User Score
3.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 87 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 87
  2. Negative: 52 out of 87

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  1. Dec 5, 2015
    6
    Above all, this game taught me one important lesson: If it's not fun, stop playing!

    The 10-points review here says that the game isn't as bad as the reviews make it seem. It is right to say this, but, the game is still bad. While not being 100% disastrous it is also not too far from that point. Truth has to be said. I would have given this game 410 and I believe that is what it
    Above all, this game taught me one important lesson: If it's not fun, stop playing!

    The 10-points review here says that the game isn't as bad as the reviews make it seem. It is right to say this, but, the game is still bad. While not being 100% disastrous it is also not too far from that point. Truth has to be said. I would have given this game 410 and I believe that is what it deserves. I would give it a 6 just to balance thing a little, because I see many zeroes here.
    God help my sense of video-gaming justice.

    And no, I didn't fall into the trap of expecting it to be like Dead Island or Riptide. I knew, or at least thought I knew, what I was getting into. I knew that it is mainly an 'action' title, with a small map, short length, etc..
    Personally I have no problem with this. But..

    This game is simply not all that fun, and,sometimes it does so in a cruel way.
    Gameplay-wise, you would mainly run around some other zombie-infested island - a mostly linear experience - advancing with the story and smashing zombies along the way.

    Somehow the developers arranged the game in a way that makes you BACKTRACK A WHOLE LOT. I Hate backtracking. And playing through the game, you'd find yourself walking through the same areas, threading the same caves, climbing the same ladders, using the same ropes, crounching under the same foliage, over, and over, and over, again.

    Oh yes, but you won't JUMP over anything.
    Our hero is capable of sending zombies to their ultimate deaths but cannot jump.
    This may sound like a minor detail, but doing all this backtracking just to run around some annoying not-too-giant obstacles just makes you think WHY CAN'T YOU JUMP CLIFF?

    The combat, which is a big part of the game, won't save things either, for the simple reasons of it being repetitive and monotonous, but above all, way too laggy! The controls would always respond in delay, the combat mechanics feel flawed and clunky.
    Also, our hero would die SO FAST. No matter how much medkits you'd collect along the way, (these would tell yo that you've raised your max health!), you'll just keep dying quickly, without even realizing what's happening!
    At first the buggy mechanics are bearable, but later in the game on the parts which are meant to be more challanging, it becomes a pain.
    Switching weapons is also not too quick, and the result is a combat which is not flowing , and you'd pray to end it as quickly as possible.
    Yes, you will pray. Or just quit. Or just break your computer, as I almost did.

    There are also MANY collectibles throughout the island. usually these are logsrecordingsetc you'd have lying around and well hidden, there are also snapshots which you can take with your camera. I actually found this aspect nice and enjoyable, but it grew tired soon enough, and didn't make up for the rest of the game.

    The one thing which really kept me from leaving this game mid-way to rot in hell was the story. And as much as it hurts to say, it wasn't too good or worth it, as well.
    It is very twisted, which is actually a good thing in my opinion. It is very bland at some points, though, and leads you to a very weak finale.
    I guess the concept was alright and a somewhat original, but still, the story is not getting too clear throughout the game. For many of the events, you'll never figure out if they ACTUALLY happened or are simply a fruit of our hero's limited imagination.
    The ending doesn't properly close the game, there are many holes and questions unanswered, and it is simply not justifying the time spent on.
    No need to say the chatacters have no depth or any development (storywise).

    So, there it is, with a heavy heart I would definitely NOT recommend this game, even though it doesn't deserve a round zero.
    There are some bright sides which are worth mentioning, although they fail to save the game from being what it is.

    The graphics are actually pretty good, not too fancy but has a cool comic-style which is very refreshing to the series and I always like to see in video games.

    The soundtrack is splendid! Feels like a waste for this game, but, it really keeps the atmosphere in a good place, very dramatic and tense, very fitting, very epic, simply great!

    Unfortunately, these make the game look like a nice package while the inside is an utter mess.

