Is Dying Light 2 Stay Human Split Screen Compatible?

The zombie survival horror genre in video games is not going to die anytime soon. In fact, it has grown even more popular these days. That’s why it’s no surprise that Dying Light 2 Stay Human managed to sell over 5 million copies worldwide during its launch in 2022 – 7 years after the first Dying Light was released. 

While it’s not much compared to the predecessor’s 20 million sales, the sequel has been met with praise from both fans and critics alike on its combat, parkour system, and open world. Like the previous game, Dying Light 2 Stay Human includes a co-op multiplayer mode.

In the game, up to four players can team up and fight against zombies that are out to eat their brains out or use their parkour skills to evade them: the choice is yours.

Perhaps the game’s biggest appeal is its open world. Dying Light 2 Stay Human is set in Villedor, a massive city located in Europe. The map is four times bigger than Dying Light and is divided into seven different regions with many landmarks and areas to explore.

With a game world that huge, it’s easy to get lost when you’re playing with your friends. So it’s natural to expect the game to have a split-screen feature to avoid confusion. 

So, is Dying Light 2 Stay Human Split-screen compatible? Let’s find out.

Is Dying Light 2 Stay Human Split-Screen?

Unfortunately, Dying Light 2 Stay Human is not split-screen. That means you can’t couch co-op the game with a partner or sibling that’s too scared to play it. The lack of a split-screen has not been explained by the game’s creator, Techland, but it’s not hard to understand why they wouldn’t incorporate it.

Simply put, fewer games now offer this functionality. You won’t find split-screen in many games, save from classics like Call of Duty where players demand it. 

The main problem with split-screen co-op in a game like Dying Light 2 is that rendering an open environment for multiple players would need a lot more processing power. The second player would thus need to be tied to the host like in the Halo games, or the visuals would need to be reduced to save some power.

The only way you can play Dying Light 2 Stay Human with your friends is through online co-op.

The good thing about the game is that players get to “play and finish” the game together. Meaning, your character progress, and items will be saved in someone else’s game. You can also transfer your progress to your single-player mode once you close and reopen the game.

Another cool perk of co-op multiplayer is that every player can vote and make major decisions as a team. This prevents any confusion or disagreements that come with playing co-op online. While Dying Light 2 Stay Human doesn’t include the split-screen feature, it’s obvious that Techland is aware of how many people care about co-op.

This is why the developers added these perks to make your co-op experience just as thrilling. 

Dying Light 2 Stay Human Split-Screen Explained

If you have no idea what Dying Light 2 Stay Human split-screen gaming means, we’ll briefly explain the meaning behind it.

When you have friends over at your house, the best way to have fun is to play games on the TV. Split-screen makes this possible by dividing your screen into separate portions for you and other players.

This allows you to see what your buddies are up to while exploring areas without having to stay close to them. When you’re playing a game that involves teamwork and problem-solving, split-screen is the best option because it allows you to execute your strategies effectively.

Split-screen was also more popular when video games and consoles were hard to afford. As long you had an extra controller or keyboard, you could play games with your sibling without having to fight over who gets their turn on the Xbox next.

There are a few reasons why the split-screen trend has died out. The first problem is performance issues. Adding a split-screen to a game means doubling the graphics, which means that the console has to render the same lighting, textures, and objects twice.

While older generations of consoles have been able to do this, the games tend to sacrifice most of their performance for it.

Developers find it harder to include split-screen in their games now that games have 30FPS, ultra-realistic graphics, and bigger game environments. It makes even more sense for an open-world game like Dying Light 2 Stay Human to not have a split-screen.

Second, removing the split-screen means game developers, publishers, and console developers get to earn more money. This means that each player must purchase their own console as well as a copy of the game for themselves.

Lastly, not everyone likes split-screen. Nowadays, games that don’t heavily market themselves as co-op game seem to sell more copies than co-op games like Cuphead. After all, who wouldn’t want to experience their games in fullscreen now that everything looks so realistic?

The Nintendo Switch version was supposed to launch along with other platforms, however, it was delayed. This is not the first time the developers have delayed a release.

Techland stated that it will be out “within six months” after the initial release of Dying Light 2 Stay Human on other consoles. However, as of writing this article, Dying Light 2 Stay Human has not yet been released on Nintendo Switch.

The game’s page on the Nintendo store, only states that it’s “releasing in 2022.” We’ll keep an eye out and update this article if the game has been released on the Switch.

That’s a wrap for this guide on Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s split-screen compatibility. While it’s impossible at the moment, at least they’ve included cool features that make playing the game worth it. If you found this guide helpful, you can check out our guides on other video games.