Dead Island II - best zombie slasher?

Hello Zombie Lovers

At last, I have tried this game I was waiting for about 10 years since my first encounter with the Dead Island franchise. You might have already read our review on Dying Light. If not, don’t hesitate to click the link! Now, let me tell you the story of my adventures in Dead Island 2 set in Los Angeles.

Short Background

Back in 2014, I had the great pleasure of trying out a game from the Polish studio Techland: Dead Island. Zombie games were never very popular, but this one was absolutely different. Most zombie survival games had you killing zombies with firearms in corridor-style shooters that offered little to players. Dead Island provided an entirely new experience in this genre.

In Dead Island, you could choose from four characters, each with different weapon preferences and unique skill trees. The plot was simple: survive on a tropical island plagued by a zombie virus. Throughout the game, you travel across various large locations on the island: beaches, old towns, jungles, and prisons. In the end, you discover the cause of the nightmare and who's responsible. However, the story was secondary to the gameplay experience.

Dead Island II - Where everything is started: Dead Island Definitive Edition.

The main appeal was the melee combat with different weapons such as hammers, knives, and bats. Smashing zombies was enjoyable due to the great physics, allowing you to cut off or break arms and legs. The game also allowed you to use workbenches to upgrade your weapons. The most interesting upgrades were blueprints, which added powerful elemental damage and changed your weapon's appearance. You faced dozens of common zombies and special zombies with unique abilities. Your character earned experience, and with each level up, you could increase damage, health, backpack space, or use unique special abilities.

I played this game extensively, completing it three times. Shortly after, Techland released a sequel: Dead Island: Riptide. We saw the return of the original heroes and a new character. The gameplay didn’t change much, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Ten years later, we now have Dead Island 2.

Let's dive into my experience with this highly anticipated game.

Long-Awaited Sequel

The first video teaser for Dead Island 2 surfaced online around 2015-2016, sparking excitement among fans. The video showcased a new location—an urban setting filled with well-designed, fast-moving zombies. The graphics were stunning, and if the final game matched the quality shown in the teaser, it promised to be a masterpiece. However, years passed with little to no new information, leaving many fans in suspense.

Finally, in April 2023, we received the much-anticipated sequel to one of the best zombie action games in the industry. As a long-time fan, I couldn't resist the opportunity to dive into Dead Island 2 and experience it firsthand.

Plot: What I Actually Expected

There isn't much to say about the plot of Dead Island 2—after all, in action games, the story often takes a backseat to the main gameplay. The plot here feels quite familiar, echoing the previous installment. A big city, an unexpected virus outbreak, people turning into zombies, Los Angeles in chaos, and you, as one of the "Slayers," must try to escape this nightmare.

Dead Island II - Graphics looks pretty spectacular.

The storyline unfolds through well-crafted cutscenes featuring impressive actor performances and believable face animations. Despite the serious backdrop of a zombie apocalypse, the game intentionally injects humor and absurdity into its characters, making them seem either idiotic or oddly thrilled by the chaos around them. This approach ensures that none of the characters are boring or irritating; each one has a unique personality and perspective on the events unfolding.

While the plot includes a few twists, they are mostly predictable. The real surprise would be if the storyline were as straightforward as the gameplay itself. Ultimately, Dead Island 2 doesn't aim for narrative depth but rather focuses on providing an enjoyable and engaging experience with its colorful cast and entertaining scenarios.

Old Good Slashing with New Spicy Taste

What made Dead Island 2 stand out, much like its predecessor and Dying Light, was its emphasis on melee combat. While Dying Light excelled in parkour, Dead Island 2 focuses primarily on combat—but oh, how wonderfully it executes it. It's difficult to fully capture the brilliance of the combat system, but I'll do my best to describe it.

Dead Island II - Time to smash some zombies!

The most crucial aspect for me was the feeling after every strike. Weapons felt realistic, with blood spatters on both your character and the weapon persisting long after the battle ended. Each weapon boasts a unique moveset, allowing for intricate combinations of weak, strong, and sidestep attacks. The collision mechanics with zombies are truly next-gen—wherever you strike, damage is dealt precisely in that spot. If you sever a hand, it's not some scripted animation but an actual cut in the exact area you aimed for. The developers achieved this through meticulous attention to detail, creating hundreds of different collision sprites or leveraging innovative technology. The result? Every collision feels organic and unique, ensuring you can inflict the same trauma you did to previous victims. My personal favorite moment? Slicing zombies in half with a large sword—an animation that's just unbelievably satisfying.

Blueprints and workbenches remain invaluable tools, allowing you to enhance your weapons and explore how your new instruments of destruction are crafted. It's evident that the developers poured an immense amount of patience and care into the game's combat mechanics, and it pays off in spades. There are simply no flaws to be found in the combat aspect of this game—everything is executed to an outstanding level of excellence.

New Slayers and Controversial Card System

In Dead Island 2, you're introduced to a fresh roster of characters to play as, each with their own unique stats and abilities. From my experience, the choice of character didn't seem to make a significant impact on gameplay. While some characters had higher HP, making survival a bit easier, I found that even with lower HP, I could manage incoming damage effectively. Personally, I opted for Bruno, somewhat of an assassin-type character whose appearance appealed to me. Playing as Bruno was enjoyable—he excelled at dodging enemy attacks and delivering devastating counter strikes. His well-crafted dialogue and perspective on the unfolding events added depth to the story. Contrary to my initial expectations, Bruno turned out to be a rational thinker with a dash of irony and black humor, rather than the expected junkie or jerk. This added a bright spot to the overall narrative.