    The Underwater Labs is also worth mentioning, for being a free DLC, it is quiet good and mostly enjoyable. While it doesn't have much connection to the main story, it would take you aside to an hour or two of something...else. It is probably the only portion of the game which was actually creepy for me. There was a special emphasis on sneaking around instead of storming your enemies, it was bizzare and twisted, tense, and, well, good. Until the game mechanics ruined it and it's final section almost made me quit the game for good.

    Maybe I should have.
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  2. Jan 11, 2015
    0
    Much worse than the review make it be. I expected playing some crap and quitting after 15min based on reviews, and I ended up uninstalling it and having a laugh doing so. Story is uninteresting, there are more dead moments than dead enemies, it always keep going south and adding new useless boring stuff and **** up events. Gameplay is brain dead. Level design are ****

    Not worth a 0, but
    Much worse than the review make it be. I expected playing some crap and quitting after 15min based on reviews, and I ended up uninstalling it and having a laugh doing so. Story is uninteresting, there are more dead moments than dead enemies, it always keep going south and adding new useless boring stuff and **** up events. Gameplay is brain dead. Level design are ****

    Not worth a 0, but I'm balancing for that alone foster child.
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  3. May 17, 2015
    0
    Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst gameWorst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Worst game ever. Expand
  4. Jan 12, 2015
    10
    Much better than the review make it be. I expected playing some crap and quitting after 15min based on reviews, but ended up completing it and having a blast doing so. Story is interesting, there's no dead moments, it always keep going and adding new stuff and fckeup events. I would even say presentation of the story is better than the Dead Island game. Gameplay is fast and shooting actionMuch better than the review make it be. I expected playing some crap and quitting after 15min based on reviews, but ended up completing it and having a blast doing so. Story is interesting, there's no dead moments, it always keep going and adding new stuff and fckeup events. I would even say presentation of the story is better than the Dead Island game. Gameplay is fast and shooting action is tight. Level design are great.

    Not worth a 10, but I'm balancing for these whining kids who don't know what's good and what's not.
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  5. May 12, 2015
    2
    worth a steam sale for...... uh..... well....... free? nah spend yout time elsewhere. Has really simplified gameplay, no rpg elements. The enemies are sometimes difficult but not in any fun way. They just pop u behind you since if you could simply see them they would just be fodder. The story degenerates to a graphic style that looks like the developers really wanted to do a sci fi. thenworth a steam sale for...... uh..... well....... free? nah spend yout time elsewhere. Has really simplified gameplay, no rpg elements. The enemies are sometimes difficult but not in any fun way. They just pop u behind you since if you could simply see them they would just be fodder. The story degenerates to a graphic style that looks like the developers really wanted to do a sci fi. then well ah never mind just dont buy it. And for reference i am a DIE HARD fan of both of the first two in the series. Expand
  6. Nov 13, 2016
    5
    As a fan of the previous Dead Island games I expected something from this game. It fills in the gap between the 2 Dead Island games and adds a little to the origin of the zombie virus, but that's it. You expect the quality of the Dead Island games, but it's not. The graphics look okay, and the comic like loading screens are fine too. But that's it.
    The camera acts clumsy like it's doing
    As a fan of the previous Dead Island games I expected something from this game. It fills in the gap between the 2 Dead Island games and adds a little to the origin of the zombie virus, but that's it. You expect the quality of the Dead Island games, but it's not. The graphics look okay, and the comic like loading screens are fine too. But that's it.
    The camera acts clumsy like it's doing drunk boxing, some enemies are WAY too strong (Everyone who played this game can confirm the Butcher is ridiculous!) and the game has the WORST save system of any game I have ever played.
    For instance: You have a save point, and you have boss or mini boss. Obviously when you are thrown before the lions so to say you will die at first. Any decent game has a save point right before you fight the boss. It also allows you to skip the videos. This game just saves at the first place possible, and when you die you have to walk the entire way back to the boss or mini boss and have to watch the video all over again! Which is super frustrating.
    Pros I have found for achievement hunters and people on low budget for gaming:
    -Achievements are fairly easy. the 1000g is somewhat grinding and a bit of luck but you can at least get 800G or so in the first run. (the rest is missing objectives and finish the new game +)
    -There is one DLC called Underwater Labs. It was 10$ in the first period, but since this game really sucks they made the DLC free. Thank god for that!
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  7. May 15, 2021
    2
    Main character losing his mind the more he stays in the island is really interesting. There are also some nice locations to explore.

