Restored Land is a free solo survival mode for Dying Light: The Beast that Techland released on 26 March 2026 as Update 1.6, alongside a new Restored Land Edition that every Standard Edition owner received as a free upgrade. It is not a paid DLC or a new map: it reruns Castor Woods as a persistent world where killed zombies stay dead, loot never respawns, and you slowly reclaim regions so survivors can move back in. As of November 2026 it is still part of the base game, and the current patch is Update 1.8.1 from 5 November 2026.
We checked this against Techland's official Restored Land release notes on Steam and the Dying Light Outpost, Techland's own announcement and support pages, the Hotfix 1.6.3 notes, the Steam global achievement list and launch coverage from VGC and MP1st in November 2026.
What Restored Land Actually Is
Techland describes Restored Land as a "highly challenging, solo experience" and a new way to play The Beast. You start it from a dedicated section in the main menu, separate from your normal campaign saves, and it is solo only: you cannot bring a co-op partner into a Restored Land run. The mode offers two difficulty levels, Survivor and Brutal, and the story you play through is the same campaign as the standard game. What changes is the world around that story.
In a normal Beast playthrough, enemies and containers respawn, open-world activities can be repeated, and you can grind a Dark Zone as often as you like. Restored Land removes that safety net. Defeated enemies stay defeated, loot can only be collected once, and Convoys, Dark Zones and Hives can each be completed a single time. Special map markers track which ones you have already cleared. On the map, Region Threat Levels show how dangerous each area still is, and the goal is to push those levels down until an area is reclaimed and survivors start returning to revitalize it.
The edition side is simple. The Restored Land Edition bundles the base game with the new content and every earlier free update, which Techland lists as Legend Levels, New Game+, ray tracing on PC and Nightmare Mode. If you already owned the Standard Edition, you were upgraded automatically at no cost. Techland's support page adds that existing owners receive the upgrade that matches the edition they originally bought, so Deluxe and Definitive owners keep their extras. If you are weighing up the paid editions, our look at whether the Definitive Edition is worth it covers what the extra money adds.
The Survival Rules That Make It Hard
The difficulty in Restored Land comes from scarcity rather than tougher enemy stats alone. Containers hold fewer supplies, shops carry less stock at higher prices, and your inventory is limited until you buy backpack upgrades from vendors with money you have scraped together. Because nothing respawns, every medkit you craft and every bolt you fire comes out of a fixed pool for the whole run.
- Hunger: you have to eat to keep going, and the release notes pair hunger with the threat of "succumbing to exhaustion."
- Flashlight batteries: the flashlight drains and depleted batteries must be replaced.
- Night pressure: clearing Hives reduces the number of roaming Volatiles, but the Alpha Volatile still hunts you at night no matter how many Hives you burn.
- Level cap: player level caps at 15, and XP gains are increased to make up for how rarely you meet enemies once an area is cleared.
- Two hidden helpers: Techland says it hid two items in the world "that might just bring you back from the brink." It has not said where they are.
One change matters a lot if you tried Restored Land at launch and bounced off. Hotfix 1.6.3, released on 23 April 2026, added a toggle to the Survival settings for the depleting flashlight and the hunger meter, and the patch notes say that setting is now off by default and can be switched on in the menu. In other words, a fresh run today does not force hunger and battery drain on you unless you choose it. The same hotfix added fast travel from completed safe zones and hubs, using a Castor Woods map placed at each eligible location, which takes a lot of the dead walking out of reclaimed areas.
One Life Mode and the Rewards
If the base mode is not punishing enough, you can turn on the One Life option. Techland's notes put it bluntly: each death resets your journey. There is no checkpoint reload and no second chance, so a single bad night chase can end a run that took many hours to build.
The rewards are worth knowing before you choose. Techland's support page lists what each milestone unlocks:
- Finishing the Restored Land main story: the Survivalist Outfit, the Chainsword, the Doomsday Runner skin and the Weapon Retention Gizmo Charm.
- Finishing it on One Life Mode: the Deathless Outfit.
- Securing every sector on the map: the Purge of the Unclean Charm.
The completion outfit is available across all of your save files, not just the Restored Land one, and the release notes say One Life finishers also get special recognition in co-op play and "unique surprises within Town Hall." Both outfits sit alongside the rest of the game's cosmetics, which we cover in full in our Dying Light: The Beast outfits guide.
There are also seven new achievements tied to the mode. The Steam achievement list includes True Survivor (finish the story in Restored Land), Unbeatable (finish it with One Life turned on), Peace Bringer (reclaim every region of Castor Woods), Hoarder (complete all Dark Zones and Convoys), Better Be Safe (complete all Safe Zones and Safe Spots) and The Fearless Samaritan (complete all side quests). In November 2026 Steam shows True Survivor at 1.9 percent of players and Unbeatable at 1.0 percent, which tells you how few people have seen the end of a run.
