Dead Island

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1659 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 816 out of 1659
  2. Mixed: 578 out of 1659
  3. Negative: 265 out of 1659
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  1. Ecresis
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    Dead Island might seem like another zombie game, but it's not. It's sunny outside, your character runs like an idiot, and that's what makes this game different.

    Once again, the added value comes from the mutliplayer experience, as you can get all together in car and break some zombie bones on the way. It's a bit buggy but it's not ruining the game at all The storyline is not the best    Dead Island might seem like another zombie game, but it's not. It's sunny outside, your character runs like an idiot, and that's what makes this game different.

    Once again, the added value comes from the mutliplayer experience, as you can get all together in car and break some zombie bones on the way. It's a bit buggy but it's not ruining the game at all

    The storyline is not the best one, but it's decent, and some parts of the world are really challenging. It's horror, rpg, action, range and melee. I love it !

    The weapon crafting is nice, even if you have to repair your weapons twice during the missions, but you can create pretty much everything and you find new weapons all the time to replace the old ones.

    Conclusion : Forget the bugs, forget the sensation of unfinished game, this is fun and you know it !    … Expand
  2. Maladjester
    May 30, 2016
    8
    Take Far Cry's open-world tropical islands, add zombies, tack on a Borderlands-style skill system, and take away the guns. Don't look for a story, just kill zombies.

    The vast majority of the time you will do this up close and personal as you brutally bash, slash, and curb-stomp your way through annoyingly tough walking dead. I hate to use the word realism in reference to a zombie game,    Take Far Cry's open-world tropical islands, add zombies, tack on a Borderlands-style skill system, and take away the guns. Don't look for a story, just kill zombies.

    The vast majority of the time you will do this up close and personal as you brutally bash, slash, and curb-stomp your way through annoyingly tough walking dead. I hate to use the word realism in reference to a zombie game, but their resilience makes it feel like you're actually trying to put down angry human corpses that can't feel pain and just don't quit. To give you an idea, three walkers at once is a handful. You will not casually blast away hundreds of cardboard zombies as you do in other games.

    Zombie activity levels range from screaming 28-Days-Later sprinters to corpses that simply lie there until you get close, then struggle awkwardly to their feet. This variation adds a suprising amount of interest and timing to encounters. For instance, my group is great at reacting to sprinters, but takes an embarrassing number of hits from the sneaky shufflers. There is a mechanic for breaking/severing zombie limbs to make them less dangerous (or kill via decapitation,) and for at least one type, this is almost essential to do. In ten hours I have only seen a couple of special zombie types, perhaps there are others later on.

    I bought Dead Island when it came out. I was underwhelmed and gave it up after a few hours. Zombies had been done before, 1000 iterations of fetch quest had been done before, skill systems and breaking weapons had been done before. One of the marks of a great game is that it can do the same things other games have done, but do them so well you don't notice you've "played this already." Dead Island falls short of greatness. The whole thing feels like a copy of a copy. While I stand by that assessment, I did make one serious mistake the first time around: I played alone. Dead Island is like Left 4 Dead in that you simply do not get the proper experience by yourself. This is a co-op game through and through. My weekly team game night has been Dead Island the last few times and we're having a blast. Hence my return, 4 1/2 years after the most recent review, to write my own.

    Visuals were top notch at release but no doubt can now be played on cheap machines. The repair/upgrade mechanic is fine, but zombies are apparently made of tungsten, because you will fix your weapons WAY too often. Controls are fine with two notable exceptions. First, getting too close to your teammates creates a shoving effect that can and will get you in trouble or keep you from getting out of it. Second, the cursor moves with maddening slowness on the menu screen. Plot and characters are so utterly forgettable I almost forgot to put this line in. But we're not here for plot or characterization. We just want to fight the dead.

