Dying Light Gets a Major Visual Upgrade 10 Years After Release — Here's a Before and After Comparison

A decade after the original release of Dying Light in 2015, Techland has rolled out the massive Retouched update, bringing significant improvements to the game’s graphics and audio. While it’s not a full-fledged remaster, the update breathes new life into the classic zombie parkour adventure.

The update enhances texture quality and introduces advanced upscaling, increases the draw distance for environmental details (from 260% to 340%), adds brand-new 8K shadow quality, and overhauls the sky and clouds with upscaling for a more immersive atmosphere. Lighting has also been revamped, making surfaces appear more volumetric and realistic than ever before.

Composer Paweł Błaszczak returned to completely rework the game’s soundtrack, now recorded on vintage tape for an extra dose of nostalgia. Combat sounds have been improved as well, with hits and zombie destruction feeling richer and more impactful. On top of that, new music tracks have been added.

The update required a lot of manual effort, with artists meticulously going over the entire map to refresh countless objects. Despite all these upgrades, system requirements remain unchanged, and the patch is available for free on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Unfortunately, the update won’t be coming to Switch.

A detailed video comparison showcasing Dying Light before and after the update is already making the rounds online.

“And this is just part of our commitment to making the Dying Light experience even better, so watch this space! So, go see the enhancements for yourself and jump back into the shoes of Kyle in preparation for Dying Light: The Beast being unleashed on August 22!,” the developers said.

You can check out gameplay from the new game here.