What can I say: I had a blast. It was my game of March and even if it is loaded with flaws, Dead Island 2 just was another perfect example of „the right game at the right time“.
First of all: Dead Island 2 entitles itself completely to explicity in terms of blood, splatter and flying body parts. So if you are not into extended violence in games, you are wrong here.
After a failed escape from yet another zombie-apocalypse taking place in Hell-A (renamed Los Angeles) and the miraculous survival of a plane crash, we can choose from a cast of six slayers with a different set of stats before jumping into our gore-drenched adventure. I chose Dani, a badass woman, which turned out to be a brilliant choice, as her irish crudeness, just hit the right tone of what I was hoping for playing this game.
The main attraction of DI2 is the combat. It is clear, that Dambaster Studios wanted to make the zombie-slaughtering fun and diverse and I can only say, they succeed. We can choose from a wide variety of melee weapons ranging from pick axes to crowbars, machetes to bo-sticks, all which we can modify with stat-boots or elemental damage. And this crafting system is important, as where are constantly collecting crafting elements to repair or upgrade our gear. And here the two biggest flaws show up: the crafting and the loot-system, both which go hand-in-hand. Or to be more precise: fail to.
DI2 decided to go for quantity instead of quality in terms of weaponry. You can find a countless number of weapons in the game, either while exploring abandoned mansions, the dark sewers of LA or simply by popping up undead corpses as the zombies seem to enjoy sword-swallowing as much as hunting for brains. This weapon inflation feels like a mixture of Diablo, where you are always on the hunt for a better weapon to drop and Breath of the Wild, where you don’t get used to a certain weapon, as wears off over time and breaks eventually. And for me, this system is a two doubled-edged sword, as it motivates me, to try out different weapons and synergies, but it reduces my actual engagement in combat, as I quickly loose track of my favorite weapons. Important note: In DI2, even if your weapon breaks, you can always repair it at a workbench, so it can not vanish forever. You can actually find a few legendary items, which own unique perks and abilities, but they appear so late in the game, that they can’t show their full potential.
The difficulty feels very unbalanced. In the first third, you need to get used to the melee, but after about 10 hours, it gets more and more difficult for you to die in this game. And even if you do, it has NO consequences, as you just spawn seconds before you died, without losing either equipment or life-time. It avoids frustration, but it works against the promising skill system, which is based on skill cards, you earn for finishing quests or find while exploring L.A. They unlock powerful abilities and are completely flexible in use, which results in a refreshing alternative to the often stale and rigid skill-tree system. But I did not make extensive use of this system, as I never felt the urgency or need to do it, due to the easy difficulty, especially in the „end-game“.
The enemy variety is pretty limited too. Even if they sprinkle in new so-called apex variation until the very end, these are mostly just recycled, re-named or elemental mutated versions of already known species in the zombie-universe.
To sum it up, you could say, you can put in the same amount of brain-function into playing the game as the zombies do and still get through it.
So why did this game made me having so much fun then, if it sounds so one-dimensional and generic? Because it is a game, where you leave your brain at the counter, kick in the doors and jump into such a rush of blood, that you totally forget about time and space in front of the screen. DI2 is a game, that embraces the flow. The setting of quirky, over-the-top and sunburnt L.A, the set of characters consisting of alcoholic, self-absorbed surfer-dudes and actresses and the flat and fore-seeable plot and humor merged into a joy-inducing experience. It clearly differs from its closest „competitor“ Dying Light, which is miles ahead in movement, but feels heavy, serious and slow-paced on the narrative side of things. DI2 is light, shiny, stylish, superficial and goofy and for me, these attributes are all an advantage, if you want to have a good time.
It’s a comfort game through and through and it's locations and mechanics reminded me of the Tony Hawk-series, a series, in which you can escape, loose yourself in and hit a few high-scores - or rage-quit, because your combo breaks seconds before nailing it in your 280th try, as I did a couple of times in Underground 2. You can have a ton of fun with a solid set of skill and it is definitely no game, which you have to master entirely to make you feel powerful. In DI2 you feel powerful from the get-go.
Plus: The soundtrack is undeniably a banger supporting the sense of flow and the sound design is both crisp and splashy ensuring this hack-and-slay adventure its triple AAA-quality.
I can understand, if you feel repellent by this game, either by its excessive violent nature or it’s flat storyline. But I had a constant smile on my face, while crushing skulls and kneecaps. And I personally feel very happy for Dambuster, that they delivered on the heavy legacy and hype this game produced way back after it’s announcement in 2014 (!).