Dead Island II - Old good Sam B.

However, the card system used for character progression left much to be desired. I had encountered a similar system in Back for Blood, where it felt like an unnecessary addition aimed at following a trend rather than enhancing the gameplay. In Dead Island 2, you gain levels and unlock special cards with each level, offering abilities like blocking, dodging, special attacks, or effects after using grenades or medkits. While the idea of building a custom card deck with specific effects is intriguing, I found that most cards offered active abilities, with few passive effects. Additionally, the limited number of slots for cards sometimes forced me to choose between abilities, hindering the flexibility of character customization. As a result, I often forgot about the special cards and defaulted to simply hacking and slashing through zombies without much thought. I found myself yearning for the more straightforward skill trees from the first Dead Island game or at least the character progression system from Dying Light.

Graphics

Dead Island 2 boasts solid graphics across the board. From the detailed zombie models to the varied weapon designs and combat animations, the visual elements are executed at a high level. The depiction of damage, whether inflicted on zombies or environmental objects, adds to the immersion and realism of the gameplay experience. While the graphics are not groundbreaking or revolutionary, they certainly meet modern standards and provide an aesthetically pleasing backdrop for the game. Overall, the visuals in Dead Island 2 are commendable, striking a balance between quality and performance without causing visual fatigue.

New Features

Locks and Keys: In Dead Island 2, the addition of locked doors and chests with high-grade loot adds a new layer of exploration and challenge. These locked doors require special fuses to open, while closed chests need specific keys. However, locating these keys can be a daunting task, as some are obtained only after progressing through plot missions or by defeating unique zombies. While the loot from these chests may not always be significantly better than what's found behind fuse doors, the thrill of hunting down keys adds an intriguing aspect to the gameplay.

Becoming a Zombie: A notable new feature is the ability for the player character to transform into a berserk zombie. This transformation, acquired midway through the game, grants enhanced zombie powers but comes at the cost of health regeneration and movement speed. While this mechanic adds variability to gameplay, it may not always be as effective as traditional melee combat, especially if the player has focused on building their character's abilities and weapons. Nonetheless, it offers an alternative playstyle that can be advantageous in certain situations.

Dead Island II - Backpakage example.

Expanded World Map: Unlike previous installments, Dead Island 2 features a larger world map divided into approximately 10 distinct areas. Although the individual locations are smaller, they are meticulously designed with intricate details, hidden loot, and unique bosses. Players will find themselves fully immersed in each area, with nearly every building explorable and numerous points of interest to discover. This change results in a more condensed but content-rich gameplay experience, where every minute spent exploring feels rewarding and engaging. Overall, the expanded world map adds depth and diversity to the game's environment, enhancing the overall player experience.

Annoying Moments

Limited Weapon Variety: While Dead Island 2 offers a plethora of melee weapons, the variety diminishes over time as players encounter repetitive weapon types with varying quality ratings. This repetition can lead to a sense of monotony and reduce excitement in discovering new weapons.

Resource Grind: Crafting effective weapons requires components, which can be scarce due to limited availability from traders. Players may find themselves constantly disassembling weapons to obtain the necessary components for crafting, leading to a tedious resource grind.

Key Hunting: While initially intriguing, the search for unique keys becomes tiresome, especially when the loot obtained does not match the player's current level or existing gear. This activity may feel less rewarding as the game progresses, detracting from its enjoyment.

Dead Island II - The only two happy about Zombie Apocalypse.

Scaling Zombie Damage: The scaling of zombie damage with player level can result in dramatic increases in difficulty, with common zombies becoming significantly more formidable as the player progresses. This steep difficulty curve may lead to frustration and a sense of unfairness in combat encounters.

Short Main Quest: Some players may find the main questline to be relatively short, with pacing issues such as a rushed beginning followed by prolonged tasks later on. While side quests provide additional content, the overall length and depth of the main storyline may leave players wanting more.

Could be Dead Island II best game in zombie slasher genre?

Dead Island II certainly brings improvements over its predecessor, offering enhanced graphics, improved collision systems, and new features that breathe fresh life into the zombie slasher genre. When I compare it to the Dead Island series, I can see it stands out as a superior installment with its updated gameplay mechanics and refined visuals.

However, when I think about other titles in the genre, like Techland's Dying Light series, I have my doubts that Dead Island II will necessarily claim the top spot. Dying Light II, with its parkour mechanics and expansive feature set, presents stiff competition. I haven't played the second part yet, but I have a feeling it won't be vastly different from the first. So, if I were to compare Dead Island II and Dying Light, the latter may come out slightly ahead because of its immersive parkour mechanics and the depth of its gameplay.

Dead Island II - One of the quest bosses. 

In conclusion, while Dead Island II excels in its own right, whether it reigns supreme as the best game in the zombie slasher genre depends on individual preferences and how it stacks up against other prominent titles. Nonetheless, it undeniably provides hours of exhilarating zombie-crushing action wrapped in stunning graphics and dynamic gameplay. Play good games and read best review from Radiant Game team:)

Jumping zombie