Dying Light 2's first story DLC drops you into a fighting pit

With the world overrun by zombies, you'd think the last thing anyone would be asking for is a place where human survival becomes even less likely. But this is Dying Light 2, where the bloodthirstiness of the infected usually pales in comparison to that of human beings. It's almost like we are the walking dead, or something.

Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties is the first story-based DLC for the open world zombie parkour game, and as the teaser last week suggested it's gonna take the focus away from skipping across rooftops and gliding around skyscrapers to plop you into a gladiatorial arena. The centerpiece is Carnage Hall, where warriors battle each other to the death in front of a cheering crowd. Hey, there's no Netflix in the zombie apocalypse. People need their entertainment fix. 

In the trailer above you can get a look at the carnage, which doesn't just include human-on-human violence—there appears to be a fighting pit beneath the fighting pit, so if you get knocked to the lower level it looks like you'll have to battle mobs of infected just to get back up to the main floor where the other fighters are waiting to kill you.

What's the actual story in this story DLC? Good question, and I haven't found a good answer yet. "In Bloody Ties, players will embark on a new story adventure, you will reach the epicenter of death, wealth and absolute splendour in a stunning location; The Carnage Hall," reads the trailer's description. "This old opera building is full of challenges and quests, surprising new weapon types, character interactions, and discoveries to uncover."

Does "kill or be killed" qualify as a story? I'm not sure, but we'll find out if there's more going on when Bloody Ties is released on October 13.

Catch up with our full list of Gamescom announcements from Opening Night Live and check our Gamescom schedule to find out when to watch everything else.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

Read more
Zombies attacking
The OG Dying Light is giving away its first DLC in more than 4 years for free, and it's very shiny
no more room in hell 2
No More Room in Hell 2's 'biggest update yet' introduces weapon attachments, new level scenarios, and ensures players no longer spawn 'without a body'
Dying Light
Shockingly, nobody bought the $386,000 special edition of Dying Light that came with parkour lessons and a full-size custom zombie survival shelter
An elderly bearded man in medieval garb making a face after eating garlic
'Please remember the game has no plot': Vampire Survivors dev points out one of the many challenges in turning its roguelike into a live-action film
Atomfall Gamescom screenshots
Atomfall dev says Rebellion's open world shooter has 'some experimental stuff' that can have a 'huge influence' on the game world: 'It might work out. It might not'
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s getting a new roguelite wave defense mode that sounds a whole lot like a souped-up take on Killing Floor
Latest in RPG
Metaphor: ReFantazio character art
Metaphor: ReFantazio battle director says turn-based RPGs can still be just as popular as action RPGs: 'I personally believe turn-based games have a long future ahead of them'
Geralt sitting on a wall wearing a Cyberpunk jacket modded by TheRealArdCarraigh
The Witcher 3 devs had to practically remake the game engine to make official modding possible
Serana from Skyrim, modded to look like a desiccated corpse.
Skyrim realism mod fixes your vampire girlfriend, giving her a voice and look more suited to someone who just got out of a coffin after 2,000 years
Minthara BG3 looking upset
Another round of Baldur's Gate 3 unearthing reveals Minthara can end up living in a sewer, an unused beach ending, and more
Person battling bizarre four-eyed monster with stylish UI elements surrounding them
Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio's UI designer is open to accessibility options for players who find the stylish menus overstimulating: 'That is something we understand we'll need to work on and provide in the future'
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth money farm - Super Crazy Delivery
Like a Dragon series director sums up why sidequests are essential to a great RPG with a single metaphor: 'a good main dish alone will not earn you a Michelin star'
Latest in News
Half-Life wallpaper - Gordon Freeman
Former Valve exec says the company struggled to sell Half-Life until coming up with the ultimate 'one simple trick' of marketing manoeuvres: slapping a 'Game of the Year' sticker on the box
America to the rescue
US pressures Malaysia to stop banned AI chips potentially entering China by monitoring 'every shipment that comes to Malaysia when it involves Nvidia chips'
A True Kin knight stands in a ruin in Caves of Qud, flanked by bloodstained furniture and a freshly mortalized corpse.
Despite making a roguelike where you can have countless arms and legs, Caves of Qud's creators say the ideal form is a limbless sphere: 'We started in perfection and only moved farther from God'
Civilization 7 Great Britain - Modern Civ art (via YouTube)
As Civilization 7 struggles to keep up with Civ 5 player counts, a new patch is coming tomorrow with still more UI changes and gameplay tweaks
Metaphor: ReFantazio character art
Metaphor: ReFantazio battle director says turn-based RPGs can still be just as popular as action RPGs: 'I personally believe turn-based games have a long future ahead of them'
assassin's creed shadows review
Assassin's Creed Shadows streamer goes viral after confronting whining commenters: 'Normal people don't get upset about this sh***'