    Bored of Borderlands? Cashing out of CoD? Take your friends to Dead Island.    … Expand
  3. user12
    Nov 26, 2017
    8
    Dead Island is a somewhat fun game, with a fantastic, gripping plot and very, very well-written characters. It's a bit weak in the gameplay department, because there's little challenge and it's fairly repetitive, but decent nevertheless. The characters, their personalities, and their voices are very well acted. You have a wide range of weaponry with which to defeat zombies and hostileDead Island is a somewhat fun game, with a fantastic, gripping plot and very, very well-written characters. It's a bit weak in the gameplay department, because there's little challenge and it's fairly repetitive, but decent nevertheless. The characters, their personalities, and their voices are very well acted. You have a wide range of weaponry with which to defeat zombies and hostile survivors, everything from shovels and spades to military assault rifles. From the moment you boot up Dead Island, you can feel the story start to grab hold of you- someone is visiting a tropical island, and a zombie outbreak occurs. You'll play as one of four characters: a stereotypical black rapper, a football-playing white American douchebag, a cute Chinese girl,and a feisty Australian **** Each character is skilled in a particular weapon type, so you need to choose wisely. Dead Island does admittedly tend to follow the zombie survival cliche, but it does it well. The final verdict for Dead Island is an 8- it's a great game which is worth playing, but it's nothing extraordinary.… Expand
  4. Crypt
    Jan 15, 2023
    8
    Its a good game. Repetitive at various times. Open world, very good atmosphere.
  5. Bloodnes
    Sep 30, 2020
    8
    Добротная игра для своего времени, проходилась весело, увлекательно с неплохой графикой как мне показалось. Любителям зомби шутеров рекомендую 8/10
  6. Henker
    Apr 20, 2020
    8
    The game is very good but I expected MUCH more from it when I saw the game trailer, it seemed to be something much better than it really is, and with the trailer I thought the game would be a little more melancholy. But it is still a good game when you play for the first or second time, then it starts to get very nauseating and not to mention that the secondary missions are practically theThe game is very good but I expected MUCH more from it when I saw the game trailer, it seemed to be something much better than it really is, and with the trailer I thought the game would be a little more melancholy. But it is still a good game when you play for the first or second time, then it starts to get very nauseating and not to mention that the secondary missions are practically the same, the main ones are the best and most recommended to do, the secondary ones being always basic and repetitive are good for earning XP, and collecting items that can help you throughout the game.… Expand
  7. Rob-Piton
    Aug 2, 2022
    8
    Fun cooperative game, simple and good, played with friend, just fun and chill
  8. KepasaAmigo
    Jul 16, 2021
    8
    Better then L4D but worse then dying light. Was fun in a time that i played. 8/10
  9. kolarz3
    May 19, 2023
    8
    Pretty nice game. It's not a masterpiece but for 2 games it's pretty nice game. I enjoyed beating zombie with my GF :)
  10. Thyreli23
    Mar 13, 2021
    8
    Yes, Dead Island has its bugs and problems. But you know what? That's okay. It's still incredbily fun, and the combat & crafting system is satisfying through and through. The world is gorgeous, the characters, interesting, the quests fun. Dead Island is one of those games I'll boot up every couple of years just to start a new game and enjoy the zombie hunt whose story I'm actuallyYes, Dead Island has its bugs and problems. But you know what? That's okay. It's still incredbily fun, and the combat & crafting system is satisfying through and through. The world is gorgeous, the characters, interesting, the quests fun. Dead Island is one of those games I'll boot up every couple of years just to start a new game and enjoy the zombie hunt whose story I'm actually interested in uncovering.… Expand
  11. jirny
    Nov 7, 2022
    8
    для меня однозначно лучшая игра про зомби, хотя и не люблю эту тематику. Dying Light мне не зашел абсолютно
  12. murut87
    Dec 24, 2011
    7
    Dead Island is a great game and a very strong Co-OP Game i played,graphics are good,but the story is kinda weak.And from what earlier release of dead island, just consider a bug-fest game.
  13. MikeMaximus
    Sep 11, 2011
    7
    After playing through the whole campaign it's hard not to ignore some of the glaring console port flaws, lack of polish and obvious missed opportunities to make the game so much better. But even so it's still a great game, there hasn't been a zombie survival game like this for a long time that actually creates an environment that can creep you out and scare you a little. The areas areAfter playing through the whole campaign it's hard not to ignore some of the glaring console port flaws, lack of polish and obvious missed opportunities to make the game so much better. But even so it's still a great game, there hasn't been a zombie survival game like this for a long time that actually creates an environment that can creep you out and scare you a little. The areas are well designed, very detailed and fun to explore. The melee combat feels "right" and while firearms take a backseat until late in the game they are fun to use too. It's also a great looking and extremely well performing game if you have the ability to do a few configuration file changes. The co-op mode works great after a few launch jitters, i've never had any crash or even any type of technical hiccup while playing co-op for hours on end. Anyone that enjoys zombie games should check this one out.… Expand
  14. Nasher
    Sep 18, 2011
    7
    An original game, which is something we've been lacking for the past few years. It is not like Left 4 Dead so don't go in expecting that. It's more like Fallout 3 mixed with Farcry 2 (but without being **** like Farcry 2). The combat system is not like anything I've seen before and it works really well, most of the weapons are melee and guns/ammo are scarce (as they would be in thisAn original game, which is something we've been lacking for the past few years. It is not like Left 4 Dead so don't go in expecting that. It's more like Fallout 3 mixed with Farcry 2 (but without being **** like Farcry 2). The combat system is not like anything I've seen before and it works really well, most of the weapons are melee and guns/ammo are scarce (as they would be in this situation). Multiplayer is persistant and feels kinda like an MMO. If someone is in your area, you can join them if you wish, no loading screens or anything, your games will be instantly joined and it becomes co-op. I gave it a 7 because it's to buggy in places at the moment, performance bugs especially.… Expand
  15. asmoron
    Sep 10, 2011
    7
    The idiot children here giving the game a negative rep bomb are all basing their ratings on the fact the game launched on PC with an incorrect version and a few bugs, ALL OF WHICH have been fixed and sorted out now. Do not take the word of a bunch of 13 year old crybabies with cheap computers that fail to run this game. If you like Borderlands-style gameplay, and really visceral goryThe idiot children here giving the game a negative rep bomb are all basing their ratings on the fact the game launched on PC with an incorrect version and a few bugs, ALL OF WHICH have been fixed and sorted out now. Do not take the word of a bunch of 13 year old crybabies with cheap computers that fail to run this game. If you like Borderlands-style gameplay, and really visceral gory zombie melee, and an incredibly rewarding game to play with friends this really can't be beat. Do not listen to all of these retards.… Expand
  16. jonnyohio
    Sep 7, 2011
    7
    First how anyone can review a title moments after it is released is beyond me. Did you idiots that gave it a low score even bother to try to play the game or read the forums to get help? There was a major problem with the initial download, and the devs are working on correcting that. That said, there ARE some bugs in the game, but isn't there bugs in all games on initial release? So myFirst how anyone can review a title moments after it is released is beyond me. Did you idiots that gave it a low score even bother to try to play the game or read the forums to get help? There was a major problem with the initial download, and the devs are working on correcting that. That said, there ARE some bugs in the game, but isn't there bugs in all games on initial release? So my review is about the single player experience (since my MP player wasn't working and I didn't care at the moment). This is review is about the game, not about me crying about how disappointing that a certain thing wasn't in the game that I expected. First I'll start with the pros: zombie head bashing. There is a lot of that. I love that. Open word: I can go where I want and kill zombies wherever I want. I like that. Plenty of weapons and health lying around. I like that, because I hate dying constantly. Good graphics (but nothing I haven't seen) I'm fine with that. Seems like there are plenty of missions (including side missions). I like that too! If I were to sum this up positively I'd have to say this is almost like fallout has met the zombie apocalypse with a pinch of left of 4 dead added for spice. So far I have been enjoying the single player experience and the game is very well made. There is a variety of zombies that get harder as you level up. I like the idea of being able to mod my weapons. Now for the cons. The money system is kind of odd, but it works for this game, because the devs give you plenty of it so you don't have to wait long to start modding your weapons and upgrading them. The voice acting at times is LOL funny. Some of missions are quite pointless and off the wall stuff (luck getting a grown woman her teddy bear because she can't sleep), but they add to the time you get to run around exploring and bashing in zombie heads. I've hit a few invisible walls along the way but was able to get around them. At release multilayer over the internet was pretty much unplayable (at the time of this review), but a patch has been promised so soon I will get to play along side friends. Overall this game is fun, entertaining, game play is well thought out and enjoyable. I've played for several hours and it looks like I've just barely scratched the surface. It is just uncalled for giving this game a 0 or 1 because they accidentally released a dev version of the game on launch day. Most of the people doing that are trolls that have not even played the game yet. My advice though is wait until a week after launch then buy it. All this mess will be sorted out by then and you will have fun playing this game.… Expand
  17. hcookie
    Sep 18, 2011
    7
    Dead Island suffers from a far too early release. The game 'looks' polished, but when you get down to business, there are a lot of details that are missing. As we all know, the devil is in the details. From missing animations, awkward movements, strange design decisions, strange design executions, design decisions which should have be shelved, some of the weirdest looking facialDead Island suffers from a far too early release. The game 'looks' polished, but when you get down to business, there are a lot of details that are missing. As we all know, the devil is in the details. From missing animations, awkward movements, strange design decisions, strange design executions, design decisions which should have be shelved, some of the weirdest looking facial animations, smooth animations in some areas, awkward animations in others, it is a proverbial list of things to do, but never done.

