In this life of ours, few things bring me as much child-like joy as running through an apocalyptic-style world, killing all matter of things that go bub in the night or the day; I’m not judging. There is something so utterly enthralling about these kinds of games that I can’t help but get excited whenever a new one appears on the horizon.
Now I’m not going to lie. When I first sat down, coffee and snacks at hand, to play Dead Island 2, I was sure I wouldn’t enjoy my time in Hell-A, purely based on my prior experience with the series. And yet, by the time the opening sequence had played and I had stomped on my first zombie head, I was sold.
As someone who loves nothing more than slaughtering zombies to unwind after a long day, I’ve found myself constantly on the lookout for the next big thing in the zombie-killing genre, and that’s precisely what Dead Island 2 is. If you’re like me and weren’t enthralled with the previous Dead Island games, don’t let that put you off of this bad boy.
Dead Island 2 feels like the Dying Light sequel I had hoped for instead of its actual sequel, Dying Light 2 Stay Human. The spoiler-free story of the game starts roughly ten years after the previous game’s events, with a plane crash, as any good action horror game should. The game follows you as you desperately fight to save yourself and other survivors from the overridden streets of Hell-A, Los Angeles.
At its core, Dead Island 2 is a role-playing action game and the third major instalment in the Dead Island franchise. Also, at its heart is all the blood, guts and gore you could ever hope for in a zombie game. Not to get too graphic for those of you who are slightly on the queasy side, but there is just something about how the zombies get mutilated, burnt and… melt? That is like going to Disneyland for the horror and gore lover inside of me.
The game is separated into multiple mini-open world areas to explore around Bel Air and Beverly Hills. There’s a lot of unbridled joy to be found by exploring your way through the regions. One of the biggest complaints I had while playing Dying Light 2 was that after a while, everything started to meld into each other and look and feel the same. This house was exactly like that house which was remarkably like the next house.
Yet Dead Island 2 manages to feel unique even after hours of playtime. Each area was distinctly different from the last. Each environment felt vibrantly lived in, and even the zombies felt like they truly fit with the area where they spawned.
Now one thing that became apparent early on in the game is that Dead Island 2 is a challenging zombie-slaying romp, and there are no difficulty settings. Even when you start to craft, modify and upgrade your weapons, it’s unlikely that you’ll just be walking through the game like some zombie-slaying god.
Instead, Dead Island 2 is a constant fight for survival, making it the perfect game to play with friends or burdens, depending on your group. The game supports up to three players playing together, and players will choose between six main Slayers to play in the game. None of these characters has many advantages over the others bar for their specialist starting skill cards. Still, they offer uniquely voiced characters with their own aesthetic, personality, and humour.
Regardless of which Slayer you choose to play, as in Dead Island 2, each character’s abilities are fully-customizable, and thanks to a unique, card-based skill deck, players can change their build completely at a whim.
Dead Island 2 is the co-op zombie-killing game of my dreams. It’s filled to the brim with hack-and-slash action and manages to toe the line between humour and violence in a way that’s highly comparable to the B-grade horror movies of old, making Dead Island 2 a bloody good time both alone and with friends.
Dead Island 2 will be released on April 21, 2023; however, the one significant downfall to the game is that at launch, there won’t be any cross-platform cross-play, meaning if you plan to take on the treacherous and bloody streets of Hell-A with friends, you’ll have to make sure you’re all on the same platform to be able to do so.
