I feel like this game deserves a good review more than anything, so yeah, you are in for a ride, because I'm going to defend Dead Island 2 with all I have. I played the PS5 version of the game.

Dead Island 2 is a... Meme. This game was delayed for almost a decade, it was going through the biggest development hell that ever existed, and its development started over like 3 or 4 times. The game was a running joke for years, but these mad lads actually decided to release it, so yeah, how it went? Unexpectedly good, and by that, I actually mean, that Dead Island 2 is a f***ing king of just good games and here's why.

Let's start with describing the gameplay, because that's the reason why you're buying Dead Island 2. The combat in this game is honestly amazing. DI2 follows its roots and the gameplay is arcade'y. There are health bars, numbers popping on the screen, overpowered crazy sharp weapons and unrealistic, but fun skills. The game is incredibly self-aware, and I'm thankful for that. The devs want you to kick some rotten zombie asses, they don't want to overwhelm you with atmosphere, tough situations, realistic scenarios, and crazy strong enemies, so you feel powerless. They want you to become a damn death dealer, disintegrating enemies left and right, doing it with style, on your way through breathtaking locations. There isn't any "humans are worse than zombies" drama, the game is about zombies, and just zombies. They really nailed the spirit of the original game, and improved it in every single aspect, so if you liked the original Dead Island, you are going to love it here, in Hell-A.

So yeah, as I just said, the game is about slaying zombies and pretty much nothing else, how is that exciting? Oh boy, let me tell you about the tools they give you. The single best thing about this game is the gore system in it. It's something you have never seen before. It literally cannot be described, just google it and watch it on YouTube. You can break every single bone in your enemy's body, tear him apart, burn him, dissolve his skin with acid, cut every muscle and see all the insides. It really is that good, for the first time in DECADES I've been catching myself on hitting dead enemies on the ground with different stuff, just to see this beautiful gore system.

There are tons of environmental interactions, that are incredibly fun to use. The game is filled with water buckets, wires, gas tanks, accumulators, acid puddles and more, much more stuff. Kicking zombies into pools, just to throw an accumulator there, so you can see how their skins fry, is incredibly satisfying, and you can make an interaction like that every two minutes, if you feel like it.

The game offers you plenty of choice when it comes to weapons. I wish it was the variety of Dead Rising, but it's just enough to not get bored. Hammers, baseball bats, throwing knives, katanas, spears, they are all unique, and I had great enjoyment from switching them every now and then. They all had their own uses, their own animations, and they felt different. I wish there were more normal things turned into weapons (like a deadly paddle or frying pan), but they focused on actual weapons, and I can't blame them. The customization of said weapons is lovely. You could mod every weapon to suit your liking, weapon mods changes the looks with some neat designs and later in the game there are some crazily fun blueprints to find and use. I kept changing weapons often, just to see different interactions on different limbs, with different weapon types, with different mods.

There are guns in Dead Island 2 and they are just okay. Some are underwhelming, some are overpowered, but they are all pretty fun. With correct mods they can provide a ton of joy. I will never forget my electric Uzi, it was a work of art. Aiming could use some improvements, tho. I'm pretty skilled in FPS games with a controller and in DI2 it was a struggle. That said, as much as I liked using guns from time to time, melee weapons are much juicier.

It's worth to mention, that there are legendary weapons in the game, and they for sure are f***ing legendary. There are not many of them, they are hard to get, and most of these are available after you completed the game, but they went all out to design them. They are different from the normal weapons, they are badass and they are simply awesome. I love how every single legendary weapon is special, not just orange text and busted stats.

There are different types of enemies in the game, and you have to tinker your kit to challenge them. Some weapons simply won't work on some enemies, and that's nice, because they actually give you a reason to have some fun with your stuff, instead of playing with the single weapon for the entirety of the game's length.

