This Dead Island 2 review may contain minor spoilers.
It has been almost a decade since Dead Island 2 was first announced. Now it’s finally upon us and the key question is whether it was worth the wait. Alas, memories of first Dead Island game are mostly overshadowed by its impressive trailer.
However, the series has managed to maintain a zombified presence in the minds of gamers and somehow shambled its way into 2023 with a degree of sustained interest. Perhaps that can be put down to the power of the original’s trailer. After all, it displayed such a promising concept – and maybe we just can’t let it go.
Or, perhaps, the sequel’s arduous development kept fan interest on life support. As has been widely reported, a number of studios helmed the game at various points over the last nine years. This rarely bodes well. And because of that, maybe there’s a sick part of us all hoping Dead Island 2 will be the next gaming disaster à la Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield 2042. After all, people love controversy.
Thankfully, that is not the case. Not even close. Dead Island 2 is superior to its predecessor. It is a gorgeously gruesome experience that was well-worth its decade-long delay. It has flaws but packs more than enough pure fun and undead carnage to make up for them. This is the Dead Island game we always deserved.
Dead Island 2 review: Story and characters
If there’s one area Dead Island 2 is lacking, it’s its story. But that’s not to say its plot isn’t enjoyable.
You are a “Slayer”. There are six to choose from during the game’s opening moments. They are Ryan, Dani, Carla, Bruno, Jacob, and Amy.
Each have their own unique personalities, dialogue, and character attributes. You get a brief introduction to them during the opening cinematic. And once that’s done, it’s time to pick who to play as. I went with Jacob (the guy on the cover art), a wisecracking British dude with a passion for hacking-and-slashing the undead and talking about his Mum.
Initially, Dead Island 2‘s narrative feels like an aside to the zombie action. You survive a plane crash while trying to escape Los Angeles and meet a group of survivors, including celebrity Emma Jaunt. You later regroup with Emma and the others at her Bel-Air mansion.
From here, the story becomes more engaging as you seek to protect this vulnerable group of mis-matched survivors and escape L.A.
Unfortunately, these characters are largely one-note and often irritating and obnoxious. Worse still is the game’s lack of commitment to developing them. Outside of quests, characters have little to say and there’s no way to bond with them after your initial meeting and other pre-defined ‘moments’. For the most part, you can’t just approach them and initiate conversation.
With that being said, I found Jacob’s dialogue prompted me to care more than I probably should have. He shows genuine affection for his fellow survivors, despite many eye-rolling jokes and cringey comments while slaying zombies.
Ultimately, Dead Island 2‘s narrative won’t blow you away and it certainly doesn’t match the emotional weight of that mythical 2011 trailer. But it’s really quite good for a zombie game and serves as a satisfactory backdrop for the game’s exquisite zombie maiming.
Dead Island 2 review: Gameplay
Whether you are cracking skulls with a hammer, impaling undead with a spear, or slicing them up with a sword, blood-curdling excitement is guaranteed in Dead Island 2 despite occasional clunkiness.
The action is made all the more enticing thanks to the game’s eye-catching gore and dismemberment physics. If you clock a zombie in the face with a pipe wrench, don’t be surprised when its jaw swings from its face.
Furthermore, Dead Island 2 features various ways to inflict elemental damage on the undead. This includes fire, electricity, and acid. Set a zombie alight and watch as its flesh chars and hair burns away. Cover it in toxic chemicals and its skin will melt off to reveal its bones and innards.
To this end, you are also able to lure zombies into environmental traps, like electrified pools, chemical spills, and explosive barrels. These are great for dealing with large groups but can be a hinderance if you fail to exercise caution and end up damaging yourself.
Dead Island 2 also boasts a wide-variety of zombies to fight and kill. This includes walkers, runners, shamblers, bursters, crushers, screamers, and more. Plus, there are elemental and environmental variants. That means you frequently encounter electrified or flaming undead, and even some that are swarming with bees.
Disappointingly, stealth mechanics are present but largely disregarded. You can sneak past a zombie herd or quickly get the jump on a loner without it noticing you, but that’s about it. Simply put, don’t come to Dead Island 2 expecting Metal Gear with zombies (remember, we got that, and it was dreadful).
Weapons and crafting
Of course, as with the original, the primary focus is on melee combat. You can acquire all sorts of hardware and mod it to your heart’s content. Fancy a flaming sword? You can make one. What about a spiked hammer or electrified garden rake? Yep, you can craft those, too.