First of all: Dead Island 2 entitles itself completely to explicity in terms of blood, splatter and flying body parts. So if you are not into extended violence in games, you are wrong here.
After a failed escape from yet another zombie-apocalypse taking place in Hell-A (renamed Los Angeles) and the miraculous survival of a plane crash, we can choose from a cast of six slayers with a different set of stats before jumping into our gore-drenched adventure. I chose Dani, a badass woman, which turned out to be a brilliant choice, as her irish crudeness, just hit the right tone of what I was hoping for playing this game.
The main attraction of DI2 is the combat. It is clear, that Dambaster Studios wanted to make the zombie-slaughtering fun and diverse and I can only say, they succeed. We can choose from a wide variety of melee weapons ranging from pick axes to crowbars, machetes to bo-sticks, all which we can modify with stat-boots or elemental damage. And this crafting system is important, as where are constantly collecting crafting elements to repair or upgrade our gear. And here the two biggest flaws show up: the crafting and the loot-system, both which go hand-in-hand. Or to be more precise: fail to.
DI2 decided to go for quantity instead of quality in terms of weaponry. You can find a countless number of weapons in the game, either while exploring abandoned mansions, the dark sewers of LA or simply by popping up undead corpses as the zombies seem to enjoy sword-swallowing as much as hunting for brains. This weapon inflation feels like a mixture of Diablo, where you are always on the hunt for a better weapon to drop and Breath of the Wild, where you don’t get used to a certain weapon, as wears off over time and breaks eventually. And for me, this system is a two doubled-edged sword, as it motivates me, to try out different weapons and synergies, but it reduces my actual engagement in combat, as I quickly loose track of my favorite weapons. Important note: In DI2, even if your weapon breaks, you can always repair it at a workbench, so it can not vanish forever. You can actually find a few legendary items, which own unique perks and abilities, but they appear so late in the game, that they can’t show their full potential.
The difficulty feels very unbalanced. In the first third, you need to get used to the melee, but after about 10 hours, it gets more and more difficult for you to die in this game. And even if you do, it has NO consequences, as you just spawn seconds before you died, without losing either equipment or life-time. It avoids frustration, but it works against the promising skill system, which is based on skill cards, you earn for finishing quests or find while exploring L.A. They unlock powerful abilities and are completely flexible in use, which results in a refreshing alternative to the often stale and rigid skill-tree system. But I did not make extensive use of this system, as I never felt the urgency or need to do it, due to the easy difficulty, especially in the „end-game“.
The enemy variety is pretty limited too. Even if they sprinkle in new so-called apex variation until the very end, these are mostly just recycled, re-named or elemental mutated versions of already known species in the zombie-universe.
To sum it up, you could say, you can put in the same amount of brain-function into playing the game as the zombies do and still get through it.
So why did this game made me having so much fun then, if it sounds so one-dimensional and generic? Because it is a game, where you leave your brain at the counter, kick in the doors and jump into such a rush of blood, that you totally forget about time and space in front of the screen. DI2 is a game, that embraces the flow. The setting of quirky, over-the-top and sunburnt L.A, the set of characters consisting of alcoholic, self-absorbed surfer-dudes and actresses and the flat and fore-seeable plot and humor merged into a joy-inducing experience. It clearly differs from its closest „competitor“ Dying Light, which is miles ahead in movement, but feels heavy, serious and slow-paced on the narrative side of things. DI2 is light, shiny, stylish, superficial and goofy and for me, these attributes are all an advantage, if you want to have a good time.
It’s a comfort game through and through and it's locations and mechanics reminded me of the Tony Hawk-series, a series, in which you can escape, loose yourself in and hit a few high-scores - or rage-quit, because your combo breaks seconds before nailing it in your 280th try, as I did a couple of times in Underground 2. You can have a ton of fun with a solid set of skill and it is definitely no game, which you have to master entirely to make you feel powerful. In DI2 you feel powerful from the get-go.
Plus: The soundtrack is undeniably a banger supporting the sense of flow and the sound design is both crisp and splashy ensuring this hack-and-slay adventure its triple AAA-quality.
I can understand, if you feel repellent by this game, either by its excessive violent nature or it’s flat storyline. But I had a constant smile on my face, while crushing skulls and kneecaps. And I personally feel very happy for Dambuster, that they delivered on the heavy legacy and hype this game produced way back after it’s announcement in 2014 (!).