The last thing I want to describe about the gameplay is the character development system, that I... didn't really like. The game offers you freedom, so you can use pretty much any skill on any character, and I honestly think it's a flaw. Therefore, characters don't really have identity and while playing online, I've seen a lot of people running the exact same build, because... It was the best. The game overwhelmed you with new choices, but most of them weren't interesting at all, for the entirety of the game I had like two moments when I was unsure which skill to equip. I prefer when every character has its own skill set, it makes them unique and adds a lot to replayability. I think Dead Island 2 is worthy of replaying it, but why bother if everything about the gameplay will be the same? To be honest, the skills don't really change that much.

If you are a fan of some jolly-cooperation, Dead Island 2 offers it, and it's as good as it gets. I played the entire original game with my friend, and it was awesome, I imagine Dead Island 2 isn't any worse in that department.

So yeah, to summarize this long ass paragraph, Dead Island 2 gameplay is the definition of fun, and you should totally check it out, decapitate some heads and cut off limbs with throwing knives. Yes, it has flaws, but everything does.

Let's talk about the graphics and level design. This game looks spectacular. It's as stylish as it can get, and has its amazing identity with awesome vibrant colors. The game really feels alive and breathing, which is kinda ironic, because it's about the undead, heh.

The interior design in Dead Island 2 is, without a contest, THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN. I'm not joking, it's actually insane how well-designed are interiors in this game, every building left me simply amazed.

Even though interiors had to get that special spotlight, the overall locations are just as good. Thanks God, they didn't go open world route, because it wouldn't be possible. The game is filled with hubs and I haven't seen so good, well adapted, fun to explore, beautiful, open, yet interesting locations for a looooooong time. Hell-A looks breathtaking, it looks stylish, it looks iconic, and I couldn't possibly imagine it looking better. I haven't been to LA myself, but from what I've seen, they made a stupendous job with capturing it and the atmosphere they created is incredible. The hubs are filled with interesting areas, that you immediately want to visit. Every hub is unique and interesting, I mean, Hollywood Boulevard, Bel-Air, Beverly Heels, Venice Beach, a f***ing movie plan, who doesn't want to explore these?

Attention to detail is on another level, too. Every single sheet of paper, poster, or sticker on the wall has text, that you can actually read, it actually suits the location, and it provides cool information that adds to the authenticity. There are even full stories written on the walls. After I realized how detailed are these simple posters, that are added just so the walls aren't empty, I've been reading all of them, and they hardly ever repeated. The last time I've seen such dedication to random stuff, it was in a Rockstar game. Hats off.

The game features a day'n'night cycle, which is nice, because you aren't getting bored with the locations too fast, and they simply look amazing in both versions.

I described the gore system before, but it kinda suits the graphics section, too. This is a pinnacle milestone in this department, and should be mimicked in other games.

I'm also wholeheartedly amazed by their zombie designs. So many amazing models, and most importantly, there are tons of them. Like, of course they repeat, but it takes some time to meet a zombie you've seen a while before. A lot of zombie games reuse models as much as they can, so another big win for Dead Island 2 in that department. There are also specific models for specific locations, like bikini zombies on the Beach and rich looking guys in Beverly Hills, the devs for sure weren't lazy with these. It's worth to mention, that side characters also have memorable designs, at least most of them do.

The music they chose for the game is fire, there are some good songs that match the mood, and a lot of nice OST with homages to the original game.

To kill the mood a little, the one and only con in the graphics department is the fact, that the game lacks ANY reflections. Like, wtf? Seeing nothing in the mirror (and believe me, there are a lot of them) drastically kills the immersion.

To sum things up, this game looks spectacular, locations are ouf of this world, interior design is uncontested, the game is detailed to the bone and is truly an example to follow, but I wish I could see my tired face in the mirror.

Time for some chit-chat about the story, quests and the characters. Well, when it comes to the story in Dead Island 2... Well, it's there. The plot was never the strongest part of these games, but it isn't awful. I actually like how it's a really good mix of taking things seriously, with some admirable satire.

The main scenario is serious, but the game often includes some hilarious interactions. There are funny jokes, comical dialogues, exaggerated characters and some golden actions. I really admire how it fits with the generally serious tone.