    The game plays like a very strong beta, so it's safe to say, the game was released at least 3 to 6 months too early.

    Dead Island is fun, if you can forgive the unpolished bits. The game is violent and the language foul, well suited for the teen and mature audience who are howling for gore. Definitely not one for the kiddies.

    The game shoots for realism, with it's body part damage system and the realistic graphics. But it all ends when you start realizing you're carrying 4 oars, 3 knives, a modified chain saw, pistol, 6 large batteries (from cars), glue, bits of scrap iron, etc. Which totally goes off tangent from the 'realistic' setting the game tries so very hard to portray.

    It's hard to put a finger on whats really wrong with Dead Island. It's a fun game, for sure, but the immersion is a strange mix of hit and miss, more miss to be honest.

    The only way I can describe the feeling when playing dead island is like putting a round peg into an oval shaped hole, 'almost fits', but not quite.    … Expand
  18. duplicarius
    Sep 9, 2011
    7
    This game is absolutely fun! I dont understand why idiots can give it a "0" , but im gonna give it a 7. Sure it has a few bugs, sure the story, voice acting and character face animation are a bit bad, but running/driving around a deserted island full with zombies which you can cut to pieces while looking for supplies is more fun than i thought! I prefer single player to coop, but its OKThis game is absolutely fun! I dont understand why idiots can give it a "0" , but im gonna give it a 7. Sure it has a few bugs, sure the story, voice acting and character face animation are a bit bad, but running/driving around a deserted island full with zombies which you can cut to pieces while looking for supplies is more fun than i thought! I prefer single player to coop, but its OK too, kinda reminds me of L4D2, but single player is very fun. I was a bit dissapointed that there is no day/night cycle which i really like in games, but Techland is a smaller polish developer, give them some time and a chance for a sequel, it will be great.… Expand
  19. tyrannis
    Sep 6, 2011
    7
    Like most people Dead Island's trailer pulled me in. From there i was excited, and decided to pre-order on steam. The night game goes live i let it run the opening day patch and than try to play. That is where i encountered my first hiccup, the game was incredibly fragmented. I am not sure if its my computer or the files, i have never had this issue before. Once i get in the game there wasLike most people Dead Island's trailer pulled me in. From there i was excited, and decided to pre-order on steam. The night game goes live i let it run the opening day patch and than try to play. That is where i encountered my first hiccup, the game was incredibly fragmented. I am not sure if its my computer or the files, i have never had this issue before. Once i get in the game there was some issues changing my graphic settings and such.. than i start playing. It was an amazing amount of fun, really engrossing, just a flat out great time. Yes there was the clipping issues i noticed a few times. Than all of a sudden when im driving around my game just crashes, and the night goes downhill from there.

