

Each presents a different challenge but thanks to the ingenious “F.L.E.S.H.” system, dispatching them has never been more fun. You’ll find muscle-bound crushers, workers of varying professions, and of course, joggers. Given Dead Island 2’s setting being Los Angeles, the team at Dambuster Studios set out to not only creates masses of hungry biters, but to have them represent the varying personalities of the city itself. To bring a zombie game to life, you need, well, zombies. As you might have guessed, everything doesn’t go according to plan. There’s a zombie apocalypse, you learn that you are immune, and you attempt to use that immunity to escape and benefit the world. The synopsis for Dead Island 2 is about as straight-forward as you could imagine. Once you’ve chosen your character, you are introduced to “Hell-A” and the beginning of your zombie-slaying adventure. Regardless of whom you choose, they each have their own mannerisms, quips, and commentary throughout, and it adds a lot to the experience no matter who you choose. And to that end, the protagonists are filled with personality. He’s British and sarcastic, so it felt like a natural fit, if I’m honest. I chose Jacob, who just so happens to be the cover character in the key art. While the introductory sequence is the same for each character, they are individually voiced with their own personalities and quips. There are six different characters to choose from, each with their own personalities, passive skills, and competencies. So then, Dead Island 2 is finally here, a mere 12 years after the original.ĭead Island 2 opens with a major plane crash and your chosen protagonist escaping the wreckage. In the end Deep Silver landed on Dambuster Studios, developers of Homefront: The Revolution, to finally bring Dead Island 2 to life.

It was then handed to Crackdown 3 developer, Sumo Digital, but Deep Silver ended up pulling the project from them as well. Spec Ops: The Line developer, Yager Interactive, first worked on the project before Deep Silver cut ties with them. It was at E3 in 2014 when the infamous “Jogger” announcement trailer debuted for its follow up, Dead Island 2.īut with Techland leaving the IP to develop Dying Light, publisher Deep Silver would end up handing the project to multiple developers over the next few years.

In the case of Dead Island 2, we have exactly that.ĭead Island released in 2011 and went on to enjoy moderate success and spawned a stand-alone expansion, Riptide, in 2013. It’s far more rare to see a game or franchise that was assumed dead rise from its grave. The industry has seen more than its fair share of game debuts that proceed to evaporate into history. It’s genuinely hard to believe I’m sitting here writing a review for Dead Island 2.
