Dead Island 2 Review: A Gory Love Letter to Zombie Mayhem Despite Repetitive Gameplay

In a majority of video games, the main objective involves eliminating opponents. You engage in combat through shooting, stabbing, exploding, or slicing enemies as you pursue a typically yellow, sometimes off-white, circular marker on your display, indicating where to receive the next directives from a non-playable character (NPC). It turns out that the radio/file/key/code you sought after is hidden away in a different location, like another base/tv station/prison/hospital. You can take a moment to catch your breath, enhance or repair your equipment at a conveniently situated workbench, perhaps store surplus items in a cloud locker, and interact with the NPC partners or quest givers if you’re entertain with a feeble attempt at humor. Should you wish to continue, you can dive back into the killing spree — the intended highlight of the experience.

Whether it’s a Call of Duty-styled first-person shooter or a Devil May Cry-inspired hack-and-slasher, the backbone of these single-player games primarily revolves around their central mechanics (gunplay, combat, movement) instead of expansive world-building and robust narratives (story, character development, rewarding exploration). The main attraction lies in the sheer enjoyment derived from that cyclical core mechanic of taking down foes. In certain titles, this mechanic truly shines. The well-established gunplay in Call of Duty makes even the less imaginative annual installments worthwhile. Meanwhile, even if you don’t grasp the lore of Devil May Cry, the exhilarating melee combat keeps the excitement alive. Conversely, other less impressive games struggle to maintain player engagement with their core gameplay loop. Dead Island 2 — launching on April 21 — finds itself somewhere in between. Its bloody, zombie-slaying sandbox never transcends its repetitive nature but remains absurd enough to keep the humor alive almost throughout its 20-hour journey.

Dead Island 2 is a title wholly committed to «the game.» The narrative, characters, and concepts are exaggerated, yet ultimately it makes little difference. What truly matters; what the game expects you to care about and, ideally, find enjoyment in, is straightforward: ‘spot zombie, dispatch zombie’ while racing towards your next objective. You can use a golf club, meat cleaver, a wolverine claw, sledgehammer, claymore, katana, wrench, crowbar, or baseball bat to bash the heads of the oncoming undead. Then repeat. You can disembowel, snap bones, and sever limbs from zombies in various stages of decomposition. You can ignite them, hinder their movements, or deliver a dropkick that sends them flying. Your intent to unleash unrestrained violence is rewarded with abundant blood and gore.

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Dropkicking the living daylights out of the undead never gets old
Photo Credit: Deep Silver

The environment is richly crafted, giving it an authentic and immersive feel. Bones audibly crack upon impact; skin and flesh separate, revealing detailed wounds; eyes are seen popping out of skulls that endure blunt force. Certainly, initially, the thrill of killing is captivating. Discovering fresh ways to incapacitate zombies and playing with new tools can also be enjoyable. However, Dead Island 2 struggles to keep this fun feeling alive through its latter chapters. Even though new weapons and upgrades keep appearing, they don’t significantly alter your approach to combat. The mission structure largely remains unchanged. The game relies on its first-person zombie action to keep you engaged, and it does up until the moment you start feeling fatigued from swinging the virtual sledgehammer. The simplistic combat mechanics never progress beyond dodge and block incoming attacks from zombies, followed by brutal melee counterattacks. There are no fresh tactics introduced. The brutal violence keeps it melting hot, yet the underlying mechanics feel lackluster.

Dead Island 2, Deep Silver’s long-awaited follow-up to 2011’s Dead Island, is not even set on an island. Instead, the game drops you directly into a fictionalized rendition of Los Angeles overwhelmed by zombies — termed ‘Hell-A’ by its developer Dambuster Studios. Your plane crashes shortly after departing from the city during a desperate attempt to flee. You survive the crash alongside a pretentious Hollywood personality, Emma Jaunt, and her crew, but you get bitten by one of the undead while escaping the blazing wreckage. As you journey to Jaunt’s mansion, you discover that you haven’t transformed into a flesh-hungry zombie yet — fortunately, you’re immune. The mansion transforms into a safe haven and headquarters for you and your allies, where you assume the role of the resident handyman. As you embark on quests and rescue more survivors caught in this Hollywood horror, they join your makeshift group at Jaunt’s estate.