    Game Receives a 7.. and i feel i am being incredibly generous there. It is an amazing amount of fun but they release a game that to say its buggy really understates the point. Friday they are suppose to release a patch, so wait till after Friday to pick up your copy.    … Expand
  20. Socializt
    Sep 8, 2011
    7
    Alright, this is gonna be a long one. All in all, this is a fun game. I'm gonna give a LOT of negatives and few positives, but the positives I give are really big, and the negatives are very minor. So while at first glance this is gonna look like a hate speech, in the end, I do enjoy this game. Before I start off I'm just gonna say - this is a long review. to sum it up - Combat is great,Alright, this is gonna be a long one. All in all, this is a fun game. I'm gonna give a LOT of negatives and few positives, but the positives I give are really big, and the negatives are very minor. So while at first glance this is gonna look like a hate speech, in the end, I do enjoy this game. Before I start off I'm just gonna say - this is a long review. to sum it up - Combat is great, tons of minor things that will annoy the hell out of you if you're half as nuts as I am. If you want more examples, then let's get started.
    Positives: The combat in this game is downright fantastic. I love it. every weapon has an individual feel but they all feel weighted and realistic. when I smash a zombie with my oar or stab it with a kitchen knife, it feels like an actual weapon. the graphics for combat are much better than the graphics for everything else, and the engine really shines when the player cuts a limb off. (excuse the graphic details-who am I kidding, you guys are here for a zombie killing game). I feel compelled to play the game simply so I can kill some more zombies. Another large positive is the world. It feels alive and dynamic, in that there's places you can go that have their own minor stories that aren't (so far) connected with anything regarding the plot and are just put in to give the world flavor - coming upon a room with a zombie tied to a bed and a dead man next to the struggling zombie comes to mind, for example. People (most, anyway) react realistically for an apocalypse, and the large majority of the people in the safe houses are terrified because *guess what*, they're just average people, not everyone is a zombie killer like it feels sometimes in other zombie games. Anyway: The Negatives: This game is ABSURDLY unpolished. Like, really unpolished. I play as a female character, and several conversations have the other person refer to me as a he. Shadows in the game are blocky and odd, and I have all of my settings turned to maximum. There's a certain part in the hotel where I could literally see a dark part of the hallway - it was cut off from the rest of it, there was an actual line of darkness. that's just basic phasing to make the shadow bleed into the rest of the world, a weird graphics problem. Yes I know these are minor gripes, I said in the beginning that most of my negatives are very picky, remember. Another minor gripe - and this one is really pointless. You pay for repairs, which is understandable...but you're paying a repair table. Not a person. What? Like just...where does the money go? Driving in this game also, was designed by a team of people just learning to drive. Because it's very realistic, in that it's the view of being in the car. That's great, until you have to go in reverse and smash the car into the wall behind you. I feel like an imbecile when driving simply because I can't look all the way behind me like I would when *actually driving*. Also the car makes skidding noises....regardless of the speed you're going. Which is weird. Another thing (slightly more important) weapon durability is really, really frustrating. An average weapon breaks in about thirty swings, which is at most ten zombies. Less important - two odd things with the female characters. First, they're all in bikinis. Sure sure, they're on a beach vacation. Fine. Five hours into an apocalypse and they can't grab a shirt from somewhere or something? Seriously. Also, almost every single one of the female avatars have an mp3 player on their arm. Random I know, but it freakin' weirds me out. Another thing: Voice acting. Terrible. Also it seems like it's on a different audio channel from everything else, when I say yes or no to a quest. Strange. So yes, my negatives section was much much larger than my positives, but the positives were much more important than the negatives. In the end, I suggest one of two things: If this game sounds like the perfect match for you, get it. GET IT RIGHT NOW. Otherwise, wait a few months for the price to drop a bit - I definitely suggest anyone who loves zombie games to get this, but unless you reaaally hate zombies, you may want to wait for the price tag to drop. If you do buy it, good luck killing the infected, and maybe I'll see you guys in game. Cheers =]    … Expand
  21. flashdz1
    Sep 10, 2011
    7
    Good game at best, not great. This is from single player experience and am disregarding bugs for the rating. I give it a 7 tops maybe as low as 6.5 based on the gameplay and story alone amongst other things

    I finish the game. This game is largely melee based with a few gunplay moments Let's talk about the good things first -Lengthy game, can't beat in one day. -Good challenge, sorry no    Good game at best, not great. This is from single player experience and am disregarding bugs for the rating. I give it a 7 tops maybe as low as 6.5 based on the gameplay and story alone amongst other things

