Dead Island 2

Practice your best one-liners because Dead Island 2 will have you run toward danger and swagger down the streets of Hell-A while egging the zombies on like your favorite pulp hero. The beautiful graphics, tight combat, eccentric cast of characters, and F.L.E.S.H. system prove why the long-anticipated sequel to the beloved franchise was worth the wait."

Dead Island 2 is a first person slasher that focuses on gore and gore, and wins. The FLESH engine takes fractures and mutilations to a level never seen before, with an extremely realistic aesthetic that also impacts the zombies' ability to move. The not particularly large maps and the rigidity in following the story are functional to the continuous massacre, and I have never had so much the feeling of really hurting my victims. A B-Movie about zombies that will delight those who love ultra-violence, with old school gameplay enhanced by new technologies.

It is a pleasure to confirm that the ship has come to fruition by taking care of the true essence of the series: exploration, tinkering with weapons and massacring zombies is as pleasant as it is spectacular.

Dead Island 2 is a worthy successor to the zombie-slaying games that came before it and breathes new life into the franchise long-thought dead. DualShockers was provided with a copy of the game for review purposes.

Despite its rocky road of development, Dead Island 2 succeeds in bringing more of the same mindless, mind-bashing fun as its predecessor. While not flawless, Dead Island 2 leans into its gory silliness by bringing dark and well-timed humour into its cut scenes. Intricate details in the environment make exploring engaging and all aspects of the infected have been lovingly designed, including the weapons you use to destroy them with. If you are looking for some zombie-bashing goofiness, then Dead Island 2's gruesome tour of LA is worth a visit.

When a game is delayed for a long time, it usually doesn't bode well. But Dambuster Studios has delivered a strong zombie-slayer in Dead Island 2, with a lot of content, loads of weapons and anatomically correct zombies. It does have some technical issues, but that doesn't stand in the way of fun.

Dead Island 2 improves on its illustrious predecessors in almost every way, while retaining strong points such as atmosphere, setting and gameplay loop. The fact that the game sees the light in this state after almost ten years of trouble-ridden pregnancy is only inferior in wonder to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Though not without its flaws Dead Island 2 has succeeded in providing a fun and unique zombie slaying experience that will leave players highly satisfied.

Dambuster Studios has come in and created a highly entertaining cavalcade of carnage with Dead Island 2. It’s a game that takes great joy in the simple act of smashing, splatting, and slicing the undead into meaty chunks and I’m very much here for that.

While it suffers from some interesting glitches, Dead Island 2 puts some much-needed fun and mayhem back into the zombie apocalypse sandbox.

Dead Island 2 is a great sequel. This provides an easy choice when looking for reasons to play it. If you know what to expect, you will find plenty and more. Don’t ask for too much, and you will surely have a blast. A genuinely bloody blast indeed.

Dead Island 2 is gory and gruesome, with action that is ridiculously entertaining. It has just enough narrative and social satire to push the game along, and enough depth, systems and mechanics to make killing thousands of zombies engaging for its substantial run time. Dead Island 2 might not be the deepest swimming pool in Bel Air, but playing it was the most creative, scary fun I've had with a shooter in quite some time.

Dead Island 2 is one of the games I've had most fun with in a very long time. It really knows how to emphasize its very own strengths, offering hundreds of weapons in a very detailed Los Angeles city with multiple well-designed open areas that allow for proper exploration.

A delightfully gory surprise, Dead Island 2 rises above its hellish development to deliver the sort of horror comedy romp that is rarely seen in the industry. It doesn't break the mould, but it does deliver pure blood-soaked campy joy from start to finish.

Despite the development chaos, Dead Island 2 offers exaggerated and satisfying zombie action with a lot of blood and guts.

Many will argue that there aren't enough enemy types, or that the weapon upgrades that underpin it all seem as if they came out of a decades-old game. And they'd be right. This is a game that follows a simple template. But it does so in a confessed way, and in the end the authors didn't promise anything beyond mindless and fun zombie slaughter. [Issue#327]

We've had a pretty great time messing up some zombies in Hell-A. Dead Island 2 doesn't shoot for the stars, and therefore ends up neither overpromising nor under-delivering, so if you liked the first game you're pretty certain to have a fun time here.

Dead Island 2 is a fun filled games soaking up the rays in a zombie infested Hell-A.

On the surface, Dead Island 2 is certainly all about slicing up zombies without a lot of emotional stakes, but there’s a notable attention to depth and detail that’s evident throughout. The sense of impact as weapons crack bone and send bodies flying entices you to keep tinkering with abilities, to go back for side quests after the story’s done, and to consider giving it another run with friends. Zombies have splashed down in LA: grab a hammer and get to work.

Dead Island 2 never aims for unreachable heights and knows what it wants to be: A fun zombie slasher with brutal combat, beautiful levels, robust mechanics and a few jokes along the line. If that sounds like a great time to you, there's a good chance you are going to love Dead Island 2.

