Dying Light 2 Stay Human doesn’t officially launch for a couple more days, but there are already early retail copies out in the wild. That isn’t terribly unusual, but Techland is taking a unique step, asking those with early copies not to play them until the game’s Day 1 patch arrives.

　　Fellow survivors, we see that some of you got an access to the retail copies of Dying Light 2 before the release date (it’s this Friday, only 3 days left!). We understand you want to start exploring the City ASAP and we couldn’t be happier!

　　— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) February 1, 2022

　　That being said, we kindly ask you to wait until Feb 4th as by that time you’ll also get access to all improvements and fixes we’ve implemented within last weeks and will introduce with the day 1 patch. That’s the way to experience Dying Light 2 the way it’s meant to be played.

　　— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) February 1, 2022

　　As somebody who just reviewed Dying Light 2, it’s probably best to follow Techland’s advice. The game had a number of game-breaking, possibly progress-destroying, bugs that were addressed with various hotfixes throughout the review period. Those fixes will likely all be included in the full Day 1 patch, but won’t be included in the code you get on your disc, so proceed with caution.

　　On the subject of the Day 1 patch, Techland is promising “thousands of fixes and improvements,” but the following are the main issues you can expect to be addressed…

　　Fixed the Broadcast infinite respawn story blockFix for dialogues that block story progressionRe-signing to the co-op session doesn't fail in case the user is logged inFixed crash when handing electrical parts to Carlos in BazaarFixed problems with temporarily lowering the difficulty level - improved adaptive difficulty for AIsFixed crash caused by background renderer during the transition between menu and loading screensIncreased Wwise overall memory limit - fix for missing sounds and voice-overResolved problems with objects and AI sinking into the ground on a flat surface.Fix for AI sometimes freezing/becoming immortal when the owner changes during deathAdded protection against potential crashes.Updates for ES, CH; DE intro.Added missing game actions fixing occasional unresponsiveness.Fixed Streamer Mode option which was not working properly.Fixed crash on opening the secondary screen.Fixed disconnecting co-op sessions after a certain amount of time.And many more…PC Specific:

　　DLSS enabled. Improved default DLSS sharpness.Fixed the gamepad not being detected by the game before any movement or action is conducted using a keyboard or mouse.Haven’t been keeping up with Dying Light 2? I found the game to be another fun parkour playground, if a bit rough around the edges, in my full review…

　　Dying Light 2 Stay Human is another exhilarating parkour and zombie-pummeling playground from Techland, although at times, the seams holding it all together are a bit obvious. Given the game’s glitches, minor gameplay annoyances, and crudely bisected story and world, reports of behind-the-scenes issues feel all-too-plausible. That said, the foundation here is rock solid, and Techland has proven they’re capable long-term builders, so I’m confident Dying Light 2’s embers can be stoked to a full flame in time.

　　Dying Light 2 Stay Human leaps onto PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 on February 4. The console Day 1 patch will presumably arrive at the same time, while the PC game is being kept up to date in “real time.”