    I finish the game. This game is largely melee based with a few gunplay moments

    Let's talk about the good things first
    -Lengthy game, can't beat in one day.
    -Good challenge, sorry no easy mode. I died sometimes during certain main quests
    -The graphics are good, however lacking more advanced graphical options. A bit too much bloom.
    -Good skill tree for each character; helps create a "build"
    -Lots of weapons and mods, some only attainable through sidequests
    -The city and jungle environment looked good, reasonably detailed
    -Driving is fun
    -Combat is good. Can cut off limbs or break limbs, creating a use of strategy when fighting.
    -Always zombies around, endless population
    -Can carry infinite misc items that are not weapons,heath and throwables
    -Never safe, doesn't matter what level you are; if you get swarmed and surrounded you are dead
    -Stamina ensures that most people cannot just run around and spam attacks.
    -Great zombie sounds
    -Weapons durability rate is fine; encourages the use of different weapons

    Now the bad

    I dislike the fading health bar; it's always important to see the health bar because life and death well, depends on health...

    -The story is not exactly compelling. The things you do in an hour before the end of the game was not exciting at all; there is no climax point at all. That's it? Really?

    -The characters are very simple, little to no history. Players don't really get to be immersed in their struggles on the island.

    -Not enough unique zombies, only 5. Most of the time it was just walkers and the raged infected. I like to fight strategically, and I found myself bored before half way of the game. I became very bored of fighting walkers and infected; I started to avoid zombies all together whenever possible. The combat was great but the limited zombie types made it very repetitive.

    -Sidequests have nothing to do with the story and don't reveal anything. Not only that, they are very tedious and boring because it's always fetch X item for Y person. -Auto saves are very bad especially for the quests that involve escorting a person. If the person dies and you choose to load the last save, the zombies come back but your ammo and weapon durability stays the same right before the npc death AND the game AUTOSAVES AGAIN which makes absolutely no sense; If you don't pass the point of struggle, eventually you'll have a "save" where you have no weapons left because they'll all be broken by then. It didn't exactly reload in time, the games just places you back where the "save" location was which was ridiculous. Sometimes I was stuck in a very bad situation which I could not fight through, luckily I made backup saves but I had to play up to the point where I was ruined by the autosave. -The facial animations are poor, little to no expression and sometimes even the wrong expression during cutscenes and conversations. Their eye movement was a little robotic and looked lifeless.

    -Thinking back through my playthrough, there's not too many memorable moments at all. Again, story is weak

    -Main quests are similar to one another, not enough variety

    -This is a preference but the lack of hectic events and the overall intensity of the game was not as high as I expected. No real exciting moment other than the regular uh oh I'm swarmed or oh no here comes the raged infected.

    Side notes:

    The experience may be better when playing online; you'll kill less zombies playing with someone else and less strategy is required. I think I probably would not be bored as fast playing with a friend but now that I beat the game on my own I think I had enough of this game; I can see where people are coming from when they say it is tedious,boring and repetitive because there were times I felt that way. At the same time, near the beginning of the game it was fun and enjoyable. As the game dragged on, I felt it became a chore to continue on. It's a decent game and I may replay again in the future with friends if things get patched up.    … Expand
  22. Victel
    Sep 14, 2011
    7
    The zombies and environments look great, melee combat is great. In other reviews I see some saying the graphics are bad, honestly, they're not bad at all, especially for an open-world game the models and textures are actually very well done. With that being said, I'm not ignoring the fact that the AI in this game is extemely terrible, with its bad story, quest design, poor in-gameThe zombies and environments look great, melee combat is great. In other reviews I see some saying the graphics are bad, honestly, they're not bad at all, especially for an open-world game the models and textures are actually very well done. With that being said, I'm not ignoring the fact that the AI in this game is extemely terrible, with its bad story, quest design, poor in-game cinematics, and slow-loading textures, the game actually has some redeeming qualities. I observed all of this in the singleplayer, I'm not reviewing anything I haven't experienced. I was also not impressed with how the game treats new players. As stated many times, we're stuck with crappy weapons for the beginning hours of the game without any idea how to work many of the inventory, item, and shop features before really experimenting with them. The game really lacks a polished feel. All the driveable trucks are all the same and they don't seem to ever break down. Unlike L4D zombies who can actually find and hurt you, these zombies are straight up dumb. Most of the time you have to find them because they wont hunt you down like real zombies should. All you have to do is close a door and you become safe.

    The trailer for the game really was a teaser, it barely displayed the real game. What I saw in that trailer was an emotional, scary experience with aggressive zombies that will actually hunt your family down and kill you. Sure, it was a fantastic display of phenominal Cg Design, but here in the real game I'm stuck with zombies too dumb to climb out of swimming pools that barely seem to care about eating you. Yeah, the zombies will eat you but they lack the motivation to.

