Dead Island 2 Review – Did it hit the mark?

One of the things that fans loved the most about the original Dead Island game was that there was a lot of focus and dependence on melee. The main reason that people loved this new aspect and take on a zombie game was because most other zombie games revolved around the use of firearms a lot so this game was refreshing to players.

Specs
What it is	The sequel to Techland’s 2011 Zombie survival game
Release Date	21st April 2023
Price	$69.99
Platforms	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Dead Island 2 has some awesome customization and upgrade options for the melee weapons so it is nice to see them still focus on this aspect of the game. 

Although these customization features that they added were cool, it didn’t really affect anything more than just adding a couple of perks and flare to your weapons. When you’re actually in the game and fighting off all of the hordes of zombies, there isn’t even that much time that you will actually get to take time to reflect on which weapon you actually want to use. 

Another thing that this game has that people love are the awesome gory finishing moves that you can do, but sadly that has been overshadowed by frustrating gameplay. One good thing about using the finishing move on zombies is that the bystanding zombies won’t be able to hit you whilst you’re doing it. Sadly if you take the time to actually try and combo you’ll be put at a disadvantage because the zombies armed with explosives, toxic spew and shocking voice start to surround you. Although the idea of getting to fight off hordes of swarming zombies sounds very entertaining, it does actually quickly start to lose its appeal as it starts to feel like you’re just swatting away annoying flies all the time rather than actually fulfilling your role as the killer protagonist. 

Fighting these huge hordes of zombies does start to become better as soon as the first firearms are introduced in the Dead Island 2 game, although relying on guns really isn’t Dead Island-like. As soon as the guns are introduced to the game it turns into a corridor shooter game as you just run through the containment corridors and the sewers shooting away. This is a little bit annoying because it motivates you to shoot the zombies in the dead instead of actually using combos and hard-won melee weapons to take them down. 

There are some points in the game where you’ll be encouraged to utilise the environment fully instead of your guns, and most of the time it is during the boss battles. Although these short battles don’t make up for all the frustration you deal with for the majority of the time you spend otherwise fighting off all the hordes of zombies. 

Multiplayer

Although most people won’t really be rushing back to play Dead Island 2, playing with some friends is actually a whole different scenario. The game is definitely playable in the singleplayer mode, but if you can play multiplayer, that is definitely the way to go. When you manage to team up with all of your friends and arm yourselves with modded weapons, the survival zombie game actually has a high potential to cater a great gaming session. Not to mention the fact that trying to fight off relentless hordes of zombies while trying to get a key card off of a dead security guard, is a lot easier when you play with a coordinated group of people. 

Final Words

Although the overall nature of the game does seem frustrating, there is still some potential that can be seen in the gorgeous environments and F.L.E.S.H. dismemberment system. Sadly, this isn’t really seen as a great achievement this game has gotten because gore is a staple within the zombie game genre, so it was more of an expectation. 

So, there you have a breakdown of Dead Island 2 and how they sadly have not managed to hit the mark that people expected from them. This also isn’t the first time that Dambuster Studios has failed to revitalise a series, Homefront: The Revolution is another example of a game that had great potential but sadly poor execution.