Dead Island 2 Review

Dambuster Studios have come up with a hilarious and charming apocalyptic game in the form of Dead Island 2, which is a sequel of the original released back in 2011. It is littered with dismembered body parts and great one-liners in equal measure. While it does have significant comedy chops and quite a lot of silliness, you should note that there is not much to the game that has not been done before in numerous other zombie-filled games.

The plot

Even though Dead Island 2 does nothing original, it is still able to execute the LA-based, over-the-top zombie parody quite competently and actually injects some life into a series that has languished for far too long. Your time will be generally well-spent with this game and it certainly gives you more than a few laughs. The first-person action game is undoubtedly lighthearted where the most mundane thing you do is commit unspeakable acts of violence against the zombies.

You have to choose one character out of the six who are virus-resistant and you will find yourself in the midst of the streets of South California. It appears that no one is taking the zombie apocalypse seriously, so it is up to you, along with a couple of pals, to get through the undead. The adventure takes somewhere about 30 hours and the story does not make a lot of effort to be very coherent. This seems to fit into the rather absurd tone of the adventure itself.

The good parts

While the storytelling may lack substance, there are some good parts of the Dead Island 2 that you cannot ignore. These are the memorable characters and also the writing that is quite funny and since they are both unhinged, they only add to the fun. In one chapter, you will slay zombies to help a social media influencer who wants to boost her clout, while another takes you on a horror movie set where you have to search for a squeamish assistant.

The developers have used different ways to poke fun at the vapidness and vanity of Los Angeles. Most of the laughs you enjoy come from the protagonist you choose. But, one downside is that NPCs often use the same dialogue as the character you are playing and this takes away some of the fun. Apart from that, the great writing and fantastic dialogues are also helped by the top-notch voice performances.

The difficulty

One thing that takes away most of the tension from the game is that chances of failure are very low, whether you are alone, or working as a team. There are ample tools to be unlocked, so you will be able to stand atop a horde of dead corpses instead of under them. The threats are just not able to keep up, which means that there are not many difficulty options available that could add to the challenge.

You can execute a zombie and also restore your health significantly with a perfectly timed parry or dodge. Therefore, you do not really feel that you are in any danger at any point.