Dying Light: The Beast vs Final Fantasy XVI
Zombie parkour versus cinematic Eikon spectacle — one is a focused course-correction, the other a Japanese RPG port that still asks what you're willing to forgive.
Updated 6d ago
Punches above its $40 price tag — Crane's Beast Mode and the return to DL1's horde-dense streets make this the series' best since the original.
Frozen, not fixed — the PC port's last patch was March 2025 and it is still $49.99. Skip the Complete Edition, and play the free demo before you spend anything.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | Dying Light: The Beast | Final Fantasy XVI |
|---|---|---|
| Value Final Fantasy XVI wins on value | ||
| Price now | $37.62 −15% · eTail.Market | $19.99 −60% · Steam |
| All-time low | $39.59 | $17.49 |
| Cost / hour | $2.07/hr $37.62 · 18 h main story | $0.52/hr $19.99 · 38 h main story |
| Off its low | At its low low was Jun 2026 | +14% low was Sep 2025 |
| Main story | 18 h | 38 h |
| Health Dying Light: The Beast wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 87% 70k reviews | 79% 33k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 83% 948 votes · vs 87% lifetime | 73% 533 votes · vs 79% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | 4,602 Jul 2026 · ↑ 24% MoM | 2,877 Jul 2026 · ↓ 7% MoM |
| Launch peak | 4% of Sep 2025 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 | — |
| All-time peak | 120,949 Sep 2025 | 27,313 Sep 2024 · now at 11% |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 4 months ago | 17 months ago |
| Patch cadence | 0 in last 90 days | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Platinum | Gold |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Dying Light: The Beast
Beast Mode's brutal strength-spree is the obvious highlight, letting Crane tear through hordes with a ferocity that feels like DL1 turned up to eleven.
The dodge mechanic's unreliability and forced weapon-slot swaps during cutscenes keep tripping up even veteran parkour players.
from our August 2026 verdict
Final Fantasy XVI
The Eikon set pieces and the combat underneath them. Even players who cooled on the story keep the fights in the positive column.
Performance that never improved, and the side quests. Both complaints date from the PC launch and no build has arrived to change either.
from our July 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Dying Light: The Beast if
- You'll take a focused 15-20 hour expansion over a 60-hour open-world grind
- Kyle Crane's return and DL1-style parkour are what you want from Techland
- Beast Mode sounds fun, not gimmicky, as a core combat shift
Pick Final Fantasy XVI if
- You're after a 38-hour story you can actually finish
- Character-action combat with cinematic Eikon fights is all you need from an RPG
- Denuvo removal and a demo you can test before buying matter to you
Bottom line
Play Dying Light: The Beast for a tight, fan-focused zombie fix; pick Final Fantasy XVI only if you can ignore its frozen technical flaws and just want that Eikon spectacle.