Verdict
Dead Island 2 is a great zombi - slasher with telling physics and satisfying melee combat , but that ’s about it , with a wearisome , uninspired storyline , a semi - open - world design and a tongue - in - cheek approach that now and again borders on the dumb .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Dead Island 2 offers a modern wrench on the original Dead Island with elevate graphics , new mechanics and an entirely fresh positioning – LA , or Hell - A as it ’s known in - game .
While the game has strength , particularly with the innovative shape organisation that provides the most realistic and gory combat I ’ve seen in a zombie title , the game ’s moth-eaten storyline , forgettable fiber and unenviable committal to writing give me wonder whether Dead Island 2 should ’ve made it to release in the first spot .
It ’s a very fun zombie slasher available for PC , Xbox Series X|S , PS5,PS4andXbox One , but not much more than that .
Story and characters
The secret plan behind Dead Island 2 is a comparatively simple one ; there has been a zombie eruption in the core of LA , and the US government activity has blockaded the city in a bidding to stop the zombie horde from spreading to the rest of the country . It ’s not quite an island like the title suggests , but hey .
You ’ll be introduced to not one , but six playable characters in a cutscene at the beginning of the game , each with their own fighting vogue , lover and debuffs and lingua - in - boldness character design . These range of mountains from Jacob , a Londoner who sounds a stack like a knock - off Idris Elba with what looks suspiciously like wacky backy constantly give ear out of his mouth to Ryan , an ‘ exotic dancer ’ dressed like a fireman .
Your option here is important as the rest of the theatrical role are ( spoiler warning signal ) killed off moments after you make your pick , and you ca n’t swap your character out later down the road . Being a Londoner , I , of line , opted for the spliff - add together stuntman Jacob .
The payoff is that , from the very first here and now where you commit a alloy celestial pole from your tummy and miraculously go , the story just is n’t that believable , and the cast of rotating characters does small to sell the idea that LA has been taken over by automaton hordes .
That ’s for certain not helped with random side seeking like maiming zombies in a specific way to get footage for a YouTuber ’s upcoming viral video . I get that the story is design to poke play , but at some points , it became a little too dim .
The overarching news report is also convolute and seems to be rivet more on moving you from one area to another than actually severalise an interesting , engaging story . So much so that meat campaign characters are all but leave about when you move on to the next domain , make all but a few resort graphic symbol feel irrelevant to the overall plot .
By the five - hour mark I ’d all but stopped caring about the storyline , and even a former - game plot twist was n’t as surprising as the developer had specify . It ’s essentially full of distinctive automaton plot image and does n’t really taste to do anything to differentiate itself from the passel of zombie titles that came before it .
Oh , and that end – do n’t even get me start on the ending . I wo n’t blow anything here , but blurgh .
Open world and exploration
In no way does Dead Island 2 show its detain development more than with the design of the function , based on Los Angeles , California , after a zombi spirit outbreak .
It ’s not a whole open globe like the parkour - packedDying Light 2 , instead compromise of 12 belittled open - world areas link up together by cumbersome consignment screens that break that sense of submerging and discovery you lean to get from truly open - world titles .
That might ’ve been acceptable about 8 - 10 old age ago , but not in 2023 . It also does n’t help that , as name , the story does very little to of course move you from one region to another . It feels like the developers had to force those transitions in the story , rather than them pass off naturally .
It helps then that each of those 12 field are very decided from one another , be it the zombi - infested Pier or Hollywood Boulevard , with each filled with unlike opposition to fight through , random side seeking to stumble across and secret to retrieve , usually in the form of rare weapons . You ’ll also stumble across stereotype like the zombified YouTuber gang in Bel - Air or ( very much live ) player a little bit too dedicated to their role in a Hollywood film studio .
You wo n’t be able-bodied to simply span each area and carry on though , with some automaton simply too baffling to fight in your first encounter , encouraging you to go away , even out up and come back for another try . You ’ll usually get potent weapons for your crusade , but as you get further into the plot and advance your own weapon , these become less important and less of a motivator to explore the open world .
