Dead Island: Riptide

Dead Island Riptide is essentially what the original should have been. It's lighter on bugs, it's more playable, and it's got prettier graphics. If you were a fan of the original game, have at the sequel, but know that it's not much more than "more Dead Island."

Its addicting zombie-slaying action, dozens of interesting weapons, and immersive qualities far outweigh its dull story and occasional technical hiccups, the latter of which pale in comparison to those of the original. This outshines its predecessor in almost every conceivable way--and once it sinks its teeth into your time, Riptide is a hard game to put down.

There are little additions, but it still is as big and fun as the previous one. It makes clear what is going to offer – that is, more Dead Island – and if that's what you're looking for, it won't disappoint you.

I found distracting bugs in all the versions of the game, but playing Riptide on our high-end gaming PC results in a smoother framerate and improved visuals.

People that loved the first game will more than likely enjoy Riptide. It may not be revolutionary, but Dead Island Riptide is still an addictive game.

A prettier, more interesting and better-made almost-sequel. The developers have taken many critical opinions into consideration and the result is this: many of the flaws of the original game are now a thing of the past. I had a good time, but all in all there are too few new things and revolutionary changes to consider giving a higher grade. If this had been the game released almost 2 years ago, the overall impression would have been better.

More a Dead Island 1.5 than a true sequel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but not an amazing thing either.

Rather than fix the graphics and the performance problems that plagued the original two years ago, Techland slightly modified the setting and delivered a new character and more content. It’s a fun time, but there are no surprises or killer new features to make it an impressive package.

Dead Island: Riptide is not a surprise. It has its dynamic gameplay with a great cooperative mode, however, those Poles might think of a different story next time. And above all, improve its gaming controls along with its interface.

Although Riptide features a New Game Plus mode, I find myself calling it a day. I enjoyed the game, just as I enjoyed the original, but that's the thing: I enjoyed it -just- as I enjoyed Dead Island. Riptide offers very little to keep the franchise fresh and instead focuses on giving us more of the same. For series newcomers, Riptide is undoubtedly the better game. As a fan, I was happy to receive it, but until a numbered sequel comes along, my time in the tropics is through.

Riptide remains "more of the same" of Dead Island and innovations are very few and not well-aimed. But if you liked the previous adventure in Banoi, and you can withstand the horrible respawning system, you'll have fun in Palanai too.

Even fans of the original should expect more here.

If you're an avid collector of zombie games, and you had the best time of your life playing Dead Island, you are probably going to want to give Riptide a decent playthrough. If you enjoyed it before, odds are you will enjoy it the second time, too. But if, like me, you found the first title lacked soul, Dead Island 2.0 is not the Lazarus you are looking for.

As we could expect, Dead Island Riptide suffers form the 1.5 syndrome. In other words this stand alone game could have been sold as a DLC to the first episode. Those who disliked Dead Island can keep staying away from this game. For the Fans of the IP, the game offers a good deal with the seductive tropical setting, the countless zombies and the improvised weapons, but they will still have to cope with the drawbacks of the genuine game as bugs, repetitive action and boring quests are still the main stay of this game.

There’s a B movie in Dead Island: Riptide that entertains in that laughable B-movie sort of way: that “don’t take it so seriously, characters so bad they’re good, what ridiculous thing might happen next” sort of way. But like the B horror genre itself, Riptide can’t stand on that appeal forever. Eventually, the endless zombie head-crushing just isn’t entertaining anymore.

Dead Island Riptide is a stop-gap extension to the franchise that is enjoyable in small doses, but disappointingly fails to address problems that plagued the original game.

Riptide isn't especially good, but I can't help but feel that it might well be the most accurate depiction of what trying to survive a zombie apocalypse would be like in reality.

Dead Island: Riptide is simply more of the same dumb fun, and while it still might not be the game it could be, I’ve learned to embrace it for what it is, absurd.

The biggest issue with Dead Island Riptide is that it's a glorified expansion pack sold at nearly full price ($40 US on PC, $50 on consoles); there's nothing wrong with a developer doing this if they're adding lots of features and are building on top of a near-universally beloved game, but the simple fact is that neither of those conditions really apply here.

Somewhat entertaining, but this should really have been a DLC pack and not a full game.

While bugs may have been the bane of Dead Island, the underlying shabbiness of everything else still overwhelms Riptide. For as long as you don't notice the fundamental flaws in game systems and for as long as you can put up with the instantly forgettable story and mission objectives, this is a game where you can have a lot of fun improvising your way through hordes of the undead. Unfortunately, the game lasts twice as long as my patience for the duff bits held out.

Truth is, regardless of the game’s quality, I’m starting a second playthrough immediately after submitting this review. As bad as it may be on technical and artistic levels, there’s a certain broke and busted charm that makes Dead Island: Riptide almost endearing. Even the Romero downer ending backed by Chamillionaire’s raps couldn’t shake the smile I had after finishing the grind through nearly seventeen hundred ghouls.

Seeing how little Dead Island has mechanically evolved in the 19 or so months since its last outing is the biggest disappointment of Riptide.

Two years ago, I criticized the original Dead Island for its storyline that was nonsensical even by the usually low standards of the ‘zombie’ genre. Well, Riptide plunges even deeper. And don’t even dream of exploring the game’s open world – there is absolutely nothing worth your time.

Dead Island Riptide walks the same path as its predecessor. Another tropical island filled with boring mission design and loads of filler time in the form of traveling between different locations. And like last time it is still quite entertaining. At least with a couple of friends.

All the problems of the first game and no new ideas. Terry Bogan is awesome. Riptide is painfully average. [July 2013, p.72]

Offering very little progression on Dead Island, this is one for the fans. Series newcomers should get the cheaper original instead. [June 2013, p.92]

For new players, Riptide may well be a decent enough curiosity, but for everybody else, there’s little reason to return to Techland’s zombie-murdering vision.

In short bursts it’s a lot easier to get on with too, as prolonged play leaves it feeling very tedious. It’s atmospheric, although oddly nowhere near to the extent of the first game, and there’s no place as unique as that game’s holiday resort.

An attempt to remake the pretty-looking shambler - with no effort to improve the balance of game systems or iron out bugs. [July 2013, p.80]

Everything added is a disappointment, and everything retained only succeeds as much as it did before. It’s not often that a sequel completely fails to build on the successes of the game that came before it, but Riptide achieves that defeat with a cynical lack of ambition.

Riptide brings absolutely nothing new to the experience of the first game. If anything, it just piles on new frustrations.

Riptide is dumb, and mind-numbingly slow, and somehow manages to make the art of zombie-slaying feel like utter tedium. And if slaying zombies isn't fun in a game that's all about slaying zombies, why bother?