Dying Light: The Beast has had a long, winding journey to its position as one of 2025's most acclaimed open-world games. It was initially slated to be the second DLC for Dying Light 2: Stay Human. But a 2023 leak of its plot spurred Techland to make lots of changes. It grew so big that it would be a standalone adventure, one critics are hailing as one of 2025's best games.
Kyle Crane is "The Beast" of this endeavor. He suffered years of experimentation, leaving him as a zombie-human hybrid with incredible power, but always battling for control over his more vicious side. Crane was presumed to have perished after Dying Light DLC The Following, but one of the potential endings did show him getting infected. Techland decided they had something there, but only wanted to do it if voice actor Roger Craig Smith returned. You may also know him as Assassin's Creed's Ezio or Mirage in Apex Legends.
Smith was happy to reprise the role, and longtime players are glad that he did.
A running theme in zombie stories is that humanity are the real monsters. When the protagonist thinks they may have been infected, they work on another level. Every decision you make may be a sign of slipping further into madness.
In this case, Kyle Crane knows he's The Beast. The story will place him in dangers he can't possibly escape without his superpowers, but each time he risks giving in to something he may not come back from. That's the secret, Captain. I'm always angry.
We'll never know exactly how the original DLC would have gone. But the response to The Beast indicates Techland made the absolute best from a very frustrating situation.