has Dying Light 2 graphics on the housing and monitor stand, a stylish and welcomed touch. You can check out the MOBIUZ EX3210R - Dying Light 2 gaming monitor by clicking here if you want to see it yourself.
As you can see, BenQ having a series of gaming projectors is no surprise. Gaming is clearly part of BenQ's DNA. The more research I did, the more I saw about BenQ and its involvement in advancing gaming for us gamers. So, I'd say BenQ has a gaming solution for you, whether gaming with a projector and projector screen or gaming with a PC and gaming monitor. Admittedly, the 34" Alienware ultrawide curved gaming monitor I have is starting to show its age. I might replace it with a 34" MOBIUZ ultrawide curved gaming monitor to check it out in person, but I digress. Let's get back to projector gaming.
I paired Dying Light 2 - Stay Human with the BenQ TK700 4K Short-Throw Console Gaming Projector for this gaming on a projector article. For this article, I connected my PlayStation 5 to the TK700 via a 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 cable. I then projected it onto a 110-inch Screen Innovations (SI) Solo Pro 2 Unity AT Pure White 1.3 gain screen.
BenQ states the TK700 is a 4K lamp-based gaming projector designed for competition console gaming. The TK700 is fine-tuned to provide a smooth, responsive gaming experience with clear images better to arm you for competition gaming or casual gameplay.
The TK700 also has BenQ's Black Detail Enhancement; it's found under Game Settings. With BenQ's Black Detail Enhancement, the gamer can detect and react faster to approaching dangers by quickly mapping out details in the dark. The TK700's HDR Game mode also refines its projected image to help disclose movements and details in dark scenes while optimizing colors. The TK700's lamp light source brightness is rated at 3,200 ANSI lumens and covers 96% of the Rec.709 color gamut.
Utilizing a gaming projector’s preset game mode typically gets you the projector's lowest input lag times.
Let’s get into some zombie gameplay!
I will provide my initial impressions of playing Dying Light 2 - Stay Human with a gaming projector. I will keep this article brief and hopefully provide enough information to decide if gaming on a projector with Dying Light 2 - Stay Human is for you. Dying Light 2, however, is not a brief game itself. Dying Light 2 is another one of those games that can be played for hours and hours on end. The more you play, the more you can learn Dying Light 2's parkour gaming mechanics, upgrade your character's gear, and become the best zombie slayer you can be.
You must be mindful of where UV lights are located at night; they are Safe Zones. The UV lights keep the zombies at bay and keep Aiden from turning into a zombie himself.
Dying Light 2 - Stay Human is set 22 years after the original Dying Light and features a new protagonist named Aiden Caldwell (voiced by Jonah Scott). The game is set in the city of Villedor, a massive zombie-infested open world. Aiden is well equipped with various combat and parkour skills to take on zombie hordes and human adversaries. Aiden is, in fact, trying to "Stay Human" during the gameplay.
Unfortunately, Aiden, like virtually everyone else, is infected with the zombie virus. Staying in near-constant contact with sunlight and Safe Zones with strategically placed UV lights at night is the only thing keeping Aiden from turning into a zombie. You will stress as you struggle to keep Aiden's UV light meter charged; the meter depletes in minutes when in the dark and away from UV lights.
The best part about Dying Light 2 is the fluid parkour system. If you are a Traceur (Parkour practitioner), you may get a kick out of this game. Leaping from edges at terrifying heights and scaling skyscrapers allow you to explore the massive open world. Aiden can fling out a grappling hook to swing across gaps while a paraglider lets you soar over zombie-filled streets and across tall buildings. Of course, you'll want to stay above the streets as much as possible; they are filled with outlaws by day and mobs of zombies at night.
A zombie Howler is the worst opponent for me. If a Howler spots you, they will howl loudly and alert all zombies in the area to your presence, and they begin to chase after you. It is quite a hectic encounter because the zombies will chase after you wherever you go until you find a Safe Zone. This chase sequence is where the BenQ TK700's low 16.67ms input lag at 60Hz (4K) and 4.16ms input lag at 240Hz (1080p) really shines.
As you run, dodge, and parkour yourself to a Safe Zone, zombies flood in from everywhere, and you must be quick to get away; reaction time is critical. Oh, and then there are the Virals to challenge your reaction time too. Virals are speedy zombies that will pounce on you in a matter of seconds. Without a low input lag gaming device, you won't survive Dying Light 2.
A nice feature of Dying Light 2 - Stay Human is the ability to gear up your character as you see fit.
A feature of Dying Light 2 is the ability to customize your character with gear. Kitting Aiden out from head to toe with headgear, chest pieces, bracers, gloves, and footwear will provide a stat boost to Aiden's abilities and serve as armor for protection: it also looks cool. Gear can be located almost anywhere in Villedor. Keep an eye out for chests, armoires, and crates; they usually have something useful. You could also get gear from vendors and loot it off bodies.
With all the gear and weapons found in Dying Light 2, you can build out Aiden into one of four classes and playstyles. The four classes are Tank, Brawler, Medic, and Ranger. Tank builds are suitable for taking multiple hits and mastering powerful two-handed weapons. Brawler builds are helpful for general combat with one-handed weapons. Medic builds specialize in parkour-based combat and healing. Lastly, Ranger builds focus on stealth and ranged attacks.