Roadkill Rallies and the Other Additions in Update 1.6
Restored Land was the headline, but Update 1.6 brought a second activity that works in the regular game too. Roadkill Rallies are five time-based driving challenges in which you must kill a set number of infected and reach the finish line inside the time limit to earn gold. Each track has its own theme, some throw Suiciders at you, and Techland stresses that finding the best route is the key to gold on every one of them. Earning gold in all five unlocks the Roadkiller, a tougher car model.
The patch also added leaderboards. Friends leaderboards cover both Restored Land and Roadkill Rallies on every platform. Global leaderboards for both are console only, because Techland says the current client-only PC implementation cannot fully protect global rankings from exploits. Restored Land leaderboards measure how many days you have survived, and Hotfix 1.6.3 added two more Restored Land boards to make score comparisons fairer.
- Five new Fury finishers for special infected: Banshee, Charger, Demolisher, Goon and Volatile.
- Over 30 new random quest encounters with better rewards, available in the regular mode as well as Restored Land.
- Refined fights against special infected, a co-op ping system, personal map markers and an improved HUD.
Tips for Your First Restored Land Run
Because the world is finite, the usual Beast habits work against you. Players used to farming Dark Zones for crafting parts need a different plan, and the following approach follows directly from the rules Techland published.
- Start on Survivor. Brutal stacks harder combat on top of scarce resources. Learn which areas are worth clearing on Survivor before you try Brutal or One Life.
- Prioritize backpack upgrades. Inventory limits mean you will otherwise leave loot behind that never comes back. Spend early money at vendors on capacity before cosmetic or luxury purchases.
- Clear Hives early. Each cleared Hive thins out the roaming Volatiles at night, which makes later night travel far less costly. Remember the Alpha Volatile is not affected.
- Decide on the survival toggle up front. Since Hotfix 1.6.3, hunger and flashlight drain are off by default. Turn them on only if you want the full experience.
- Use fast travel once areas are complete. Reclaimed hubs and safe zones become fast travel points, so route your clearing so that the next region you push into is close to a completed one.
- Treat ammunition as a budget. Firearms are noisy and every round is permanent loss. Melee builds with good mods stretch further, and our guide to The Beast's weapon mods explains which mod combinations do the most with each swing.
If you came to Restored Land from Nightmare, expect overlap: hunger, flashlight drain and the Alpha Volatile all debuted in the Nightmare Experience in December 2025. Our Nightmare mode guide covers how that difficulty differs, and the two modes reward different achievements.
Restored Land Compared With a Normal Campaign
A standard Beast save is better for learning the story and for long-term character building, since you can farm, replay activities, play in co-op and push Legend Levels up to 300. Restored Land is a self-contained challenge with a hard level cap of 15, no co-op and no repeat loot, so it suits players who already know Castor Woods and want tension rather than power. The main story still runs to the same confrontation (the Deathless Outfit's own description mentions "the Baron's end"); if you want to know what happens before committing a slow run, our ending explained post has a spoiler warning at the top.
Your normal campaign save is untouched by a Restored Land run, and Restored Land progress does not merge into it. The only crossover Techland lists is cosmetic: the completion outfit unlocks on all save files. For New Game+ and Legend Level progression, stick with your regular save; our New Game+ guide covers how those tiers scale.
Prefer a Finished Campaign Save?
Restored Land has to be played the hard way, and the store does not change that. What the store does offer is the Dying Light: The Beast All Unlocked Legend Level 300 starter save for your regular campaign, for players who want their main save maxed while they spend their own time on Restored Land. Its page lists Legend Level 300, all blueprints, outfits and gear pieces from the base game and owned editions, ranged weapons upgraded to iconic tier, and 9,999 of each crafting part, with the option to start NG+ fresh or continue with the game finished.
It is PS5 and PC only: PS5 is applied through account share, where the store logs in to apply the save to your profile, and PC is delivered as a save file with install instructions. You must already own the game, and paid DLC content you have not bought is removed from the save. It does not include Restored Land completions, so the Survivalist and Deathless outfits are still yours to earn. Other services for all three games are on the Dying Light hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Restored Land a paid DLC?
No. Restored Land arrived as a free update (Update 1.6) on 26 March 2026, and Standard Edition owners were upgraded to the Restored Land Edition at no cost.
How do I start Restored Land?
Pick the dedicated Restored Land section in the main menu. It runs separately from your normal campaign saves and offers Survivor or Brutal difficulty.
Can you play Restored Land in co-op?
No. Techland's release notes describe it as a solo-only experience. Roadkill Rallies and the new quest encounters from the same update do work in the regular mode.
Can I turn off hunger in Restored Land?
Yes. Hotfix 1.6.3 (23 April 2026) added a Survival settings toggle for hunger and flashlight drain, and it is off by default.
What happens if you die in One Life Mode?
Each death resets the journey, so the run starts over. Finishing on One Life unlocks the Deathless Outfit and the Unbeatable achievement.
Is there fast travel in Restored Land?
Yes, since Hotfix 1.6.3. You can fast travel from a completed safe zone or hub by using the Castor Woods map placed at each eligible location.