DEAD ISLAND 2

Dead Island 2 easily claims the award as one of the most "troubled" sequels of all time. Considering that its adventurous development began in 2012 (!), it's safe to say that its existence alone, in the year 2023, is tantamount to a feat. Of course, the sequel was not developed by our well-known Techland, which has since been working on its own, very successful, version of zombies in the Dying Light series, but by Dambuster Studios, which had previously given us the relatively mediocre Homefront: The Revolution. Of course, several other studios took over the project and left it in the cold (Yager, Sumo Digital), but that doesn't really matter anymore. Dead Island 2 is here.

You'd think that, after so many write-offs in its development, Dead Island 2 would be a classic example of a product to avoid - after all, we've seen it many times before. We were surprised to find that this is not the case, being a decent game that on the one hand won't claim this year's awards, but on the other hand largely delivers exactly what it promises. Namely, plenty of action and unstoppable zombie slaughter.

However, the game doesn't stop there and includes a "normal" scenario, which is as interesting as a typical splatter B' movie would be. It's ten years after the events of the first Dead Island and California is under quarantine due to a... usual zombie outbreak. We take on the role of one of the six available protagonists and aim to find a way to escape this madness that has taken over sunny Hell-A, as it is now "affectionately" called. We soon discover that we are immune to the bites of zombies, which is a prime opportunity to escape with our sanity intact, but also to help build an antidote that will restore LA to its original form.

It's obvious that Dead Island 2 satirizes almost every game of the genre that has appeared so far, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, with its humor sometimes being crude. And there are moments where it insists on depicting images that would be more suited to a Cannibal Corpse album, which didn't personally bother me, but certainly don't add anything of substance to the experience beyond making you exclaim a typical "yuck".

Of course, the truth is that the game doesn't take itself too seriously and that's something we have to keep in mind. The fact that the situation feels like a parody is shown by the professional status, style and appearance of the aforementioned heroes that we are asked to choose before starting the adventure. Each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages, which relate to certain specific abilities that, in a way, pave the way for the style of play we will follow. For example, Ryan has the ability to replenish a small amount of health after each successful kill, while Jacob has a higher chance of critical hits if his stamina is low. Keeping in mind that character selection is final, there is no way to change it during the game, so it's best to be 100% sure before hitting OK.

But whichever character we choose, the heart of Dead Island 2 is in the melee combat. Over the course of the game you'll find dozens of deadly tools, from simple crowbars and knives, to sledgehammers, wolverine claws (!) and katanas. Of course, each has different capabilities and utility, depending on how we want to act. To illustrate, hammers and clubs are ideal for smashing heads, while sharp objects are noted for their excellent performance in maiming zombies. One striking thing to note here is that the various blows have a substantial impact on the zombies, changing both their appearance and their behaviour.

For example, if we swing a katana and cut the arms of a dead zombie, then it will not be able to punch us and will try to do it in another way (e.g. headbutt!). Something similar happens if we hit e.g. the legs (the... unfortunate zombie will crawl to reach us), while any physical interference on their flesh (fire, electricity, acid) is depicted in chilling detail. The latter element in particular is something the game very often encourages us to do, either by adding the relevant mods into our weapons with the help of the various workbenches we encounter or by using "conveniently" set environmental traps.

After all, Dead Island 2 is rife with item looting, either for crafting or equipment, to the point where the player is literally "knee-deep" in them. However, what's best to do is to pick three or four weapons you like, upgrade them, and fight mostly with them, provided of course that you repair them regularly (all items have limited durability). Quite late in the game (after mid-game, specifically), firearms make an appearance, however they prove surprisingly powerless compared to a fully upgraded bat, so their use is only appropriate in certain situations, such as when facing an "explosive" zombie and trying to keep it away.

In general, there are several types of zombies, but it is observed that from a certain point onwards, they become dangerously repetitive, especially when the more sizable ones take on the role of bosses and prove to be rather uninspired in their implementation. However, the game doesn't have time to become tedious, as the main story is completed in about 12 hours, and this time is increased if we deal more thoroughly with the side quests and challenges available. It's worth noting that Dead Island 2 is not an open-world game, in the sense that we perceive in games like Dying Light or Ubisoft productions.

On the contrary, the Hell-LA map is divided into different zones that load autonomously and while they may have plenty of points of interest, they are small and compact enough so that the player doesn't get bogged down with useless activities. However, we would have liked a little more imagination in the objectives of both the main and side missions, as primarily, our goal is to guide us from point A to point B, in the presence of a very useful compass, clearing everything that moves in between, until we reach the next cutscene. However, the game more than rewards the player who strays from the main path, offering rare weapons and blueprints to improve the power of their strikes and plenty of XP to upgrade their skills.

Don't be surprised, it goes without saying that in a game like Dead Island there will be skills, which are represented in the form of cards. So as we level up, we unlock more cards that affect elements of our hero's fighting style - positively and/or negatively. For example, we can choose between a block card or a dodge card, a very basic ability that if we make it our own, we will hardly have any serious problems in most battles with zombies. There's a pretty good variety of cards (a skill that, when executed, creates a small earthquake and causes the zombies to lose their balance or a WWE-style drop-kick!), and later, when we unlock the Fury ability by pressing the appropriate button, our hero becomes invulnerable for a limited time and really slaughters everything in front of him. It's no coincidence that the game's protagonists are called Slayers rather than Survivors, because our goal is precisely not just to survive, but... to exterminate as many zombies as we can, in whatever imaginative way we can devise. Clearly, the game gives us a plethora of tools to achieve this and aims for pure, mindless fun, without pretending to be anything else than that.

In this area, Dead Island 2 does a great job. Sure, the gameplay is repetitive, but at the same time it can be a lot of fun, especially if played in small sessions, and the existence of online co-op certainly raises the level of bloodshed that can be achieved. The combat system is solid and decent, the melee weapons have an excellent sense of weight, and the fact that each successful hit has a different impact depending on the point of contact is a feature that you never tire of watching.

It is also noteworthy that Dead Island 2 does not have any technical problems, which is rather rare for our time. The game runs seamlessly on the tried and tested Unreal Engine 4, with plenty of customization options and a visual effect that isn't eye-popping, but is certainly beautiful - as beautiful as a dead man's guts can be. On the other hand, the sound doesn't claim some laurels of quality, with the music tracks passing rather indifferently and the voice-over being deliberately "b-movieish", therefore highly in keeping with what's going on.

In short, Dead Island 2 is a surprisingly good game that I had more fun with than I would have expected before I decided to install it on the Epic Store (for now, it's only available there). It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but its well-made mechanics, its simplicity and its honest intentions are enough elements to score it positively. Definitely, it's worth a look and, who knows, it might just be the game you've been looking for.

We would like to thank Enarxis Dynamic Media for providing the review code.

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