    Sadly gameplay is really bad. Melee fighting is weak. It is just trash. One of the strongest parts of original dead island is not done right here. None of the weapons do enough damage to zombies and zombies keep attacking you. They don't get hurt or
    Main character losing his mind the more he stays in the island is really interesting. There are also some nice locations to explore.

    Sadly gameplay is really bad.

    Melee fighting is weak. It is just trash. One of the strongest parts of original dead island is not done right here. None of the weapons do enough damage to zombies and zombies keep attacking you. They don't get hurt or lose their balance. So you either need to be silent or just keep spamming until they die...which is hard if there are more than one zombie.

    Guns are hard to aim and they don't do enough damage.

    Losing mind concept is cool but repeating the same levels is not cool. Checkpoint system sucks. They are too far away from each other. Almost everything about this game is frustrating. By the way last level can go **** itself. Worst level design I have ever seen.
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  8. Aug 6, 2021
    1
    after completing the games, honestly I feel dissapointed.
    bad gameplay, weird non-sense story, repetitive environment and totally boring.
    the very worst level in this game is when you walk over the long tunnel, and it wasted much time.
    overall.. although the graphics makes difference and worth seeing, it cannot help overall game's experience.
  9. May 1, 2023
    8
    Zombiegemetzel und -geballer im Comicstil - ist ein schönes Siel für ein bis zwei Tage.
    11 Level, die ersten 5 gehen verdammt schnell vorbei, ich habe ca 6 Stunden gebraucht.
    Es macht Spaß, ein DLC ist enthalten, das sind so Bunkerlabore, da kann man weitere Waffen und vertonte Aufzeichnungen finden und sich durch viele Zombies ballern oder vorbeischleichen bzw. heimlich killen. Am Ende
    Zombiegemetzel und -geballer im Comicstil - ist ein schönes Siel für ein bis zwei Tage.
    11 Level, die ersten 5 gehen verdammt schnell vorbei, ich habe ca 6 Stunden gebraucht.
    Es macht Spaß, ein DLC ist enthalten, das sind so Bunkerlabore, da kann man weitere Waffen und vertonte Aufzeichnungen finden und sich durch viele Zombies ballern oder vorbeischleichen bzw. heimlich killen.
    Am Ende gibt´s noch eine Art Bossfight und Sequenz.
    Ansonsten hat das Spiel am Ende noch ein besonderen Moment, ich sag dazu nur, geht bei den Credits nicht weg, die sind auch nicht so lang!
    Spielt sich gut, sehr flüssig und es ist einem vollkommen selber überlassen ob man leise vorgeht oder einfach durchrennt.
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  10. Dec 17, 2022
    7
    В общем и целом: интересное и запутанное приключение в зомби тропиках или же в разуме главного героя.
    Развивая серию Dead Island создатели для новой главы истории явно черпали вдохновение из сериала "Lost". Мистика, тайные эксперименты, сомнения в реальности происходящего - всё это есть и здесь.
    По ходу прохождения ты ловишь себя на мысли, что история игры может развиваться и в
    В общем и целом: интересное и запутанное приключение в зомби тропиках или же в разуме главного героя.
    Развивая серию Dead Island создатели для новой главы истории явно черпали вдохновение из сериала "Lost". Мистика, тайные эксперименты, сомнения в реальности происходящего - всё это есть и здесь.
    По ходу прохождения ты ловишь себя на мысли, что история игры может развиваться и в нескольких направлениях (реальность или сон и тд.). Например как это было в первых двух Sillent Hill и там это выражалось в разных концовках. Эта же игра таким похвастаться не может, у игры только один финал и тот даже не пытается вам объяснить, что всё таки здесь происходит. Только сена после титров даёт двухсмысленые намёки и немного приоткрывает завесу, одновременно ещё более запутывая историю.
    Вероятнее всего, сюжет представляет из себя намешанную бредятину из всего и сразу и думаю даже создатели не пришли к общему мнению, что они хотят от игры.
    С другой стороны такой необъяснённый и открытый финал даёт игроку пищу для размышлений и нахождения смыслов, которых возможно сценаристы даже и не вкладывали. В любом случае, это лучше, чем просто банальный финал.
    Геймплейный аспект я затрону совсем немного. Про него могу сказать хочу следующее, он не поломан, как может показаться многим игрокам, к нему просто нужно привыкнуть и у вас без особых проблем получится вырезать мертвячину.
    Так же ОЧЕНЬ СОВЕТУЮ внимательно изучать локации, что бы искать патроны, а САМОЕ ГЛАВНОЕ Аптечики, которые помогут вам прокачать ваши жизни и вы станете куда крепче.
    ВАЖНО: Если вы случайно залезете в подземный люк и будете его долго изучать и думать: ну почему же он никак не кончается, то предупреждая отвечаю вам - это дополнение. Придётся его немного перетерпеть и постараться выжить в финальном драке с волной зомби, там и навыки свои отточите. После прохождения остальные люки на острове будут представлять из себя просто маленькие подземные комнаты с небольшими бонусами.
    Да игра местами спорная и специфичная, в геймплейном плане ей далеко до основных частей серии, но своей атмосферой, хорошо реалезованным стелсом, сложностью и попытками в запутанность происходящего ей всё же удавалось удерживать моё внимание до самых титров и сцены после них. Если конечно не учитывать тот эпизод с подземной лабораторией - (Просто когда не мог справится с финальной волной в дополнении с лабораторией я просто забил на игру где-то на два месяца, но потом вернулся, осилил и игра не отпускала до самого конца).
    7/10
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  11. Dec 2, 2022
    10
    I am willing to challenge any player here. And any negative review you read prob didn't even get as far as Area 9 and the challenges here make DI1 and DL1 seam like child's play. Maybe that's why there are so many children writing reviews these days.