It ’s also deserving mark that fast traveling does n’t become available until the mid - game , so travelling from one sphere to another – especially when you may only take specific paths , like travelling through Bel - Air to get to the motion-picture show studio apartment – can take quite some clip .
Combat
Despite the clumsy writing , puzzling storyline and ( at times ) terrible voice acting , there ’s one affair that proceed me coming back to Dead Island 2 for more ; the game ’s forward-looking flesh system .
You see , in most zombie games , the walkers play like a pocket of potatoes when reach and just expend to the ground . You ’d never see any kind of shock on the automaton itself , despite being polish off pretty firmly with a pounding , baseball bat or whatever post - apocalyptic weapon you found yourself with . Not Dead Island 2 though .
If you take a swing music at a zombie and hit them fresh in the jaw , expect that jaw to get clean-living off , leave your zombie friend with a gaping fix in their face . Slashing a zombo with a katana saw large cuts and slices appear exactly where I was coming into tangency with them , slowly revealing their guts within .
That extends to arms , legs , heads and just about every body part of the moulder zombie flesh , allowing for an exceedingly splanchnic , over - the - top maiming experience that ’s strangely habit-forming – specially when coupled with the slow - mo River Cam when you perform a particularly gruesome attack .
As your weaponry grows more innovative , so do the effects , especially the acid that literally burns the skin off the meatbags as they shamble their way toward you . burst are super satisfying too , especially when exit behind massive amounts of viscera and the occasional body part .
It ’s not just grisly for gruesome - sake though , with specific enemies like the Crusher unable to do their slam blast if you lob off an subdivision . Runners also have a bit of an issue running if you , you know , chop off a leg .
This is where the combat becomes more than a dewy-eyed jade - and - slash social function , with specific zombi spirit having specific resistance that stop you from pass away all - in on a single arm – you want to keep and raise a variety of weapon system to add gist like fire , electricity , pane , along with blunt and needlelike wallop .
You ’ve also sustain a crew of other upgrades that help oneself tailor the weapon to your playstyle , whether that ’s basic upgrades like increasing the damage or force out of your weapon to more advanced upgrades like elemental effects to spread to nearby enemies .
I must admit that I start to lose interest at around the 5 - hour mark using only introductory battle royal weapons I scavenged from forsake family in LA , though the introduction of more advanced weapons and better upgrades kept me going until the closing of the 20 - hour military campaign – just about , anyway .
There ’s sure enough an issue with tempo , not only in terms of the story but the various elements of combat . Most of the exciting and powerful raise do n’t come until quite of late in the game when you ’ve already slaughtered 1000s of zombies , with the best weapons and upgrades not available until the storyline is over .
I ’d have liked to have some of those a little earlier in the cause so I could really love the satisfyingly - OTT fighting that the end - biz offering .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
The combination of the unique flesh organization and upgradable melee artillery provides satisfying , nonrational OTT combat .
Dead Island 2 is all about killing zombie in gruesome ways with the report coming secondary . If you ’re looking for an interesting zombie narrative , look elsewhere .
Final Thoughts
Dead Island 2 has been long in the making , but it might ’ve been a littletoolong . Various aspects of the biz , from the semi - open world to the tongue - in - cheek characters are reminiscent of zombie titles from 8 - 10 years ago and do trivial to reinvent the overly - used zombi trope .
The only veridical delivery grace is the combat , which when paired with the sanguinary frame organization offer visceral , satisfying melee combat that ’ll keep you entertained throughout the otherwise ho-hum campaign .
Trusted Score
How we test
We play every game we refresh through to the goal , outdoors of certain exceptions where getting 100 % completion , like Skyrim , is closelipped to inconceivable to do . When we do n’t full finish a plot before reviewing it we will always alarm the reader .