There are some nice references to the previous game, which in my opinion are always welcome. Bringing Sam B back was a great choice, he's fun while on screen, and they didn't overuse him.

The game has a very cinematic feeling in my opinion, first person cutscenes work wonders, and actually feel like following a movie plot. Third person cutscenes on the other hand were simply awful, thankfully there aren't many of them.

The game offered some really cool side quests with nice action and characters you can get attached to, but at the same time, just as many side quests are boring and without much of a purpose.

When you visit safe areas, there are NPCs that you've met before, and you can listen to their dialogues. They are all really fun, and they often add much, to already well-written characters. Safe areas also feel pretty alive and authentic thanks to that. Once again, these dialogues hardly ever repeat.

As I just said, side characters are incredibly well-written in this game. Emma, Sam, Amanda, Patton and a lot more, I remember all of them, they all had unique, flexed out personalities and some really good acting. I cared about them, I wanted to keep playing to see what's next for them, and I stayed afk in hubs to hear their monologues or chats with the others. Of course there were more important characters and less important characters, but I was interested in pretty much all of them, I mean, how often do you afk in front of your average weapons vendor to check what's on his mind?

When it comes to the main characters, I played as Jacob, and he felt pretty boring at first, but after a while, when I got to know him a little more, he had a really cool personality and I started to like him, a lot. His personality is pretty unique, too. I mean, he connects with the others on a personal level, he mentions his mom, he quotes Shakespeare ,I mean, it's pretty wild. I wonder how different are the other characters, it seems like they are all really unique and a lot of work went into this. Too bad, I don't feel like replaying the game, only because of the character progression choice.

When it comes to the main plot, it was ok, and just ok. I was pretty invested to see what's next, but mostly, because of awesome characters. Later in the game there are pretty wacky choices and the ending is just horrible, but I got used to it, when it comes to the zombie themed games. It isn't even close to how bad the ending of Dying Light was, tho, so no worries. The story will continue in the DLCs, that I plan to check out, but I don't really like that idea.

After you finish the game, you can go back to previous locations, and NPCs react to the fact, that you completed the story, pretty neat.

In conclusion, half of the content is engaging, half of the content is here, so you can slay more zombies. There are nice, well-written characters, tho. The game missed on a huge opportunity to play the legendary "Who Do You Voodoo?" during credits, I mean, What the F***?

In an era of overpromised games, development hells, delays, 100gb day 1 patches, 70€ early access games, it's time to talk about the performance! I played on my PS5, on the release day, and the game worked wonderfully. I encountered 0 glitches, I haven't seen any FPS drops, the loading times weren't too long, no washed textures or pixelated backgrounds, just a solid launch. The only flaw I can think of, is the fact, that sometimes you could see enemies literally spawning before your eyes, but it wasn't too often, and it was much later in the game, when I was sort-of speedrunning through locations. Yes, it's real, the game was solid at launch. I mean, a good launch in 2023? Pretty wild, isn't it? It's hilarious that Dead Island 2, the game that was gone for almost a decade, the legendary meme of development hells, has much better launch than AAA titles from trusted studios. It has much more attention to detail than any AAA titles I could think of, besides Rockstar games. Funny times.

What a long read, let's get to the conclusion (it's going to be long, too). The best thing about Dead Island 2 is how self-aware is this game. The devs knew this isn't your AAA title, you've been waiting for half of your life, they know it's your game to play in between more exciting games. That's why the went all out to make the best 7/10 game to ever exist. Yeah, Dead Island 2 is a 7/10 game, but it's a God among just good games. It's fun as hell, it's easy to pick up and do whatever in this game, it isn't too ambitious, it's a game you play after work to swing a machete, but it's a brilliant game. It's polished to the tip, it looks amazing, it's packed with content, it's insanely fun, it's stylish, it has the best gore system up to date, it has breathtaking locations and designs... And most importantly, it's correctly priced. They knew this isn't a AAA blockbuster game, so it's a little cheaper, and at that price, it's hands down worth it. At a discount, this game is a steal. I salute you Dambuster Studios, you released a Goddamn Dead Island 2, and it's a massive success in my eyes. As I just said, the game is just good, but at the same time, it's covered in platinum. The gore, the locations, the characters, the combat, that f***ing attention to detail and variety of enemies, just incredible. Go give Dead Island 2 a try, because YOU ARE IN FOR A RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7/10, but a F***ing 5 star one.

