Dead Island 2 has been in development for a long time. What started in the hands of series creators, Techland, the project has changed hands a few times during the 9-year development cycle before Deep Silver left it in the care of Dambuster Studios. While it isn’t the most ambitious zombie game ever made, it certainly is a lot of fun to play.

Escape from LA

The game’s story takes place ten years after the events of the original Dead Island. Thanks to a zombie outbreak, the US government and military are forced to put California under strict quarantine. Shortly after the game begins, you will assume the role of a Slayer of your choice, from six possible characters. Due to an unfortunate mishap, your ride out of Los Angeles falls through and you are forced to improvise, doing whatever you can to survive the undead throughout the suitably nicknamed HELL-A.

As dire as the situation sounds, the story doesn’t really take itself too seriously. It’s still a solid experience though, with side missions especially balancing out some of the more serious beats of the main story. During your journey, you’ll also meet an interesting cast of characters who will request that you perform certain tasks, from fetching items to slaying zombies in specific ways for an influencer’s live stream.

California Fun

Dead Island 2, just like its predecessor, is a First-Person Action RPG with a strong focus on melee combat. Each of the available Slayers features varying stats and abilities that feel great to use in different situations. Most of the abilities activate damage boosts for your character, however, there are also some buffs to health and other stats when successfully performing certain actions in combat.

While their stats are fairly all over the place, each Slayer’s skills can be tailored to your style of play using Skill Cards. These cards grant your chosen Slayer access to special powers and abilities to aid them in combat. There are four main skill categories for which you can equip cards with a total of fifteen slots unlocked over the course of the game. New cards can be obtained via levelling up, found across the city, dropped by zombies and as quest rewards.

The Skill Cards are a nice change from the standard skill tree. While you still unlock slots and cards from levelling up, you can swap them out at any point so that your slayer is properly equipped for any challenge that may lie ahead.

As mentioned previously, Dead Island 2 has a strong focus on melee combat, and as such, it wouldn’t be complete without some crazy weapons modifications to make slaying the undead that much more enjoyable. Weapons can be modified at one of the many workbenches found all over HELL-A, and if you have the required materials and cash, you can make your weapons even deadlier. The mods and perks can be unlocked by finding blueprints all over the city and these can unlock elemental damage, in addition to enhancing other aspects of your weapon such as durability and force.

The combat is quite enjoyable and always felt like a lot of fun to pick up and play each time I sat down to do so. However, it is a little rough in the early going as you happen upon a multitude of weapons that don’t feel particularly fun to use when fighting zombies. Additionally, while guns are available in the game, it takes a good few hours before you actually get your hands on one. This is understandable as introducing it too early might upset the balance of the combat, but it felt strange that after looting many houses in Bel Air and Beverly Hills, I didn’t discover a single firearm.

The whole wacky improvised weapons in a zombie-themed game has been done a few times before so it isn’t as exciting when it first becomes available, plus repetition does tend to set in here and there. Also, some mission objectives, such as replacing a circuit breaker to block the undead from entering an area, creep up a few times, which comes across as being a little uninspired. That being said, it’s still a lot of fun to maim and decapitate zombies.

Hollywood Undead

Dead Island 2’s world feels large but not to the point where it becomes overwhelming. Instead of one big open world, HELL-A is divided into ten districts and travelling from one to the next triggers a loading screen. It may not sound like it, but this actually makes exploring each area less intimidating.

When it comes to visuals, Dead Island 2 looks fantastic, especially when it comes to the gore and the visible damage to enemies. Not very long into your journey through HELL-A, you’ll notice that the game does not shy away from the gore in the slightest. As you bludgeon, stab and execute the undead, you’ll see bones breaking, jaws hanging on by a thread and entrails being exposed. It’s completely and utterly gross but at the same time, it’s a really cool way to tangibilise the damage being done to enemies.

Exploring the HELL-A will see you visiting the houses of the rich and famous, a film studio lot and of course, the beach. Of course, this means you’ll also encounter a ton of zombies who are just waiting to be destroyed. I had a lot of fun visiting each location just to see if there were any new ways to deal with my enemies, however, I did notice that a good few buildings featured some re-used interiors. It’s not a major issue, but it is something I noticed.

The audio is also pretty great, featuring a cast of characters that have been voiced quite well. Plus, the snarls and growls of the undead sound like a fantastic mess of gurgles and raspy roars. The soundtrack is pretty subtle during the moment-to-moment gameplay but ramps up fairly nicely during boss fights and some of the more tense moments. Additionally, the sounds of thuds and squelching that accompany your weapon hitting an enemy are incredibly satisfying.

California Ghouls

Dead Island 2 is pretty great. In some respects, it does feel a little dated. However, it’s also just so much fun to play and I found myself wanting to play some more whenever I had a moment. It doesn’t hurt that the presentation is quite stylish and that the story doesn’t take itself too seriously. The gameplay, while somewhat repetitive, is spiced up by the inclusion of Skill Cards and not being tied down by nodes on a skill tree. It should be even more entertaining when playing the game with a few friends. The crisp visuals, smooth performance and gore on display were also wonderful to see, which kept me trying new murder methods to use on enemies in my way. Dead Island 2 manages to deliver a fun zombie-themed experience, despite the genre being a little over-saturated.

Grab your copy here https://deadisland.com/

Available on PS, Xbox, and PC

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