Dying Light 2 on PC is every bit a true next-gen showcase for where in-game visuals are headed. The difference that ray-tracing brings to the world is staggering. Ray-traced shadows, global illumination, reflections, ambient occlusion and more, we break it down. And offer up a nice little 4K video to showcase it all in action.

As we saw with the PC versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and Remedy’s brilliant Control, it’s the combination of multiple ray-tracing effects coming together that creates such a stunning transformation. Reflections allow metallic surfaces to correctly reflect incoming light, not to mention adding proper reflections to, well, reflective surfaces. Ray-traced shadows allow the light coming from the sun to accurately create Dying Light 2’s dense mix of bright and dark. It allows shadows to become softer when they need to be, and sharper too.

Ray-traced shadows also add depth to grass and foliage, which double as gameplay elements when hiding from the world’s many dreads. Ray-traced ambient occlusion ensures that when objects meet the world, they are not fully lit in the way that can give the overall feeling they’re floating and you’re simply looking “at a videogame”. The same can be said about objects that are visible and bright when they shouldn’t be, like the underside of a table or the side of a building facing away from the sun. Ray-tracing makes things look how they do in the real world.

Head Here For Our Full Dying Light 2 Ray-Tracing Deep Dive