It’s not very often that I come across an expansion that out does its base game that it represents, but that’s exactly what developers Techland has achieved with The Following over Dying Light.  Now I’ll be the first to admit, that when I reviewed and scored Dying Light an 8.3, I perhaps under scored it a little as it wasn’t until I got really stuck into its extra activities, that I really started to appreciate the game more than I expected.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing after all.

Taking place directly following the events of Dying Light, our protagonist Kyle Crane discovers that survivors who have converted to the religious cult known as the Children of the Sun led by the “Mother” have somehow become immune to the zombie virus.  However, to gain an audience with the cult, Crane must arrange a meeting with a Faceless, a high ranking member of the Children of the Sun.  But before he gets that, he needs the proverbial doors to be opened and that can only be done by gaining the trust of a surviving group in the countryside by embarking on quests on their behalf.

While the main mission quests were enjoyable in Dying Light, much like other open sandbox games such as GTA V, the real fun comes when you express your freedom away from the campaign and The Following does that at the bucket load.  So how does The Following out do its big brother counterpart?  Well for example, while it does have the same free-flowing parkour gameplay, the biggest assets of The Following are its huge and new open-world and the fact that you can cruise to utter mayhem in your customisable buggy.

Since the original game released many had been calling for vehicles to be included in Dying Light, as you could with Dead Island, which is also developed by Techland.  With its claustrophobic and cluttered streets, vehicles just wouldn’t have been a natural fit for the game, but the countryside setting which is approximately 5 times bigger then the city of Harran, has been tailor made for the fast and frantic buggy.  The principle of the missions in The Following remain the same, pick up a quest, travel here to rescue, secure or deliver.  Only the difference is that you’re ploughing down hordes of zombies, busting through fences, driving off cliffs, racing along the coastline and it’s all just so much fun.

One of the other key features of the main game was the RPG-like levelling up system.  All your XP and upgrades from Dying Light carries over into The Following, so don’t worry about having to restart from scratch.  However, with such a big gameplay changer with the buggy, comes an additional levelling up tier with your driving skills.  This Driving tier works in the same principle as any other tier, the more time you spend with this skill-set, the more XP you will earn for it and in true Dying Light fashion, you will earn more XP during the night then in the day.  But as always, the rewards may be greater during the darker hours, but the risk will also be that greater.

The crafting system was very well implemented in Dying Light, with so many customisable possibilities, even when playing in 4-player co-op, it was very unlikely that each player will be using the same weapon.  Those weapons and blueprints will come with you in The Following, as too with new weapons and gadgets also.  But the biggest crafting evolution here is with your new baby, your buggy.  As fun as ploughing through the undead can be, you will eventually do damage to your vehicle and you may even find yourself being caught up and smothered by some of the faster and more dangerous zombies.  Thankfully, as you progress through the game and as long as you find the relevant parts, you can upgrade your buggy’s speed, durability, handling and braking.  You can even customise the look of your buggy with its very own paint jobs, making it truly your own and thus becoming your baby evermore.

Visually not a great deal here has changed, other than the location setting.  In the most part The Following looks fantastic, arguably better than the base game with its vast countryside, which looks even more impressive when the rain begins to pour and your buggy starts to slide frantically in the mud.  But if I was going to have one minor criticism with its visuals, it would be that much like its predecessor, it does suffer from the minor screen tear from time to time, but nothing that hinders your enjoyment of this content.

With open sandbox games such as this one, you can spend a huge amount of hours within the game and progress very little, all thanks to its extra activities.  I’ve having so much fun playing The Following, I could just spend the vast majority of my time pratting about in my buggy.  Whether it be partaking on main missions, clearing up side-quests to level up Kyle Crane or even participating on the various races available to you, there’s just so much bang for your buck here.

If you already own Dying Light, picking up The Following for just £14.99 represents excellent value for money, as its easily one of the most fulfilling and packed expansions that I’ve had the privilege of playing.  If you’re new to the game, then picking up the Enhanced Edition (which includes the base game and all available content) for around £40 if you shop about is a zombie no-brainer.

Furthermore, developers Techland have promised to continue on with content support for Dying Light to the end of this year at least, so you’ll have the added comfort knowing that there’s still more to come.  Regardless of how you choose to purchase this game, you’re going to have such blast and that fun is only going to be increased when playing with three other friends.  The zombie apocalyptic genre is a horde that keeps growing, but if I was ever to recommend just one recent game of this ilk, then it would be Dying Light: The Following/Enhanced Edition.

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