The big release of this week is undoubtedly Dying Light 2: Stay Human, which arrives a whole seven years after the original Dying Light, so it's safe to say we've been waiting a while!

Ahead of its launch on February 4th, the first reviews have been dropping today (including here at Pure Xbox), giving the wider public a taste of what to expect when it lands through their letterboxes on Friday.

So, without further ado, here's what the critics are saying so far:

Game Informer - (9.5/10)

"Dying Light 2 is an engaging journey of discovery and gaining power. Almost everything you do embraces those dynamics. In evolving beyond the first game's offerings, putting a stronger emphasis on the characters helps shape the world in meaningful ways... I adored almost every second of this game and see myself often revisiting it, as Techland has announced at least five years of DLC is on the way."

VG247 - (8/10)

"Dying Light 2 is messy and uneven. It’s also unique, exhilarating, and just plain fun to play, with one of the best settings in recent memory – despite the nagging feeling that the game could, and should, be more than what it is."

Windows Central - (4/5)

"Dying Light 2 truly shines with its high-stakes nighttime gameplay, which turns the modern and tired open-world formula on its head. While some of the writing isn't the best and next-gen console performance is a bit disappointing, Dying Light 2 offers a tight experience that builds on the original."

Push Square - (7/10)

"Dying Light 2 is a super solid follow-up to the 2015 original, building upon its fantastic gameplay loop with new traversal options for even more parkour fun. It's extremely disappointing, however, that the narrative and open world promises Techland made in the lead up to launch haven't been realised. Your choices don't have nearly as much impact as we would like, and the map is much more rigid than pre-release footage would have you believe. Still, Dying Light 2 feels awesome and empowering to play, and that can go a long way."

GameSpot - (6/10)

"Dying Light 2 is a perplexing game. Its story and characters are headache-inducing, and it appears to lack polish in many areas. But even a dozen hours after I rolled credits, I've found myself going back to the game to do another parkour challenge, rummage through another abandoned science lab, or just see if I can get from Point A to Point B without ever hitting the ground."

Pure Xbox - (5/10)

"With a lacklustre campaign that offers little to enjoy in the way of drama, some serious performance issues - which we hope will be patched day one - and an enormous world stuffed full of basic busywork padding, this is one zombie apocalypse we're finding quite hard to recommend."

The Guardian - (2/5)

"If all you want is a gigantic zombie-filled Skinner box crammed with loot and repetitive, incremental violence, Dying Light 2 absolutely works. Honestly, you’ll love it. You can explore and level up and get into fights using increasingly powerful weapons, and the interlocking compulsion loops do their job of settling you into that grind. But oh for a moment of genuine surprise, a truly memorable line of dialogue, a spark of mechanical invention."

So, as you can see, it's very much a mixed bag in terms of the reviews, and we happen to fall on the lower end of the scale here at Pure Xbox. Hey, everyone has different opinions! In terms of the Metacritic score, Dying Light 2 has a 77 based on 18 reviews for Xbox Series X at the time of writing, and a 78 based on 28 reviews for the PlayStation 5.

Will you be diving into Dying Light 2 later this week? Let us know in the comments.