8 years, just that. Among the most beautiful Arlesians, Dead Island 2 is asked at the bar. Edited by Deep Silver, and announced at E3 2014 for a release in 2015, we find ourselves today in 2022 with what seems to be finally the end of a long tunnel strewn with pitfalls. Previously in the hands of Yager Developmentthe authors of Spec Ops : The Linethen passed like a hot potato to the British studio Sumo Digitalbefore finally being transferred to Dambusters Studio (the current developers), we can say that the project fulfilled all the specifications to reappear with its head down. We still remember a certain Duke Nukem Forever.
Miserly with information, very generous with more or less well-founded rumours, Dead Island 2 is now well and truly back. To play a bad trick on us? We were able to get our hands on the game, and we’ll tell you about it without further ado.
Preview conditions: We were able to test Dead Island 2 during an event in London for a good thirty minutes, on a playable demo calibrated by the developers, and located more or less in the middle of the adventure. For more information on the final game, we invite you to take a look at our developer interview.
Sun, friends, and zombies
Welcome to Los Angeles, new setting of Dead Island 2. The story follows the events of Dead Island first of the name, the epidemic of Banoi having spread on the American west coast. The demo allowed us to stroll through an amusement park in Santa Monica, one of the many explorable neighborhoods in the title.
First of all, no Dead Island 2 is not an open world, at least not in the strict sense of the term. The game is divided into different districts that will be unlocked over the course of the campaign, all open and fully explorable under the crushing heat of the Californian sun. Resolutely more urban than its predecessor, we do not yet know if we will have to trudge in more exotic places.
The sequence took place at night and put us in control of Amy one of the 6 playable characters of the adventure, infected but immune to the virus. Online co-op is on the program for up to 3 players, each of the protagonists having particular advantages in combat, like the first episode. Armed with 6 weapons pre-crafted for the occasion, we are propelled on a beach not far from the park, ready to fight.
dead island are you there?
Dead Island 2 bears its name well since it has everything Dead Island 1 brought up to date. Heavy controls have gained in precision and responsiveness. The rhythm is more lively, faster, while keeping the rather unique feeling of the first episode. We find there all that made the salt of its predecessor; simplistic weapons transformed into a war machine, experience points, the damage displayed with each hit, and legendary slow zombies on which to unleash, not to mention their level written above their heads next to their apparent life bar.
True to the license, we always collect money and dozens of objects for crafting, we can always drink cans or eat chocolate bars to regain our health, we are in the Dead Island that we knew . Aesthetically the title is very clean and much more readable than its ancestor. Far from a visual slap, the game remains very pleasant to watch, and certain well-felt panoramas invite contemplation.
Anyone who has ever played Dead Island will be on familiar ground. Very linear, the demo did not allow us to take advantage of the open areas and the exploration of the world. We remained confined to the rails of the amusement park by chaining the fights, sometimes in arenas strewn with obstacles forcing us to take advantage of our many abilities. Far from being a simple stress reliever, Dead Island 2 seems set to offer a challenge taken upthe fights indeed require a change of approach depending on the types of zombies encountered, and the layout of the combat zone.
Violence on vacation
We were able to test 6 weapons, from the katana to the electric adjustable wrench and the flaming two-handed hammer, so many joys intended to reduce our opponents to a pulp. The first thing that jumps out at you is the localization of the damage which has made a leap forward (8 years later, still happy you tell me).
Sever the arms to avoid getting caught, the legs to knock them to the ground, the head to land a fatal blow. All physics management has been reviewed, as well as impact feedback. More punchy and satisfying, the relative softness of the first episode is now a distant memory, and this is very good news. The dismemberments are also more graphic, which is not to displease us.
Read also :
Dead Island 2: Our interview with Ayesha Khan and Dan Evans of Dambuster Studios
We crossed paths with several types of zombies. The most lambdas are the wandering souls, extremely slow and which only represent a threat in excess. But this demo surprised us somewhat on the diversity of the bestiary. Between the runners who harass you, the brutes with revolting health bars and devastating attacks, not to mention the zombies who literally conduct the surrounding electricity by charging zone attacks, Dead Island 2 has it under our belt, and we can’t wait to see what other sauces we’ll be eaten in the final game.
This demo ended with a boss fight against a very pissed off clown regenerating on his dead buddies. Again we had to use all the tools at our disposal to overcome the bugger, and there are many. Juggling between the different weapons, consumables and abilities requires a certain dexterity, and from this point of view Dead Island 2 seemed richer in terms of possibilities in his fights.
Deck cards at will
All of your combat and mobility skills are listed in different card decks. These can be found in the scenery or as rewards for quests, and will grant you unique skills to use during exploration and combat. Parrying like dodging requires a specific card, and you can choose to do without one or the other, or even equip both if you wish.
The decks seemed rather numerous to us, and will have the merit of varying the customization choices for our style of play. Some cards will even be specific to your starting character, enough to rack your brains in cooperation to find the right synergies. These abilities are interchangeable at any time, and Dambusters Studio’s desire to deliver a zany sandbox of experimentation is evident. To see if the sauce will take in the long term.
More visceral, more punchy, with increased customization possibilities, Dead Island 2 seems set to be a complete improvement of the formula, if not a revolution. There are still points to clarify before getting carried away completely, such as the exploration of the world, the side quests, the writing, the rhythm, the coop, but for the moment the title has made a rather good impression on us. After 8 years, it was not won.