It’s been said plenty of times but bears repeating – the fact that Dead Island 2 has gone gold and releases on April 21st for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC is an incredible achievement. After all, this is a game announced in 2014, with an exclusive beta and content on PS4 (now lost to memory, thankfully). The initial trailer seemed promising enough, and then…the waiting began.
Development started at Yager Development of Spec Ops: The Line fame before shifting to Sumo Digital, which was also dropped. Such was the lack of updates and release date that Deep Silver and then THQ Nordic was assuring players every year that it wasn’t cancelled.
Then, at last year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, Deep Silver re-revealed the game, showcasing a gorier, over-the-top action title. Developed by Dambuster Studios of Homefront: The Revolution fame, this new version of Dead Island 2 was about slaying zombies in the most extravagantly excessive ways possible. It featured a new cast of characters and covered different ruined locations in Los Angeles. Also, the gore. So much gore.
Though completely different from previously planned versions, Dead Island 2 could be a shot in the decaying arm for the series and a compelling sequel in its own right. Here are 16 things you should know before picking it up.
Los Angeles
Dead Island 2 takes place in Los Angeles ten years after the events of Dead Island 1 and Riptide. The zombie virus has spread throughout California, and the state is now under full quarantine. How this happened is unknown, but you start as a survivor who’s been bitten by a new zombie. Thankfully, you’re immune and can work with the other survivors, known as the Slayers, to escape Los Angeles.
Compared to previous games, Dead Island 2’s storytelling is more irreverent, with narrative director Lydia Cockerham calling it “a love letter to B-movies from the ’80s and all these kinds of things that we all have in our psyches.” Areas like Bel-Air and Los Angeles appear, and as you progress through the story, you can backtrack to previous areas for any missing collectibles and side quests.
Not Open-World, More Linear
Unlike the older titles, Dead Island 2 isn’t an open-world game. It doesn’t have one large map you can seamlessly explore, and dozens of activities to check off a list or towers to capture. Instead, its areas are “semi-open world,” per art director Adam Olsson while speaking with WCCF Tech. “We want to be able to focus on quality over quantity,” he added, also noting that the team wanted players to run “headlong into battle to fight zombies” instead of running away (and no, there’s no parkour like, say, Dying Light).
Narrative designer Lydia Cockerham also said it’s important for the world to “feel like LA” and that “there are all these exciting things around every corner to look at and notice. There are so many open-world games these days that just kind of feel a bit boring. And it’s just so much expansive there’s nothing to do.” The team wanted Dead Island 2 to feel “full of life,” despite the copious amounts of roaming undead.
Of course, along with battling zombies, you’ll discover safe rooms with different blueprints, hunt for collectibles and tackle some side activities. The rockstar needing your help to clear his property and close the gate is just one. The random person on an intercom asking for your help is another, but you can ignore all these people if you so desire. Don’t worry – there are plenty of other characters to interact with throughout the story. Even Sam B from Dead Island and Riptide returns, though not as a playable character.
It’s worth mentioning that some previews (like PC Gamer) said areas are fairly linear, describing the city as “basically a corridor of zones separated by loading screens, full of roads and lanes that make the area look bigger but are actually blocked off.” WCCF Tech affirmed this, and even called the areas “quite small by today’s standards.” However, this might be good for players looking for a more compact adventure.
No Branching Story
Unsurprisingly, there won’t be a branching story or any choices that can affect its direction. Creative director James Worrall told The Loadout that the main plotline is “fixed.” However, he also noted the sheer effort in world-building and environmental storytelling. “Everywhere you look, every square inch, every logo, every little detail, every room has environmental storytelling in it. And we’ve put an awful lot of effort into that – the narrative team have worked their little socks off – and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved.”
This also lines up with the inclusion of several Easter Eggs and nods to Hollywood B-movies that the team loved. So look out for those to appear while learning more about the truth behind the zombie virus and where it originated from.
