Dead Island 2 Review — A Bloody Good Time?

After a decade-long wait, we’ve finally been given the opportunity to jump into LA’s hellscape of a zombie infestation with Dead Island 2, which, well isn’t set on an island anymore, but follows a lot of the same structures as the first game, but improves on them in a massive way to deliver one of the snappiest and fun games of 2023, despite some hiccups.

Firstly, the star-studded location of Los Angeles makes for a great scene for a zombie sequel outbreak, where the glitz and glam of high society meet the gore and grittiness of an undead cataclysm. Golden sunsets, beaches and colourful mansion pools offset the violence and chaos of the events taking place, and keeps the sassy tone quite light despite the dire circumstances.

The great thing about LA too is its diverse suburban landscape. Throughout Dead Island 2, you’ll be making your way through the street of Beverly Hills, cutting through three-storey mansions, rummaging through influencer houses, helping famous survivors, and dicing up Hollywood movie studios as you try to survive the outbreak and complete missions. While the world of Dead Island 2 is large and interconnected, in action, it operates in more focused sections. There are multiple routes, shortcuts, and distractions, but generally, you’re funnelled through some pretty spectacular locations (rather than beelining it ala open-world) on your way from mission to mission.

Thankfully, working your way around these levels is enjoyable enough, as the movement and speed of your character have been greatly increased from the first Dead Island, with the ability to climb and do some light vertical traversal being cleverly utilised to get around obstacles and solve some environmental puzzles.

Of course, the real meat of the game is fighting zombies, and there’s a lot of meat here, literally. The melee-focused combat is some of the better in the genre, giving you a light and heavy attack, along with a block and counter system, which allows you to release a devastating weapon-specific execution move when timed correctly. This can be anything from a clean decapitation with a machete, or impaling a zombie with a broken pipe. You can also stomp enemies’ heads when they’re downed, which is hugely effective in a quick kill to manage larger hordes.

Utilising this combat system, along with a lot of environmental traps to dispatch zombies, is almost a puzzle in itself, and while you will see most of the tricks Dead Island 2 has long before the credits roll, there’s something that keeps each zombie encounter fresh. The game features an advanced and dynamic gore system, showing accurate damage appearing on the enemy bodies. So, a huge shot to the head will break open a zombie’s skull; whereas a spiked weapon (like a garden fork, for example) will leave huge gashes and scratches, exposing their insides. Putting in some hits on a zombie, and watching it get up with its eyeballs hanging out, jaw flopping around, and organs jiggling through its ribcage — while still operating with only half a head — is pretty hilarious; and while the gore is grotesque, it’s incredibly satisfying and the unpredictability keeps you coming back for more.

On top of the general play is the game’s looting/RPG mechanics, which are implemented in a very non-invasive way, which we like. Hovering over a weapon in real-time shows if it’s better or worse than what you’ve got, and having the ability to craft upgrades (such as adding electrification to your machete) makes each weapon type something to experiment with. So, whether you like poking holes in the undead, bludgeoning them to death (again), or hacking off chunks — the choice is yours.

As a zombie survival experience, Dead Island 2 ticks all the boxes. It may be a more campy take than something like The Walking Dead, but it works in its favour. There’s some really enjoyable and meticulously detailed level design, where finding and scavenging for things feels intuitive and interesting; while the combat is satisfyingly bloody and indulgent thanks to the gorier moments. Well worth a play if you have any inkling or interest in zombies, hitting things, and rounding up some virtual survivors.

Dead Island 2 is available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC from 21 April 2023.