In Dead Island 2, LA is painted with detail and blood
Photo Credit: Deep Silver

The initial act stands out as the game’s peak. Jaunt and her band of survivors are vibrant characters, and a grand Hollywood mansion serves as a fitting base in a zombie-infested world. As you step out to explore recognizable sites, you encounter diverse LA inhabitants, each with unique quirks. You assist an aged Hollywood icon reliving past glories, collaborate with a Gen-Z influencer crafting viral content from the chaos, and aid a hedonistic rockstar who is utterly indifferent to the apocalypse.

Exploring LA proves enjoyable as well. Although Dead Island 2 is not an open-world title, it adopts some elements of an open world. The LA map is sectioned into popular districts, each hosting its own missions, side quests, optional challenges, and loot. These districts act as compact hubs, each meticulously modeled after famous spots in LA. Imagine them as small, richly detailed maps akin to those found in the Yakuza series, avoiding the feel of sprawl. However, each district map identifies points of interest with recognizable icons — a missed chance for players to freely explore and discover. The ten unique districts all capture specific LA aesthetics. Despite being swarmed by wandering undead, Beverly Hills maintains its affluent charm, dotted with remnants of wealth. Bel-Air showcases grotesquely lavish celebrity homes — once pristine, now stained with consequences. And Santa Monica Pier, with its sun, sand, and ocean, embodies a laid-back summer vibe.

Also seeResident Evil 4 (2023) Review: A Horror Classic Mutated to Monstrous Potency

The Santa Monica Pier — a popular haunt for the undead
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Manas Mitul

During a segment in the mid-game, Dead Island 2 shifts away from its laid-back horror charm and adopts a sense of urgency, steering the story into familiar genre territory. Your immediate goal – escaping from Hell-A with your famous companions – gets overshadowed by abstract favors for dubious new figures, all in an effort to understand your immunity’s nature and its potential to save humanity. This second act feels like an attempt to squeeze the fun from the game, coming across as incongruously serious and pretentious compared to the lighthearted opening. None of the new characters leave a strong impression, and quests, which previously embodied a California-style free spirit and whimsy, devolve into the gaming equivalent of a manual. The Far Cry-esque ‘go here, accomplish that’ formula converts objectives into mere chores. This leads Dead Island 2 to a lackluster and predictable conclusion, causing your character’s ambitions and motivations to feel disconnected from the dynamics established during the breezy beginnings of the game.

What remains relatively unchanged, however, is the gameplay itself. Dead Island 2 strives for acclaimed first-person melee combat and hits several high points, yet misses others. Drawing inspiration from Techland’s 2022 first-person zombie-slaying game Dying Light 2 Stay Human, it features similarly visceral combat mechanics, employing a brutal array of makeshift weapons like hammers, baseball bats, swords, spears, knives, and claws, all dealing devastating damage. There is a specific system for damage output, resulting in realistic wounds on zombies based on the weapon type and attack style you choose. Bladed weapons, including katanas, machetes, and longswords, inflict precise cuts depending on the angle of attack, exposing bones and organs beneath the flesh. A powerful slash, executed by holding the R2 button, will sever limbs and unleash gouts of blood. Conversely, blunt weapons like sledgehammers and clubs crush zombie limbs with brutal seriousness. A solid blow to the head will shatter the skull and pop eyes from their sockets, while a strike to the legs will leave the undead incapacitated, crawling on a bloody floor.

Dead Island 2 swings hard for first-person melee combat glory
Photo Credit: Deep Silver

All of these mechanics can be applied tactically as well. My preferred strategy was to target the legs first, rendering zombies unable to move, then go for a fatal head stomp. Blood splatters and pools in a disturbingly graphic display of the game’s violent combat. While some might find it off-putting, others, like myself, appreciate the attention to detail. Although the emphasis is on intimate, raw melee combat, Dead Island 2 also features ranged options. An array of throwables like Molotov cocktails, chem bombs, and shurikens is included. You can even aim and hurl the melee weapon you’re holding to incapacitate zombies.

Weapon modifications appear to be heavily influenced by Dying Light 2. You need to uncover specific plans to enhance weapons with elemental properties, transforming your sword into a burning blade, your meat cleaver into a corrosive cutting tool, and your hammer into a shocking tenderizer. However, in contrast to Dying Light 2, there are also various firearms. They are effective, yet do not provide the same thrill as the game’s melee arsenal, serving primarily as a fallback. It is advisable not to get overly attached to your equipment, as they degrade with use. You continuously find superior weapons as you level up, which necessitates frequent inventory management. You are always disassembling outdated equipment to accommodate newer, more powerful weapons in your limited slots.

