After 10 years stuck in development limbo, Dead Island 2 is a truly delightful turnaround. Not just from its lengthy, tumultuous development, but from Dambuster Studio's previous work, Homefront: The Revolution, a game that can charitably be described as 'one of the games of all time'.
Dead Island 2 could perhaps also be given the same label, though. But not for any lack of identity or originality, but because this is a video game-ass video game, and it's not afraid to own that distinction as a badge of honor.
DI2 feels like a game from the Xbox 360 era of its predecessor in all the best ways. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, because it doesn't really have to. It's a nice fucking wheel. Instead, it takes the largely bland yet mostly fun Dead Island 1 and gives it a fresh, honed-in take, complete with tons of QoL additions and callbacks.
It's also unexpectedly gorgeous and runs incredibly smoothly on every platform it's available on. I didn't even realize games were still capable of such feats in today's market, yet here we are.
Also, the soundtrack slaps.
The story and characters are fun, delightfully cheesy B-movie goodness packed with surprisingly funny one-liners here and there. I went into it not expecting much from the story, particularly after how generic DI1 and Riptide's narratives were, but came away wanting to know what happened next and where the series could go from here. I've seen many online label the dialogue as 'cringe', which is either a dash of hyperbole or completely dependent on the character you choose from the beginning. I picked Ryan for the record, and I found him to be a charming, sardonic, archetypal straight-man who was easy to root for throughout.
The world and particularly the level design are sublime and stand tall as the perfect case for why every worthy game doesn't have to be a sprawling open world filled with checkmarks. There is plenty to find in DI2's levels, and lots of opportunities to go off the beaten path, should you choose to. I'd even go as far as to say that it's on par with most Arkane games in terms of the experimentation at play in its environments.
Dead Island 2 also has, at times, some great biting (pun intended) satire scattered throughout these levels. It employs an "eat the rich" mentality to settle any moral quandaries that zombie fiction usually brings by getting stuck on who they used to be before they turned. From crypto billionaires to nepo babies and self-aggrandizing influencers who live in 'content houses,' there are plenty of Hollywood elites to slice and dice without a care in the world.
Speaking of slicing and dicing, combat gets a gigantic upgrade, not just from Dead Island 1 but from both Dying Light games, by introducing the FLESH system. Realistic damage and physics reactions from your weapons make for some truly grisly and satisfying kills from start to finish. Throw in the dodge and counter abilities, and you've got Techland sweating to compete for Dying Light 3.
DI2 is not without its flaws, though. The zombie spawn system seems to be currently broken. You can take down an area full of zombies, turn the corner, quickly come back and find the same area repopulated. When sprinting, you'll often see several zombies materialize in front of you due to the game not being able to keep up.
It's surprising to see this in a wide-linear game such as this, but it's no doubt something that can be addressed with patches down the line.
You also cannot manually close doors behind you, so good luck if you want to reliably put some distance between you and a horde that's hot on your heels.
The ending, while not as egregiously bad as Dying Light 2's, is still one that leaves multiple cliffhangers. While I acknowledge that this is likely to conclude in the two upcoming expansions, it's a shame that the base game couldn't have a complete book-ended story with some lingering hints of the future.
There are also some very interesting lore implications for the series that help it stand out from other zombie fiction. However, these aren't explored nearly enough, or rather, when they are elaborated upon, it's within the final two or so hours of the game, so it ultimately feels pointless. Again, perhaps this is something that will be saved for DLC, but it's a shame that that's become the de facto answer to lingering narrative threads for so many studios these days.
Regardless of my problems, however, Dead Island 2 is a GREAT game, and certainly one that was a lot better than I was expecting given the lukewarm reception I gave the previous game. Dambuster Studio should truly be proud of what they have delivered here, and they've more than earned the keys to the franchise moving forward.
8/10
Dead Island 2 could perhaps also be given the same label, though. But not for any lack of identity or originality, but because this is a video game-ass video game, and it's not afraid to own that distinction as a badge of honor.
DI2 feels like a game from the Xbox 360 era of its predecessor in all the best ways. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, because it doesn't really have to. It's a nice fucking wheel. Instead, it takes the largely bland yet mostly fun Dead Island 1 and gives it a fresh, honed-in take, complete with tons of QoL additions and callbacks.
It's also unexpectedly gorgeous and runs incredibly smoothly on every platform it's available on. I didn't even realize games were still capable of such feats in today's market, yet here we are.
Also, the soundtrack slaps.
The story and characters are fun, delightfully cheesy B-movie goodness packed with surprisingly funny one-liners here and there. I went into it not expecting much from the story, particularly after how generic DI1 and Riptide's narratives were, but came away wanting to know what happened next and where the series could go from here. I've seen many online label the dialogue as 'cringe', which is either a dash of hyperbole or completely dependent on the character you choose from the beginning. I picked Ryan for the record, and I found him to be a charming, sardonic, archetypal straight-man who was easy to root for throughout.
The world and particularly the level design are sublime and stand tall as the perfect case for why every worthy game doesn't have to be a sprawling open world filled with checkmarks. There is plenty to find in DI2's levels, and lots of opportunities to go off the beaten path, should you choose to. I'd even go as far as to say that it's on par with most Arkane games in terms of the experimentation at play in its environments.
Dead Island 2 also has, at times, some great biting (pun intended) satire scattered throughout these levels. It employs an "eat the rich" mentality to settle any moral quandaries that zombie fiction usually brings by getting stuck on who they used to be before they turned. From crypto billionaires to nepo babies and self-aggrandizing influencers who live in 'content houses,' there are plenty of Hollywood elites to slice and dice without a care in the world.
Speaking of slicing and dicing, combat gets a gigantic upgrade, not just from Dead Island 1 but from both Dying Light games, by introducing the FLESH system. Realistic damage and physics reactions from your weapons make for some truly grisly and satisfying kills from start to finish. Throw in the dodge and counter abilities, and you've got Techland sweating to compete for Dying Light 3.
DI2 is not without its flaws, though. The zombie spawn system seems to be currently broken. You can take down an area full of zombies, turn the corner, quickly come back and find the same area repopulated. When sprinting, you'll often see several zombies materialize in front of you due to the game not being able to keep up.
It's surprising to see this in a wide-linear game such as this, but it's no doubt something that can be addressed with patches down the line.
You also cannot manually close doors behind you, so good luck if you want to reliably put some distance between you and a horde that's hot on your heels.
The ending, while not as egregiously bad as Dying Light 2's, is still one that leaves multiple cliffhangers. While I acknowledge that this is likely to conclude in the two upcoming expansions, it's a shame that the base game couldn't have a complete book-ended story with some lingering hints of the future.
There are also some very interesting lore implications for the series that help it stand out from other zombie fiction. However, these aren't explored nearly enough, or rather, when they are elaborated upon, it's within the final two or so hours of the game, so it ultimately feels pointless. Again, perhaps this is something that will be saved for DLC, but it's a shame that that's become the de facto answer to lingering narrative threads for so many studios these days.
Regardless of my problems, however, Dead Island 2 is a GREAT game, and certainly one that was a lot better than I was expecting given the lukewarm reception I gave the previous game. Dambuster Studio should truly be proud of what they have delivered here, and they've more than earned the keys to the franchise moving forward.
8/10