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Set for your next quest in this zombie survival title? Meet you across the way of the landscape in about… Ten minutes? Or fifteen minutes? Really, the exact time needed to get there on foot or by car, since the new release apparently hates ease and desires the protagonist to suffer beyond his current hardships.

The omission of instant travel in the newest entry, the recent addition in an enduring franchise featuring zombie-slaying first-person games, is surely designed to encourage exploration, however, its effect in my experience is to breed irritation. Even after meticulously examining the justifications that explain this sandbox horror title does not need to include quick transport, every one fails — just like the main character, if I leap him from an edifice hurriedly.

Why the Lack of Quick Transport Disappoints

As an instance, it’s possible to suggest that The Beast’s free-running is fantastic, and I’d wholeheartedly agree, but that doesn’t mean I desire to run, jump, and climb nonstop. True, this adventure offers cars which I can drive, yet cars, road access, and gasoline resources are scarce. And I concur that discovering unseen places is what makes a sandbox title interesting, but when you have crossed an area multiple times, there is not much remaining to explore.

Following my initial trip to the city’s historic district, I felt that this game was deliberately increasing my journey duration by spreading out goal areas inside identical missions.

When a secondary mission guided me to a dark zone in the historic zone, I checked my map, searched for the closest vehicle, discovered it, drove toward Old Town, used up my fuel, viewed my map again, ran the rest of the way, and, finally, experienced an enjoyable moment with the zombies in the unsafe zone — just to discover that the next quest objective sent me back to the place I originated, over there of the game world.

The Argument for Fast Travel

I have to admit that Dying Light: The Beast lacks the most expansive landscape ever seen in an expansive adventure, yet that is a stronger argument to advocate for quick transport; if its absence irritates me on a reduced landscape, it would certainly irritate me on a bigger one.

Understandably, it would help to plan task targets in a specific sequence, but can we honestly say concerning “fostering adventure” when I feel forced to shorten my journey? It sounds more like I would be “reducing hassle” as far as I can. Furthermore, if I am absorbed in a storyline and desire to learn the subsequent events (which is positive, creators!), I cannot wish to complete other quest objectives first.

Workable Alternatives for Fast Travel

There’s only one reason I can imagine advocating for preventing fast travel: You miss out on a straightforward way out. And I must confess, I would not wish to forgo the momentary fear I encounter whenever night falls – but undoubtedly there are alternatives for this. For example, fast travel from unsafe zones might be banned, or instant movement locations could be placed beyond secure areas, compelling you to take a brief sprint through the dark prior to arriving at safety. Possibly more suitably, this title could permit instant movement among quick transport spots solely, thereby you minimize travel time without the possibility of instant teleportation.

• Instant movement could be confined to automobile spots, for example,
• require virtual currency,
• or be interrupted by unexpected events (the risk to get assaulted by surprise enemies).

Naturally, it is only logical to unlock new instant movement locations subsequent to exploring their surroundings.

The Strongest Argument supporting Fast Travel

Maybe the most convincing point in favor of instant movement, however, is options: Although with a fast travel system implemented, users who choose to travel solely via walking and vehicles would still have that choice, however, gamers with limited time to game, or with reduced interest for vehicles and free-running, could use that time on different game tasks. It, from my perspective, is the genuine experience of freedom one should expect in a sandbox title.