Zombies, zombies and more zombies!
The experience of playing a game like Dying Light 2 with a gaming projector is absolutely fantastic. Thanks to the 110-inch image I projected with the BenQ TK700 gaming projector, I felt fully immersed in the open-world game as I played. In addition, using a projector for a game like Dying Light 2 made it easier to spot zombies and see what was happening around my character. It also made performing melee attacks with Aiden much easier due to the size of the human adversaries and zombies on my screen.
Flashlight shining on an armoire.HDR is helpful to get the most out of viewing dark and bright scenes.
As you delve deep into the inner corridors of abandoned buildings and also as night falls, Villedor can get very dark. You’re just left there in the dark interior of buildings with a measly flashlight and creepy zombies most of the time. That said, you may find having a gaming projector with an HDR game mode helpful. A projector with an HDR game mode is a huge bonus because it allows you to take advantage of the game's enhanced graphics and peek into those creepy dark corners for zombies tucked away in shadows when all you have is a flashlight to cut through the darkness in hand.
With Fast Mode turned set to On, the TK700 minimizes the response time between the input source and the displayed image.
Switching the TK700's Picture Mode from HDR10 to HDR Game allows you to go into Game Settings, where it gives the choice of turning Fast Mode on or off. With Fast Mode turned set to On, the TK700 minimizes the response time between the input source and the displayed image.
For example, when I press R1 on my PS5 controller to leap from a high-rise rooftop to a zipline or ledge, I need my character Aiden to do it quickly, or else Aiden could fall to his death. For that reason alone, I turned Fast Mode on for Dying Light 2. HDR Game mode paired with Fast Mode helped save me countless times while doing parkour throughout the game. Trust me; you do not want an ill-timed leap due to poor input lag when the repercussions could be landing in the middle of a mob of zombies or falling from such a distance that you die on impact.
With a gaming projector, you certainly have immersive visuals pulling you further into the gaming experience. But what about enhanced audio to further draw you into the experience? If you genuinely want to fully immerse yourself into a game, you will need the audio and visuals to match. Your projected image can be breathtaking, but if the audio is lackluster, you will not really feel like you are being drawn into the game.
We cannot forget about the sound quality of Dying Light 2 when played through a gaming projector. You can hear zombies shuffling around and screaming, which can help you pinpoint where they are. You will want to have a decent audio system for this game. BenQ states that the TK700 has a built-in single 5-watt chamber speaker to provide basic audio functionality. However, I believe BenQ moderated their rhetoric about the TK700's 5-watt chamber speaker. While playing Dying Light 2, that single speaker sounded surprisingly good for its tiny size. I do, however, understand BenQ's cautious wording; for a gamer to be genuinely enveloped in sound, they may want more speakers and more powerful sound.
Some projectors have enhanced audio capabilities for those who want to ditch built-in projector speakers for an even more immersive sound from the game. The TK700, for example, has what BenQ calls Audio Return+. When connected to a sound system via HDMI eARC, multi-channel audio from a game system is passed on to the audio system via the projector's HDMI port number two. BenQ's Audio Return+ supports multi-audio outputs, including 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos. So, grab a projector that supports eARC to fully take advantage of the cinematic sounds built into many games.
As I like to do from time to time, with the assistance of my kiddo, I broke out a tape measure and took character measurements; Aiden was over 40-inches tall while kitting him out in the Inventory section. During gameplay, humans and zombies measured from 12-inches to over 38-inches tall, depending on how close I got to them. When holding a machete or billhook and looking at the weapon from Aiden's first-person point of view, the weapon measures over 42-inches tall from Aiden's fingers to the tip of the blade.
As you can see by the photo above, my large projector screen allowed me to easily spot the zombie hunching just beyond the doorway.
Gaming on a projector with a game like Dying Light 2 is a terrifying experience because the zombies like to get in your face. Still, it's also an enjoyable experience because you feel like you're really immersed in the zombie world. Better yet, you can really spot those sneaky zombies trying to blend into their surroundings to surprise attack you. As you can see by the photo above, my large projector screen allowed me to easily spot the zombie hunching just beyond the doorway…not this time zombie, not this time! It does not matter if you are a casual or competitive gamer. Gaming with a projector paired with a big screen is exhilarating, and you should try it for yourself to see if you agree with me.
Since a critical element of Dying Light 2 is the ability to use the environment and parkour to get where you need to be, the easier you can see the environment and parkour opportunities, the easier it is to pull off your escape. If you want to see zombies and other dangers from a mile away easily, a gaming projector and large projector screen may be for you. If you enjoy having your family and friends, gather around as you game as if they were watching a big-screen movie, or you like multiplayer games with up to four split screens, gaming with a projector and massive projector screen is definitely for you.
We have covered Rainbow Six Extraction, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, Gran Turismo 7, and now Dying Light 2. Stay tuned for more initial impressions of gaming on a projector with games like Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Saints Row, and Halo Infinite. So keep checking back for more gaming on a projector articles; you won't want to miss a thing.