"Sam B got the thing, that go bump in the night... WHO DO YOU VOODOO, B****?"

~Wo

Dead Island is my first game in its franchise, and I'll be honest, I wasn't overly excited to get the game when I did.

I was surprised to enjoy the combat at times, but only when it managed to actually pressure me. The lack of anything that I would consider a boss fight really brings the game down for me. The story feels unfinished and makes me think that there will be a 3rd game.

The story is pretty straightforward at the start, such as you can't be infected so we gotta get ourselves to the people that can create a cure, only to throw an interesting twist (didn't like the powers twist). I like the twist about the guy at the end that created the whole zombie apocalypse in us though. Would have been more impactful had the characters actually been introduced earlier though. (Apologies, I can't remember their names) I only used one character, Ryan was his name I think, and his play style was to my liking - strong and sturdy, can go head first into a battle and not worry too much about death.

The Hauss DLC was pretty boring overall, especially that ending. It made me so mad; nothing exciting happened. (Maybe I just wasn't paying much attention, but the plot of it just didn't keep my interest.) The best part was the endless horde of zombies in the grass area. You're supposed to avoid it, but if you want truly endless action, just run around there till you're satisfied.

I started the second DLC, SOLA, and it's at least a bit better than Haus. It's got more zombie variety, and more of them actually show up to put up a fight. Even then, it gets too easy at times and the challenge goes away. I'm about 2 chapters away from beating the DLC.

The game is big, but as far as exploration goes, it doesn't feel like there is any real incentive to explore, and when it forces it on you, it feels bland. Exploration should be fun and rewarding, like finding a hard hidden boss in the game.

This is a game that's best played with another person. Solo play is a last resort in my opinion; otherwise, you'll be bored to no end (though you don't really need coop to even beat the game; it's honestly one of the easiest games I've ever played).

I do enjoy the characters we play as; they can be witty and funny at times, and like I said, the combat can be pretty fun.

2.5/5 could have been better, but still enjoyable if played with the right people.

This is first dead island game I beat, first one i got bored with fast. First thing to note, singleplayer at the start its fine, but once things got complex with more zombie types it then turned itself into a forced coop game. Single player would be such a struggle and frustrating to play, the game is quite horribly balanced to force coop.

Now that we know coop is needed, this games story was really good, it definitely leaves it open to a dead island 3, finding the daughter whom is the cure to the outbreak . I do plan on doing the dlcs and will add comments on those when completed, and am interested in getting all trophies and seeing more side quest, seems loot is all in the side quest/lost and found than drops, we didnt do much of that and didnt get much good loot beside at the end, which was disappointing, loot should be throughout the game not just only certain questlines.

I do recommend to play this if you have someone or dont mind making your lobby public for others to join. Loot is instanced so dont worry about that, you all get your own loot and experience, however I would suggest be wise with money, dont just repair and upgrade/level up everything, since weapons do come and go so fast.

• Playtime: 34 hours (campaign + most quests done)

• Played: 2026

• Context: Basegame only. I loved Dying Light but thought DI 1 and DI Riptide were bad.

The Good

• The core gameplay is so much fun.
• Solid variety in skills, weapons and upgrades.
• Having explosives and sich on a timer as "curveballs" is a great system and actually invites you to use them, instead of when you have a limited amount like in most games.
• Basically no punishment for dying.
• Brutal violence, dismemberment is especially nice.
• A dozen interconnected hubs instead of one big open world means much more variety in environments.
• Fury mode lets you be a crazy killing machine for a short bit.
• Much easier to get around areas compared to previous games.
• Enemies and containers don't respawn/reset as overly fast anymore.
• The story and dialogue are ocassionally entertaining.
• Challenges system is pretty decent and encourages trying out different things.
• Fast travel.