    I also read some comments about it being a cartoon styled game. Hmm well I guess you same folks didn't like didn't like Spiderman: Into
    I am willing to challenge any player here. And any negative review you read prob didn't even get as far as Area 9 and the challenges here make DI1 and DL1 seam like child's play. Maybe that's why there are so many children writing reviews these days.

    I also read some comments about it being a cartoon styled game. Hmm well I guess you same folks didn't like didn't like Spiderman: Into the Multiverse, and besides aren't all games "cartoons" after all? Last i checked, my real blood isn't pixelated. The special infected in this game are the most inventive I have encountered yet: Fast, able to sniff you out, recognize you at distance, deadly, and did I say FAST? If the special infected in this game were in any other zombie game, it would be game over for most of the reviewers here before they even started the game.

    How many people paid for and waited on DL2. My son did with baited breath, got the pre-release stuff, and waited, and waited, then when game was released... mmmm ho humm. And he is an MLG'er that I would put $1000 up against any player here, and this game scares him a little more than he would ever admit.

    A thousand bucks ain't so much, to loose that is.
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Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 23
  2. Negative: 8 out of 23
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 7, 2015
    30
    3-in-1: a poor stealth game, a primitive adventure game and a boring action game. [01/2015, p.50]
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 21, 2015
    75
    A zombie survival game with Lost references. The storyline almost makes the lackluster survival action bearable. [Jan 2015]
  3. Jan 14, 2015
    50
    The concept and story of Escape Dead Island show some interesting ideas, but fighting, locations and exploration are not very interesting.