Dead Island 2 is the first game on steroids, with all the good and bad that implies. It's a sequel with no risks, which means that those who never fell in love with this kind of game probably won't fall in love with this one either. It doesn't change the formula. But it doesn't need to, either. In terms of zombie survival with RPG elements, multiplayer and non-stop action, there's no better game than this one.

While many games that are released after a long period of anticipation can be met with doubt, Dead Island 2 defies this trend with maintaining its franchise identity and core game design. However, certain aspect that are not user-friendly and the exhaustion from combat may prevent players from continuous gameplay.

Just like a zombie, Dead Island 2 was a project that was considered dead but was able to rise to its feet over and over again. Today, we finally have the ultimate Dead Island experience in our hands and it's a pretty decent action RPG with tons of first person melee combat.

Against all odds, Dead Island 2 is pretty much everything we wanted it to be. This is the ultimate zombie game, dropping you in a setting that’s an absolute joy to explore and spend time in while taking apart zombies in any way you please. Fans of Dead Island will be overjoyed at what’s been delivered here, taking the core concept of the original game and building upon it to make something that’s perhaps a little more linear, but better in all regards. It’s funny to think that we once considered this game dead, because developer Dambuster Studios has proved that there’s life in the series yet.

Dead Island 2 is a first-person action RPG that’s packed with as much dark humour as it is body parts.

Dead Island 2 turned out to be a very good game, worth waiting 10 years for. It has some flaws, but at the same time it manages to provide a lot of fun. I sat there with a smile on my face, glued to the console until I cleared the map and finished every quest.

Dead Island 2 does not revolutionize the saga or the survival game, but provides the essentials. Dambuster Studios offers fans of zombie survivalism a bloody and sunny journey to the heart of a red-painted City of Angels. Mutilating the emaciated has never been so brutal and the pleasure felt so visceral. This FPS is not perfect, far from it, and suffers from a certain repetitiveness that it tries to erase with undeniable generosity. The Dead Island franchise is well and truly back, a resounding return through the front door.

Dead Island 2 manages to balance on the border of parody and on the edge between opulent beauty and brutal nastiness. And on top of that, he jovially juggles severed limbs. It probably won't rank among the most amazing titles this year, but it certainly doesn't belong at the bottom of the list in the genre of zombie games that don't take themselves seriously.

Dead Island 2 does not fool you into thinking it's another deep virtual drama or an epic RPG. It's simply a great action comedy designed to make you relax, provided you like bloody hordes of zombies.

Dead Island 2 isn't ground-breaking, but it's a lot of fun.

Dead Island 2 is an excellent sequel packed with brutal gore, an eccentric character roster, and a million ways to dismember a zombie.

By the end, it leaves you teetering on that precipice between wanting a little more and feeling satisfied enough. And that's a good place to be.

Choose your favorite slayer, pick up the closest bat, and start making aesthetic beautification of zombies that awaits you in HELL-A. The fun of killing zombies just got resurrected with Dead Island 2.

Dambuster manages to improve on the formula with a zombie smasher who does everything very well.

We had to wait far too long for Dead Island 2, but the wait will be rewarded. The game mostly does more of the same and that in a very pleasant setting. The Hell-A setting is successful and what gives the game its fun factor is the variety of weapons and ways in which you make the zombies suffer. Doing so with friends makes it even more fun, making Dead Island 2 a safe, but very successful sequel to some extent. However, you will have to be mindful of the new card system that is clumsily applied, as it interrupts the flow every time. Also, there is not much difference between the playable characters, but that does not matter much for the fun you will have.

Dead Island 2 overcame years of development problems to deliver a fun zombie story with some personality. It doesn't try to go much beyond the basics, but it does it honestly and competently, with good hints of humor and a great co-op experience.

Dead Island 2 proves itself to be a totally fleshed out, fully realized version of what Dead Island can be with modern mechanics and gameplay.

Dead Island 2 should serve as a shining example for both games that make it out of development hell and sequels with a huge time gap. I’m sure some of my love for the original is down to nostalgia, and I could probably never return to it. But whenever I’ve thought back on the first game in my head over the last decade, Dead Island 2 is absolutely the game I have pictured. If only more sequels could be this expertly made.

The best games ask important questions. In the case of Dead Island 2, that question is: "Do you think it's funny to chop zombies into bits?" If the answer is yes, then Dead Island 2 is a joy.

Dead Island 2 is not a revolution of the genre but it is damn effective! The good gore based on very precise dismemberment, the good ideas related to the effects, the character progression and the variety of the zombies provide a nervous and effective gameplay. If the scenario is simple as hello it follows with joy thanks to a great atmosphere, rhythmic missions and well-written dialogues. The fun music that contrasts sharply with the apocalyptic context and some very crazy situations make it a really good game. It's perhaps a little too linear and it's still classic, but we're having a lot of fun with it and that's what we like in this kind of game.

Dead Island 2 is a traditional blood and guts slaughterfest, and if you haven't grown tired of zombie bashing by 2023, it's still worth a play. The experience is both heavenly and hellish, like the average genius who tries to entertain but can't always be sure if the next act is a hit or a miss.