The Bad

• Fast travel is limited to travelling between safe zones.
• Some challenges are ridiculous and cannot reasonably be completed even if you complete all quests (e.g. scrapping/opening containers).
• Too much of the story and quests are moronic and involve idiot plots.
• So much of Jacob's dialogue is unfunny and incredibly cringeworthy.
• When you die after a cutscene, you get put back before it. You can skip it, but it takes a bit too long if you're pumped.
• No basic weapon modification like scopes, sights, magazines, bayonets and such.
• Crossbow and sawblade launcher are DLC-only.
• The cap on parts is pointless and just made me waste way too much time on selling certain ones while making sure i kept enough for upgrades.
• Late in the game (lvl 25+) you should have more stamina and health because you feel a bit too weak.
• There should also be a way to resist knockdowns somewhat and/or get up quicker.
• Treasure hunts are overly hard without waypoints, especially because you can accidentally complete later parts without realising it.
• A bit too often i would discover after a fight that there were objects that would've made it a lot easier but you're a bit too overwhelmed to notice them.
• I didn't get to loot many of the locked containers because the named enemies that drop the keys tend to spawn only when you revisit areas and they don't alway stand out.
• Disappointing final battle and cutscene makes it feel like the middle part of a story.

The Ugly

• Weapon levels are completely pointless and awful, they basically just exist to give you something to spend money on.
• The Amanda mission on the pier is incredibly unbalanced due to the ridiculously quickly respawning screamers. Easily the hardest part of the game.
• I could not complete two quests because they broke.

Conclusion

Dead Island 2 is a really fun game. You get to brutally slaughter hundreds of zombies in a variety of ways while not being too concerned about dying. I finished the main story after 22 hours and went back to do sidequests for another 10 because i was having such a good time. This was only the 12th new game i've completed in the past 1,5 years too. It's not perfect, but it's really good and doesn't waste your time with nonsense like so many other open world games. I didn't even like the previous Dead Island games but now i'm looking forward to the next one.

Dead Island 2 se disfruta mucho con amigos, pero en solitario tampoco pierde fuelle. Es un juego de zombies que se basa en ofrecerte distintas formas de matarlos a lo largo de varias zonas de California, siendo un mundo semiabierto, ya que estas zonas están separadas entre si por tiempos de carga.

Empezando por lo bueno, hay mucha variedad de armas, modificaciones para estas, elementos (fuego, electricidad, etc.), por lo tanto no se hace tan repetitivo como a priori suena la premisa. El diseño de los niveles (mapas), no sólo están muy bien recreados y detallados, si no que el juego te insta a utilizar distintas oportunidades con los elementos naturales: por ejemplo, un hidrante de incendio roto no para de soltar agua y puedes utilizarlo para electrocutar si lo combinas con electricidad. Es realmente divertido y satisfactorio. Hay muchos recovecos por explorar, notas que recoger, detalles que observar. Los niveles no se hacen aburridos. Aunque el juego tiene bastante variedad de zombies, pecan un poco de repetitividad con ellos, ya que utilizan la técnica de ponerte el mismo zombie pero ardiendo, electrificado, etc. y, mencionando esto, está hecho a propósito para que sigas utilizando esa mecánica de aprovechar el entorno: los zombies se hacen daño entre sí. Recalco esto último porque el objetivo principal del juego es que utilices todas las combinaciones posibles para divertirte y ver las distintas formas de matar zombies. Es algo que vas a estar haciendo constantemente.

Y, terminando por lo malo (o no tan bueno), la historia no tiene tanta importancia, es una excusa para seguir un objetivo, el cual te harán ir de un lado a otro recorriendo todas las zonas. No hay NPC's humanos como tal que puedas encontrarte por la ciudad, sólo en zonas seguras o cinemáticas. Allí fuera, estás o estáis solos con los zombies, y eso puede crear un poco la sensación de recadero.

En resumen, es un buen juego que quiere hacer que disfrutes matando zombies en una ciudad bastante creíble, lo cual lo consigue.