    Honestly, this game is good entertainment simply because it looks good, has a good combat system, and I personally love killing zombies.    … Expand
  23. Gib_Lemon
    Oct 30, 2011
    7
    I can imagine a good way to describe this game. It's basically Borderlands and Left 4 Dead combined. This game has many good qualities to it: The combat is fun and satisfying, the mods on the weapons are entertaining to use, the story isn't bad, considering it's a zombie survival game, and the environments are beautiful (especially the forest). However, there are also many qualities ofI can imagine a good way to describe this game. It's basically Borderlands and Left 4 Dead combined. This game has many good qualities to it: The combat is fun and satisfying, the mods on the weapons are entertaining to use, the story isn't bad, considering it's a zombie survival game, and the environments are beautiful (especially the forest). However, there are also many qualities of this game that will weigh in on you as you play, such as how fast weapons are destroyed and how much of your money you will be spending repairing them rather than upgrading and modding them. Also, the inventory has some major flaws to it, as there were multiple moments when i equipped a Molotov and clicked "Exit Inventory" only to throw the Molotov at my friend because the game registered me as clicking M1 outside of the inventory screen. The length of the game was fairly short, and the characters are pretty boring. Despite these flaws, Dead Island's good outweighs the bad, for the most part, but I would wait a few months for the price to drop a little more. Go for Borderlands, or Left 4 Dead.… Expand
  24. Spore
    Sep 29, 2011
    7
    It's pretty hard to give this game a fair review. It's incredibly addicting and slashing up zombies and collecting loot is fun. But it's also incredibly glitchy and the animations in coop are absolutely terrible. The textures and models all look pretty good though.
    So good things:
    I completed the campaign in about 3 days doing all the sidequests so there is plenty of content. There is also    It's pretty hard to give this game a fair review. It's incredibly addicting and slashing up zombies and collecting loot is fun. But it's also incredibly glitchy and the animations in coop are absolutely terrible. The textures and models all look pretty good though.
    So good things:
    I completed the campaign in about 3 days doing all the sidequests so there is plenty of content. There is also a new game+ feature where you can start over with all your items and skills.
    The weapons are varied and the crafting system is pretty neat. You can upgrade weapons with different types of add-ons to give them different properties. There are a good variety of add-ons but many of them do the same thing (just a bit better). Even the guns in the game are pretty satisfying to use.
    The cooperative feature is good, with drop in - drop out at any time. It even has a display showing when another player is nearby when you're playing solo and then it gives you the option to join their game.
    The gore is great, you can hack off limbs or bash in heads or break bones all the while blood splatters everywhere and your weapon gets soaked in it. If you want a splatterfest, go with the sharp weapon expert and hack away.

    Bad:
    It's very glitchy. I haven't come across anything gamebreaking but I've seen my share of unintentional bugs. For example some of the cars become invisible but people can still drive them. One of the attack moves wont activate if the zombie you're trying to do it on is hit by something else (which is frustrating).
    Invisible walls, this becomes most apparent in the 3rd act. You might feel like exploring but you can't stray off the road like you would expect from a sandbox game. You'll meet glitchy terrain, invisible walls, big holes you can't get out of easily, stretched textures and all that good stuff.
    The difficulty is pretty much non-existant as long as you pick the right class. Almost every single zombie you meet will fall over if you jumpkick them and kicking normally doesn't cost anything so they wont ever get up. All zombies have weaknesses to exploit but in the end, there isn't really anything challenging.

    What you have in the end is a fun, addicting game with a fair share of problems. The overall experience makes up for the big lack of polish. I would say this is definitely worth buying IF you have friends to play it with.Though I would only recommend this to fans of the genre.    … Expand
  25. phades
    Oct 30, 2011
    7
    Rather than rehash basic introduction for the game, i'll skip right into the meat and potatoes.
    First, the bad.
    Even after the patch in October, the game still has bugs and glitches within it. None of those that exist are show stopping. You will encounter some floating items here and there, some texture errors occasionally, an item falling into the world or erased via world clean up. Those    Rather than rehash basic introduction for the game, i'll skip right into the meat and potatoes.
    First, the bad.
    Even after the patch in October, the game still has bugs and glitches within it. None of those that exist are show stopping. You will encounter some floating items here and there, some texture errors occasionally, an item falling into the world or erased via world clean up. Those aren't really big deals though. The AI is mostly dumb, but the opponents are zombies and some human opponents, but even the humans aren't that smart. There are some hit registration errors involving the firearms as well, but for the most part it is not that big of a deal either.

    There are some items of game preference that can turn folks off. If you are offended by women in bathing suits who are rotting into zombies or trying to hide out somewhere, this game isn't for you. If you are offended if native peoples are exploited for whatever reason, this game isn't for you. If you are offended by implied sex or rape, this game is not for you. Hint: the game is rated mature for a reason...

    If you have issues with suspension of disbelief with items re-spawning, enemies re-spawning, players re-spawning or story continuity issues and some cut scene bugs; well you are probably an elitist and this game isn't for you. The game could use some tweaks in the item damage and modification arenas, but those are pretty minor issues at best.

    What the game does well are two things. First, the melee combat and location damage system are done pretty well. There are some continuity issues with striking limbs in the middle of an attack, but that is fairly minor (IE, an enemy can swing at you and then you swing towards where the limb would be and nothing connects or only you get hit as your character steps in while swinging). This would be a lack of parry and block mechanics found in other older games like Bushido Blade. The second thing the game does really well is the co-op game play allowing you to join on the fly or search for others with similar progress within the story line. The built in voice chat leaves something to be desired, with the lack of controls or push to talk. The digital controls for PC are the most responsive though, despite having the concept of free range motion using a game pad and the analog control set. However, the analog controls are not setup very intuitively and require full swings, rather than swings from a neutral stance to be performed. This causes over exaggerated movements to occur, despite the actual striking area to be rather limited.