Dead Island 2 has guns, but melee weapons make a bigger bang
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Manas Mitul

Despite the complex systems of gore, the combat itself remains straightforward, bordering on overly simplistic. A well-timed dodge or block opens up opportunities for a contextual counterattack. Pressing the square button (on a PlayStation controller) allows you to perform finishing moves with an exaggerated flourish. Beyond that, you can dropkick opponents to send them flying, curb-stomp incapacitated zombies, or transform into a ferocious zombie yourself to slaughter hordes of undead when the ‘fury’ meter fills. Keep in mind; even though you were bitten, you never turned. However, you do gain benefits from your suppressed infection. Your combat skills are further enhanced by a deck of skill cards you unlock throughout the game, each offering unique boosts for attack, defense, or fury. While all these components work well together, the combat ultimately lacks depth. It fails to evolve or offer new ways to inflict harm, leading to monotony that leaves you merely going through the motions by the conclusion.

Navigation can become tiresome, too, especially since fast travel isn’t available until the middle stages of the game, requiring you to sprint back and forth across each hub area to reach quest objectives and side activities. Fortunately, each district features unique and intricate environments that capture specific LA vibes wherever you venture. The city shines in warm, golden hues during daylight, resembling its portrayal in Grand Theft Auto V. Impressive lighting enhances indoor spaces too, providing them with a vibrant yet realistic sheen. Unfortunately, nighttime segments feel lackluster, as the game’s visually appealing elements get overshadowed by darkness. Light sources fail to illuminate their surroundings effectively, and your flashlight is hardly helpful. The zombies themselves have received detailed graphic attention — many mirrors their pre-undead Los Angeles appearances. They come in different forms and conditions of decay.

Excellent lighting livens up indoor areas, lending them a punchy yet life-like varnish
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Manas Mitul

On PS5, Dead Island 2 performs reliably, offering a smooth 60 fps experience. However, various technical glitches and issues appear throughout. I often faced clipping problems, predominantly during finishing animations in tight spaces. At one point, the game erroneously clipped me out of the quest zone, necessitating a backtrack to get back on track. Sometimes, the objective marker can behave unpredictably, especially in target zones. The game takes a somewhat hands-off approach when you need to seek quest items. This adds an organic aspect to exploration, but can become exasperating when uncertain of what to search for. While limited visual customization options exist (no graphics modes to toggle), it does include a field of view slider — a rare plus for console players.

Dead Island 2 sits between its successful elements and glaring deficiencies. In a sense, it reflects a design approach reminiscent of a decade ago. This isn’t surprising given that this game was initially announced in 2014 and has gone through a protracted and troubled development phase, switching developers multiple times. The end product, crafted by Dambuster Studios, is a quintessential video game; one that focuses purely on gameplay without providing context to the action as many current triple-A games do. Exceptional games master this aspect while also expanding on themes, enhancing storytelling, character development, and motifs; giving significance to the acts of play. Titles like God of War, Celeste, and Hades exemplify this approach.

However, not all games need to fit that mold, as long as they understand their intent. They can embrace silliness, meaningless fun, and juvenile aspects. For the most part, Dead Island 2 possesses enough self-awareness. Centered around bloodshed, it revels in the consequences-free violence and rugged charm of a video game. It evokes the type of game that sparked moral panic among American mothers in the 90s. It avoids the pitfalls of repetitive gameplay by being sufficiently brief and not lingering longer than necessary, even if the initial excitement fades after the novelty wears off. Unlike its contemporaries, Dead Island 2 does not continually unveil new tricks. It resembles a GI Joe figure in a landscape filled with hoverboards, drones, and nerf guns. Yet, GI Joes were fun, too.

Pros

• Gratifying and violent melee combat
• Diverse weapons and modifications
• Design of hub worlds
• Concise campaign

Cons

• Uninspiring storyline and characters
• Repetitive gameplay and mission structure
• Occasional bugs and glitches

Rating (out of 10): 7

Dead Island 2 launches April 21 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.

Pricing starts at Rs. 3,299 for the Standard Edition on Epic Games Store for PC, Rs. 3,999 on [PlayStation Store] for PS4, PS5, and Rs. 4,999 on Microsoft Store for Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X.