Slayers
There are six playable characters in Dead Island 2 – Carla, Jacob, Amy, Dani, Ryan and Bruno – each with unique Skill Cards and play styles. So while Jacob favors critical hits and Amy prefers throwing weapons due to the stamina gains, Carla gets up close and personal against hordes and Bruno uses backstabs for massive damage. However, while each has a preferred play style, you can build them out in various ways with the Skill Card system.
Want Ryan to have more damage despite being a tankier fighter or give Dani more survivability? Skill Cards help with that. However, it’s worth noting that depending on the Slayer, you’ll only be able to dodge or block as a defensive option (at least according to WCCF Tech’s preview), so choose carefully. Each can use Fury Mode, a temporary berserker-like state that makes you faster and stronger as your bare hands tear through zombies, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like they have unique weapons, like in the first Dead Island.
The Slayers have their quips and react differently to events, even providing some hints about their backstory. However, the good news is that there won’t be any exchanges that just go back and forth forever between heroes.
Skill Deck
Upon choosing a Slayer, you get two Innate Skills and can assign new Skill Cards to four categories – Abilities, Survivor, Slayer and Numen. Abilities feature the likes of Drop Kick, War Cry (which buffs you and weakens any undead in the vicinity) and Dash Strike to close the distance and quickly strike a zombie.
Survivor skills seem more like modifiers for your abilities. For example, Flare Up causes Ground Pound to ignite the area smashed. You have a lot of freedom for customization, and it’s possible to change a Skill Deck on the fly, setting yourself up for success or massive failure. Nevertheless, those experimenting could develop some incredibly lethal or hilarious combinations if they dig deep enough.
Zombies
The zombies are the main enemies in Dead Island 2. You won’t fight humans, and there’s no moral about mankind being the real monster or anything. There are dozens of undead variants with different character models and clothing, and you’ll immediately know what a zombie can do based on their appearance. There are also Apex Zombies (formerly known as Special Infected) with more health and unique abilities.
Many carry over from previous Dead Island games, like the double-bladed Butcher. While others have been renamed, like the Thug now being the Crusher, it’s still incredibly tanky and relies on brute strength to beat you down. Likewise, the Slobber (formerly the Floater) shoots acid projectiles, and the Screamer (formerly the Siren) emits a high-pitched scream that stuns you. Taking down these Apex Zombies will net crafting materials, so it’s a good idea to square up.
There are also bosses, like the Bridezilla zombie in Halpern Hotel, who soaks up a lot of damage and aggressively pursues you.
Weapons
It wouldn’t be a Dead Island game without different weapons to hack, slash and break zombies. Dead Island 2 offers a wide assortment from katanas, knives and spears to handguns, stun guns and rifles. They each lean into different play styles and damage types. Want to be an unstoppable wrecking ball that hits slow but hard? Use the Sledgehammer with its crushing damage and knock several zombies off their feet. Want to fight more like a boxer? Equip the Knuckle-dusters and weave between zombies while landing quick hits. How about surgically slicing off limbs? The Katana will work wonders.
Ammo is limited for firearms, further encouraging melee weapons and throwable items. Weapons also degrade over time but can be somewhat negated with crafting upgrades. Nevertheless, with eight slots for weapons and an additional eight to carry on your person, you won’t be caught off-guard if one of them suddenly breaks.
Crafting
Crafting is also a big part of the game. Crafting materials are everywhere, from exploration to hacked-up undead bits and Apex Zombies. While each weapon has a fixed perk, you can craft and slot a mod for extra physical damage, or specialize in elemental damage. The higher-grade versions of these perks require rarer materials but pack a bigger punch (or shock or burn).
There are also perk slots for equipping benefits like life steal, stamina restoration, spreading status effects to nearby enemies, triggering explosions with status effects, increasing durability and lots more. Again, each perk requires different materials, so you’re encouraged to scavenge and slay hordes accordingly. The sheer amount of weaponry possible, from a flaming hammer that unleashes a forceful explosion on zombies to electric claws, is pretty insane.