    Unfortunately, the characters are not balanced well against each other or the world. This would be an issue of the game was harder. Although the designers could have labeled the characters with different difficulty levels implied while playing though. All but one character have many useless filler skills and the worst character forces you to allot points into some of them in order to get down into better skills. After the player attains the stomp skill, the game becomes ridiculously easy as it not only saves on the weapon durability, it also makes for quicker kills in most instances. The kick now uses stamina, which is a change from launch, but jump kicks do not seem to drain as much stamina anymore.

    Overall the game is fun and that is what is important. There are many things that could be fixed down the road, or done differently in the design phase which would make the game better. Hopefully there will be more developed titles following Dead Island's lead in the future.    … Expand
  26. Wikki
    Nov 9, 2011
    7
    Platform: PC.
    Graphics (Details on highest): 9/10. Only notices some glitches in the form of clipping. Otherwise beautiful. Audio (5.1): 8/10. In the city, i found myself always tense because I of the zombies off somewhere else that I knew were going to destroy me.My only dislike it the slim audio track of the characters and the poor voice acting overall. The environmental audio pushes    Platform: PC.
    Graphics (Details on highest): 9/10. Only notices some glitches in the form of clipping. Otherwise beautiful. Audio (5.1): 8/10. In the city, i found myself always tense because I of the zombies off somewhere else that I knew were going to destroy me.My only dislike it the slim audio track of the characters and the poor voice acting overall. The environmental audio pushes this poor feature away, however.
    Controls/Navigation: 7/10. No real complaints. I did have to rebind a few keys to make it more my style, but that was easy enough. My only complaint about it is the game obviously being created for console gamers because of the menu navigation. I refuse to give more than a 7 to lazy developers who don't do a PC specific menu navigation and just give it the console version. Dragon Age and Dragon Age 2 are good examples of what developers should be doing.
    Plot:5/10. Wow, I'm immune to and doing chores for people. Very exciting... Mediocre at best.
    Game play: 7/10. Good action in the game. I like the ability to hack off limbs, grab various weapons that i can use without any skill, and the ability to kick your opponent to stun is a nice feature different from other similar games. Game play was very repetitive.
    Overall: 7/10. If you like Zombies and repetition, get it. If not, avoid. I like zombies.    … Expand
  27. cunningmunki
    Nov 15, 2011
    7
    Much better than I'd expected, and far more enjoyable than the impression I got from the reviews. I was surprised that so little was written about the graphics, which in my opinion were easily as good as Farcry 2 or Crysis 2. I don't have the most powerful PC in the world, but even at medium settings the environments in Dead Island were probably it's strongest feature. That, and theMuch better than I'd expected, and far more enjoyable than the impression I got from the reviews. I was surprised that so little was written about the graphics, which in my opinion were easily as good as Farcry 2 or Crysis 2. I don't have the most powerful PC in the world, but even at medium settings the environments in Dead Island were probably it's strongest feature. That, and the perversely satisfying sounds you hear whilst beating zombies to death with a wrench.
    The main problem I had with the game was that I just didn't follow the plot at all. By the time it reached the finale (far too soon) I had no idea what the story was that led me there, or who these people were. Also, if you choose to play the story on your own, instead of enlisting random strangers, the cut-scenes contain all four characters, even though I was alone.
    The characters themselves were also a failing. Rather than having four distinct individuals (like say, Left4Dead) you just get two shallow alpha-males and their female equivalents. I'd like to have seen a couple of 'everyman' characters, like the father from the now infamous trailer. You know, normal people.    … Expand
  28. GameplayCrush
    Dec 12, 2011
    7
    This game is a 1st person RPG, very simmilair in gameplay as borderlands with the diffrence that recourses are very limited, like ammo and such, wich can cause you to be quite fragile some points, ofcourse its filled with zombies!!!
    Its a good fun game if you got a friend to play with.
  29. v00d00m4n
    Jan 5, 2012
    7
    Potential gem, flawed by some bad design decisions and rushed release of beta or even alpha version.
    This game was announced long before Left 4 Dead, it started as zombie mod for Call of Juarez 1, for almost 5 years it was in development Techland managed to release Call of Juarez 2 and 3 and started Chrome 2. I was waiting for it for a long time and was impressed by screenshots, promises    Potential gem, flawed by some bad design decisions and rushed release of beta or even alpha version.
    This game was announced long before Left 4 Dead, it started as zombie mod for Call of Juarez 1, for almost 5 years it was in development Techland managed to release Call of Juarez 2 and 3 and started Chrome 2. I was waiting for it for a long time and was impressed by screenshots, promises and dramatic trailer with music which reminded LOST tv series music a lot.
    When game was finally released i was dissapointed - instead of full open world steaming island it have zones with loading and some realy weird map, i still cant get how one zone alligned to another and where on island it should be, worst thing - even many in-doors done as seperate zones with annoying loading. Despite game looks pretty good and optimised pretty well - it lacking advanced gfx settings and have object pop-in issues, aslo some ugly things like VIGNETTE EFFECTS (red blood corners and general darkned corners and upper side of sreen) cant be turned off, most of NPC are copy-pasted and number of animations is pretty limited which makes them repetitive. And gameplay areas are pretty limited and you will have annoying "you are leaving gameplay area" messages and respawns in so many places which you could and should explore without problems. Also resort area dont have any weather or day-nigh cycle, while other areas have.Thats all about tech-gfx.
