Dead Island 2 review – Hell-A is burning and it's a riot

18 April 2023 , 15:30

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After its initial 2014 announcement Dead Island 2 has finally launched (Image: Dambuster Studios)

Dead Island 2 has been languishing in development hell for a little over a decade, passing through the hands of three different studios before landing in Dambusters’ lap.

The follow-up to 2011’s Dead Island was first announced in 2014 and for fans of the series, it’s been a long time coming; but was it worth the wait? Undoubtedly.

I’m a sucker for zombie games, movies and books, so I was in my element 10 years ago. You couldn’t swing a dismembered arm without hitting a shambling corpse; of course there are games that made zombies their bread and butter before the undead fad – Resident Evil being chief among them. But we were spoiled for choice!

Of course, not all zombie games are created equal, with Capcom’s Dead Rising falling flat for me despite the robust and frankly ludicrous weapon crafting system. Dead Island hit the sweet spot with the extensive crafting, four-player co-op, tongue-in-cheek tone, and sun-drenched setting. Admittedly, it was very much of its time; would we have another Duke Nukem Forever situation on our hands?

MirrorGaming is streaming a Dead Island 2 playthrough on YouTube before the game is released. Get involved here.

I went in apprehensive. I loved Dead Island and the

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for what they were – an unbridled gore fest to wade through with friends, that swapped out the gritty backdrops of your typical zombocalypse for a tropical paradise. While Dead Island 2 takes the action to L.A. it’s as bright and bawdy as ever.

Environmental story-telling does a lot of the heavy-lifting as tends to be the case with the genre. The parkour zombie series Dying Light does this fantastically, setting up harrowing scenes amidst the ruin and rubble of decimated cities. Dead Island 2’s set pieces are equally blood-soaked and brutal, but the inflatable pool floats, drained bottles of booze, and general signs of apocalypse-appropriate debauchery make it different. This is the end of the world done right; going out in a blaze of glory with sex, drugs, and the soundtrack of your choice.

It’s true that privilege is reserved for the citizens of Beverly Hills and the rich and famous taking refuge in their Hollywood mansions. The hillside is bristling with movie stars and influencers alike, meaning it’s up to you to wrangle them up and get them to safety. You’ll be battling your way through the streets, breaking into lavish pads for side quests and main missions alike, and looting the spoils of…well, a devastating tragedy.

Waxing satirical

Dead Island 2's environmental story-telling errs on satirical rather than tragic (Shabana Arif)

But no one else seems to be taking it that seriously – including an incredibly ballsy or incredibly stupid influencer you’ll end up doing an impromptu content collab with – so pillaging blood-spattered luxury digs is a guilt-free endeavour. Scraps and materials are plentiful, especially if you take the time to have a proper root around. Cash is just as important if you want to repair weapons, or trade at vendors. But between the looting and killing, you’ll have a steady stream of funds and supplies coming in, allowing for unfettered workbench sessions cooking up weapons of mass zombie destruction.

It’s not just a hack, mash, and slash-athon either, although that’s still as gratifyingly visceral and deliciously entertaining as you could wish for. There’s a wide range of enemy types and they all have a recommended method of engagement for the most efficient dispatch possible. The combat can feel cumbersome at times, but that’s just par for the course with the direction developer Dambuster has gone down. You can get easily overwhelmed with a trickle of zombies turning into a tide if you’re not careful.

The saving grace is the blocking and counter mechanics that leaves foes stunned if you time it right. Pull it off successfully and they’re primed and ready for a savage takedown which rewards you with a fantastically gory finishing animation. You’ll be chopping off kneecaps, punching holes in faces and slicing heads off all over the shop once you master the timing. It’s worth noting that the animation doesn’t leave you open to attack, even when you're surrounded, so you can really go to town and enjoy the show.

If you’d rather not get up close and personal, you can always utilise the environment to set up traps – and the opportunities are plentiful. Whether you want to zap, fry, or poison Hell-A’s undead residents, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

All of this is complemented by the new card skill system. Slayers can unlock and equip cards in slots across the four categories for the optimum build, with some cards specific to certain characters. The cast is diverse and colourful enough that you should be able to settle on a Slayer with your preferred traits, and whose ongoing in-game banter will serve to add a little flavour and personality as opposed to being a grating distraction. And that’s a ringing endorsement coming from an irritable curmudgeon like me. I spent some time with Amy and Carla before committing to Dani for the long haul, and I absolutely love her.

Newcomers will have an easier time jumping into the sequel than the original Dead Island, with the satirical Hell-A providing enough comedic familiarity to lure you in long enough for the cartoonish carnage to sink its hooks into you. Fans of the series are guaranteed to have a blast with Dead Island 2; everything that made the first game a standout in the genre is back – and better in every way imaginable.

Shabana Arif