FLESH
The Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids, or FLESH, is perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Dead Island 2. It creates procedural gore based on the type of damage dealt to zombies. Punch a zombie hard enough, and their jaw goes flying. Smash them in the head with a sledgehammer, and it explodes.
In a presentation with the media last year, Dambuster said that the system allows for “anatomically correct layers of skin fat and muscle,” which can be meticulously torn apart. You can shatter bones and internal organs, and the “advanced fluid and soft body physics” ensure that limbs and torsos fly apart naturally. So if you’re keen on hacking away at an enemy until they’re nothing but bones and then going even further, Dead Island 2 will accommodate you and then some.
3 Player Co-op
Remember how the previous games offered co-op for up to four players? Unfortunately, Dead Island 2’s co-op is limited to only three, despite having a larger playable roster. This decision was likely due to the scale of the areas, how chaotic things can get, and the number of interactable objects. Besides, given the sheer amount of weapons and abilities, even two players can cause serious mayhem.
Difficulty Options
The original Dead Island didn’t have difficulty options, instead having zombies scale with your level. With some areas having higher-level zombies, it could feel like an uphill battle at times, especially when playing solo. While Dambuster Studios hasn’t explicitly outlined all the difficulty options in Dead Island 2, a Hard mode has been confirmed in WCCF Tech’s preview. We still need more details, but at the very least, you shouldn’t let yourself get swarmed by zombies (which can happen easily).
Along with dodging, blocking and skilful use of weapons, observing and using the environment to your advantage will be important. Save your bullets to explode gas tanks or target the grenades hanging on former soldiers turned undead to take out several zombies at once. Use the Stun Gun and electric weapons on zombies drenched in water to zap them, creating much-needed breathing room.
No Day/Night Cycle
If there’s one thing that Dead Island 2 shares in common with its predecessor, it’s the lack of a day/night cycle. It was justified in the first game due to events occurring within a short timeframe. The time of day changes in the sequel, but only based on the story’s progress. The unique challenges these could bring, like fighting zombies in the dark, remain to be seen, but at least you’ll get to admire the gorgeous skyboxes during your rampage.
4K Ultra HD, 60 FPS and HDR10
Dambuster Studios has been very coy about the PC requirements, along with the resolution and frame rate on consoles. According to the Xbox Store listing, Dead Island 2 supports 4K Ultra HD and 60 frames on current-gen, though these are likely different graphical options (so don’t expect both simultaneously). HDR10 is also supported, along with Smart Delivery and Spatial Sounds. As for PlayStation 5, the DualSense’s vibration and adaptive triggers are supported, though specific features have yet to be outlined. Is it too much to hope for the sounds of violence to play through the controller’s speaker?
Cross-gen Multiplayer
Despite launching on many platforms, Dead Island 2 doesn’t support cross-platform multiplayer. Xbox players can’t matchmake with PlayStation or PC. However, as the Xbox Store listing indicates, cross-gen multiplayer is supported, so those on Xbox One can play with Xbox Series X/S players, and PS4 players can pair with those on PS5. PC players are still out of luck, though if (and when) the game is no longer exclusive to the Epic Games Store, we may see some cross-platform multiplayer support with Steam.
Playtime
The time it takes to complete Dead Island 2 has made for an interesting discussion. Olsson said it took around 20 hours to finish the story when factoring in some side quests and other activities. This playtime doesn’t account for co-op, collectible hunting, or playing through the campaign with a different Slayer.
It will take longer if you’re a completionist, but how much longer is unknown. PC Gamer played through a third of the game, which took about five hours, meaning it may take only 15 hours to finish the story if you mainline it. Again, not a bad thing, but something to keep in mind, especially considering the $70 asking price.
Post-Launch Content
Of course, the game’s launch isn’t the end, since there are also paid expansions in development. The number included in the Expansion Pass and what they’ll add to the game is unknown, sadly. Two paid character packs, each with a unique costume and weapon, are also promised, though these could be bonus content coming later. Dambuster hasn’t said anything about free updates, or new characters, so we’ll need to wait for more details.
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