Dead Island 2 Reviews
The best thing I have to say about Dead Island 2 is "It's a zombie game that released in 2023.". It's a generic, repetitive title that thinks it's funnier that it really is. After 15 hours, I was begging for it to be over.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Dead Island 2 could have been the Return of the Living Dead of zombie video games, making for an irreverent, B-movie romp through an undead-filled LA, but it just ends up marginally better than the original game without ever approaching its full potential. The improved combat is the game's main saving grace, but it isn't enough to redeem the shallow progression mechanics, inconsistent tone, and unfocused story.
There’s little motivation to slog through extremely same-y missions and side quests. It’s this general feeling that permeates throughout Dead Island 2; what’s on offer isn’t broken or flagrantly bad (with the exception of the checkpointing system), but it is tired, antiquated and bland.
Dead Island 2 is hampered by dull design choices, repetitive combat, and a painfully weak story, with its only saving grace being its great performance on PC.
'Dead Island 2' is very much so a blast from the past. It looks pretty, but it’s a phoned-in first-person action zombie adventure with oddly unpolished combat, horrendous writing, and overly linear stages that lack depth.
I would like to get more out of Dead Island 2. But unfortunately, neither the narrative emptiness, the uninspired mission design nor the repetitive gameplay loop can really pull me along. Yes, I had fun, especially in the first few hours, enjoying the gore effects and just bluntly beating my way through hordes of zombies. But the poorly balanced progression also let me go just as quickly. The humor, too, unfortunately didn't pick me up in almost any minute. The overall solid combat system is the lynchpin of the title, though. If you had a lot of fun with the first game, you might also like part 2, because despite the long development time, it is very close to the original. However, if you need variety, a growing battle system, and generally anything beyond that in terms of story and interesting characters, Dead Island 2 is at best something for the Christmas Sale at the end of the year. After 9 years of development rollercoaster, the action game is not a disaster, but it still dares frighteningly little to stand out by anything.
Review in German | Read full review
At times refreshingly simple and at others mind-numbingly generic, Dead Island 2 offers up no-frills zombie-clobbering both for better and worse.
Just playing Dead Island 2 in 2023 feels like a minor miracle after such a protracted production cycle. Nevertheless, the novelty of finally experiencing this long-in-development sequel wears off pretty quickly. Then all that remains is a hugely repetitive experience punctuated by hackneyed story beats.
Tedium is at a premium in Dead Island 2, but miraculously it has enough exuberance within its limb-carving gameplay to avoid falling into the damning pit of mediocrity. There’s plenty here to savour, both in solo and co-operative play too, so you aren’t without things to do. And the modifications, card system, and special skills of each playable character all go far in Dead Island 2’s favour. Yes, it can be a slog, and yes, it does outstay its welcome, but it can also be pretty badass, too. So if you can forgive a litany of eye-rolling modern triple-A videogame trappings, Dead Island 2 can be a zombie-squelching good time.
Moments of brilliance marred too often by frustrating and/or boring gameplay. Only recommended in co-op and then barely.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Dead Island 2 is a great zombie-slasher with impressive physics and satisfying melee combat, but that’s about it, with a boring, uninspired storyline, a semi-open-world design and a tongue-in-cheek approach that occasionally borders on the dumb.
Dead Island 2 is a pleasant game, but far from being memorable. It is as often fun as it is boring. The average quests don't fully engage us and the game fails to make us want to explore. Fortunately, the second part of the game is better, both in terms of level design and scenario. Too bad the ending is disappointing.
Review in French | Read full review
If you’re just looking for brainless fun, Dead Island 2 is a perfectly enjoyable zombie game that’s filled to the brim with delicious gore and top-notch environmental storytelling. It just never quite lives up to the strength of its allegorical premise, with a generic narrative and repetitive missions that I was shambling through by the end.
It’s not necessarily a failure on Deep Silver’s and Dambuster Studios' part, but Dead Island 2 simply doesn’t feel like a game worthy of a decade-long wait. It maintains all of the elements that made the first few games popular and expands on several in fun and interesting ways but does far too little to separate itself from the titles that came before it.
Hacking at the undead in post-apocalyptic LA is a lot of fun, but the game's delayed release has made it sluggish and limited
It's unlikely to make any Game of the Year lists but Dead Island 2 provides plenty of low-brow thrills
I wish I could say that Dead Island 2 came out a big winner after such a long development cycle. But it’s not Game of the Year material. It’s not even what I would call a great zombie game — there are many that do story or even gameplay better. But Dead Island 2 is solid. It is competent, and it is fun. If you want some uncomplicated zombie-slaying antics in a beautiful setting, Dead Island 2 will scratch that itch. But I don’t expect anyone to still be talking about it this time next year.
As the credits rolled I didn’t feel satisfied or accomplished at all, which is pretty messed up considering how much of a feat completing a 20-plus hour video game is for an adult these days.
Dead Island 2 will certainly keep you engaged, but fails to live up to the standard set by the first entry in the series. If you go into Hell-A expecting anything more than some mindless, zombie-slaying action, you will likely leave disappointed. However, for gore hounds seeking out some horror co-op fun with friends, the sequel nearly twelve years in the making will certainly get the job done and give gamers their money’s worth.