To modify weapons, you need resources. Crafting materials can be collected all over L.A. and you rarely run short of anything you might need. This makes it easy to repair weapons and fabricate upgrades. Upgrades can boost specific attributes of a weapon such as Attack Speed to the detriment of another, such as its Force. As mentioned, mods can also add elemental abilities like electrocution or fire damage which certainly add to the zombie-slaying fun.
You will be pleased to hear that Dead Island 2‘s weapon degradation is actually fine. Best of all, it never gets in the way of smashing through the undead. Weapons are durable enough to last for long stretches between workbenches but are often on the cusp of breaking by the time you reach one. While this makes the system feel somewhat inconsequential, it provides a hint of realism and encourages you to rotate between weapons. Gratefully, testing out different tools of destruction is one of the highlights of Dead Island 2, so switching up your arsenal never feels like a hassle.
Skills
Skills are split into four categories: Abilities, Survivor, Slayer and Numen.
These essentially dictate your character’s special abilities and enhance your combat. As you progress through Dead Island 2, you unlock Skills by completing quests, levelling up, and more.
While they are handy, they serve more as moderate buffs than over-powered game-changers. But that works perfectly here because combat isn’t overly challenging. And while there is a slight difficulty curve as you reach the mid-game, Dead Island 2 never asks too much of you.
Consequentially, Skills provide nice boosts to your character that often come through in clutch but never make things too easy.
Dead Island 2 review: Graphics
Dead Island 2 is bright and colourful and benefits greatly from rich and varied environments, despite its unchanging L.A. setting.
Every interior has been crafted with personality and vibrance in mind, no matter how generic they might appear on the surface.
Similarly, the game’s exteriors are soothingly ambient and capture the sunlit beauty of Los Angeles. Although, finer detail is occasionally lacking upon closer inspection of more distant objects.
It can also be difficult to appreciate Dead Island 2‘s visuals once night falls (because you can’t see much). You are forced to rely on the beam of your flashlight, neon signs, fire, and blue forks of electricity to light your way. But these glow gorgeously in the night and remind you what a visual treat this game can be.
Night-time also provides ample opportunity for zombies to pounce and harass you, meaning you get a close up look at their ugly mugs lit up brightly by your flashlight. During these moments, you can fully appreciate the horrific detail of their rotting skin and mangled faces.
Performance
Unlike most contemporary video games, Dead Island 2 provides no choice of graphics modes on PS5. However, my time in HELL-A was spent cruising along at a smooth 60 FPS with few noticeable dips or stutters.
With that being said, I did encounter a few minor bugs in Dead Island 2 related mostly to object physics issues. None of these dampened my fun and there were no hard crashes to speak of.
I was unable to test out the game’s co-operative features (it supports up to three players online), so I cannot speak to its performance or how it’s integrated into the wider Dead Island 2 experience.
Dead Island 2 makes little use of the PS5’s DualSense controller and its haptic feedback capabilities which is a shame. While it’s almost entirely absent for melee combat (where it could thrive), the triggers do provide some resistance while using firearms.
Dead Island 2 review: Verdict
Dead Island 2 is a pleasant surprise that will put a smile on your face as you cave-in craniums. In an industry rife with routine over-hype and subsequent under-delivery, it’s a pleasure to play a game that defies the odds.
How it did this is thanks to its relentless prioritisation of fun and quirkiness. The focus was clearly on making Dead Island 2 as enjoyable for players as possible. All the fat has been trimmed and dull, repetitive tasks are kept to an absolute minimum in favour of butchering the undead.
Make no mistake, this is not a genre-defining game and it’s not flawless. For example, its story isn’t particularly noteworthy and characters are formulaic. But what it is, however, is a rip-roaring and polished experience that few players would regret checking out.
That’s because Dead Island 2 is decidedly straightforward and unpretentious. It allows players a good time and actively reduces frustration and complication. And that’s novel these days.
After such a bumpy road, it’s wonderful that Dead Island 2 has arrived in such a commendable state. This is a game you can pick up and play and get exactly what you came for. Good ol’ fashioned zombie chaos with personality and an ambition to get it all right. And what more can you want after all these years?
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Version played: PS5
Are you looking forward to playing Dead Island 2? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