    As for gameplay - oh its troubled, this game is another victur of curse of checkpoint, but its worse case i saw this year. This is freaking open-world RPG, in games like this you need to save like every 5 minutes to keep your progress, but this game dont have quick or manual saves, only checkpoints, very little number of checkponts with very big number of bugs related to checkpoint, starting from broken quest progress, like dissapearing or repeating quests (i mean regular quests, not infinite), ending by the fact that text "checkpoint" doesnt mean that your progress since previous checkpoint was really saved. Lost of progress, inventory items, skills, upgrades etc is regular issue in this game, and the only way to save game is to get through scripte checkpoint of some story-quest or to get quest or finish it - despite you cant die in this game, it gets really repetitive and borring, when after your death and respawn all the zombies in cleaned area just gets respawned at same places and your weapons almost demaged, and you want to quit this game because it annoyed you too much for today, but you cant, because you need to finish quest to save progress and you dont want to lose hour or progress - at times like this i really want to trow gamepad in my display! Game really needs patch with proper savings and at least need to trigger checkpoints every 5 minutes and after every time you buy, mod, sell, upgrade ot openclose your inventory! Another big problem - respawn of everything, even cars that wrecked some bungalow. Game really fails in saving game world state and turns into endless Boringlands (Borderlands) style grind and looting. Co-op gameplay flawed too - all the cut scene designed with appearance of 4 different chars, but you can play alone or with 4 same charactes in team and this really seems annoying, why there are no 3 bots when you play alone like in l4d? Why not show other players as unique characters? Its realy weird when you have clones in team. When you play at different levels, most of weapons dropped of zombies belongs to higher level players and lower level players cant use it, only sell (again same problem as in Borderlands), also sync is pretty lame, flashlights of others players not visible, if some of players will initiate dialog with NPC and start quest, other players will miss this part of story etc. Also progress save in co-op is even more broken than in single.
    And the story itself, well - trailer cheated a lot of people, we are all expected dramatic hearbreaking expirience and a lot of LOST influence, while we have a lot of LOST influence in game (actually it in every corner, you will even have Oceanic airplain) it not very dramatic, it dull mostly, because most of npc stays in one place and just giving you orders, and most of cut-scenes dont have anything that can brake your heart, except for only very few scenes.
    And game doenst really have solid story and cut-scene kinda screwed and make no sence - especially intro, the guy in intro was not any of 4 characters, since he saw them all, but you start game exactly at place this guy have fallen asleep and i havent seen any point where all 4 characters meets together for the 1st time.
    And actually cut-scenes are pretty rare, most of times you will have borring NPC standing in front of you and telling what you need to do.
    This game have even more flaws that i described, however these flaws cant ruin game totally, generally its a good game which needs really good patch with a lot fo gameplay changes and bugfixes.    … Expand
  30. Puddinfellow
    May 31, 2012
    7
    I don't understand why everyone seems so butt-hurt about this game. Was I expecting something different? Yes. The storyline took itself way too seriously for what it was supposed to be and for what fans expected. I did enjoy most of act one and act 4, moderately enjoyed act 3 and absolutely despised act 2. But you know? I had a fairly good time playing through it, despite the glitches andI don't understand why everyone seems so butt-hurt about this game. Was I expecting something different? Yes. The storyline took itself way too seriously for what it was supposed to be and for what fans expected. I did enjoy most of act one and act 4, moderately enjoyed act 3 and absolutely despised act 2. But you know? I had a fairly good time playing through it, despite the glitches and many, many, many "fetch" quests. Don't compare this game to other games, that's not fair. This isn't a call of duty, nor is it a left for dead (though in some ways I wish it were!) But if you have 4 friends and time to kill, I would recommend this game for the price that I got it ($11). Expect anywhere from 20-30 hours of game-play in one play-through.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Best PC Game of 2011
16
#16 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
36
#36 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 19, 2011
    91
    Dead Island is maybe rough around the edges, has things that could have been better and has some strange solutions to gaming mechanics, but really, who cares? The main thing, close combat with zombies on an open environment, is both exceptionally well done and most importantly, great fun. Even alone. In the land of blindingly pretty, but simplified tubeshooters the ugly zombie game is the king. [Sept 2011]
  2. Computer Games Online RO
    Oct 17, 2011
    88
    Dead Island has plenty of reasons to be likeable: a satisfying duration, enough freedom and interactivity to create addiction and enough potential to become a classic. And although it isn't what the elitists would call a mandatory title, I think it's infectious enough for me to pull my friend's sleeve to buy the game too.
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  3. Thunderbolt
    Oct 9, 2011
    60
    It's the mission design that proves most disappointing. Its scale is highly ambitious but Dead Island's population of living dead aren't enough to compensate for its barren lack of variety and an increasingly tedious structure.
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