This game won’t stay with me long, but I’m not sure it was meant to. With Dead Island 2, Dambuster Studios asks little of the player – only that you enjoy a good excuse to kill zombies in increasingly gory ways for a weekend or two – and in doing so, it delivers on the promise of what this series is all about.

Dead Island 2 is a classic zombie-themed action game that offers hours of fun in its amusing brutality, with thousands of undead to slay in the most creative ways and a collection of weapons suitable for every need. However, the lack of originality limits the potential of a gaming experience that doesn't shine in terms of story and mission variety. Fighting zombies from Beverly Hills to Santa Monica is always satisfying. Still, after almost ten years of waiting for Dead Island 2, we would have expected something more than an action game that does its duty and nothing more.

An essential revamp of the zombie gaming universe, Dead Island 2 packs blood, guts and powerful weapons into brutal gameplay. With many new mechanics and an inviting semi-open world, the game pleases for its fun, but fails to remain in the commonplace of cliches and catchphrases.

Dead Island 2 may not be the next great thing you were waiting for, but it has enough on offer to convince you and a group of friends to spend over 20 hours blowing zombies apart.

Dead Island 2 is not doing too badly, especially for a development that started more than 10 years ago. But we obviously cannot ignore all the archaism of its game design. Whether it's the overall structure of the game (several small, very down-to-earth open areas, without any possibility of verticality), its basic and repetitive gameplay, Dead Island 2 can put off some players. Despite these major flaws, the title of Deep Silver still manages to appeal to our primary instincts, namely to slaughter zombies with such graphic violence that it becomes enjoyable.

Dead Island 2 is a poster boy for mindless fun. It is a gore fest that does not take itself seriously or the topic of zombie apocalypse. It’s mainly a relaxing stroll down the sunny streets of Beverly Hills littered with undead corpses. It has no ambition to revolutionize the genre or to be memorable. It’s safe to say that this is a game that you’ll enjoy for 10-15 hours, and, just like a good popcorn movie, you will probably forget soon after. If the developers respect their promise of fixing the most annoying bugs with the day-0 patch. Without it the game remains a playable, but very messy experience.

Dead Island 2 often is nothing more than a game where players use ridiculously customized weapons to ravage zombies in increasingly gruesome ways. It’s comically satisfying how good it feels to tear through hordes of the undead–and it looks absurdly vile. It may not be a diamond forged over time, yet it’s hard to deny the fun to be had tearing it up in Hell-A. But does the idea of doing that hour after hour with small amount of variety sound appealing? If not then, Dead Island 2 won’t lure you in.

Dead Island 2 is a fun, simple, and entertaining title. There are various enemies to face and modifications to make our weapons deadlier. However, sometimes it becomes repetitive and contains multiple technical errors, affecting the entire experience.

And yet, with Dead Island 2, Dambuster Studios has delivered a sequel that hugely improves upon the maligned original.

Despite the qualities of its best ingredients, including a valuable technical sector, Dead Island 2 presents itself at the launch appointment with a few too many sags, although the experience is still able to offer players twenty hours of brutal pleasure , especially in co-op.

Dead Island 2 is a fun, gory ARPG with great combat design, but that ends up feeling repetitive and not making the most of its game mechanics.

If someone said to me, "Can you draw a picture of a 7/10 game, Abidin?" I would draw a picture of the cover of Dead Island 2.

Aside from the winning combat formula, however, Dead Island 2 doesn’t push the envelope in any other noteworthy ways. It’s a very safe game, which was perhaps the wisest decision made by Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver, given the development hell that the game has been through since its 2014 reveal. I’d count that a win, all things considered.

Dead Island 2 is a gory adventure that offers up plenty of mindless mayhem for zombie slayers. The remnants of California make for a great playground to dismember and destroy the walking dead in every conceivable way the game presents. The beautiful, sunny environments provide a stark contrast to the reanimated rotting carcasses. But as fun as the combat can be towards the end of the story, the missions began to feel as fresh as the enemies’ flesh as the repetitive nature of the quests turn them into chores in the final hours. Unremarkable story and repetitive gameplay aside, what Dead Island 2 does well it does very well, and despite these shortcomings, killing thousands of zombies with everything the game puts at the player’s disposal can still be a great time.

Despite a history of disappointing delays that nearly doomed Dead Island 2 to obscurity, it’s here, and it’s both confident and capable in almost everything it does. Arduous quest design and the occasional repetitive tedium is a flaw, but you’re often too drowned in zombie guts and cringe-inducing creativity to care. Dead Island 2 isn’t going to change the world of zombie games, nor does it intend to, but the fact it has emerged from the ashes in a state this immaculate is a miracle in itself. Hammer some nails into a metal baseball bat, set it on fire, and start swinging. I guarantee you’ll carve out a good time beyond all the viscera.

Zombie hacking at its purest, Dead Island 2 takes some simple ideas and works them to perfection in a well-made and fun game. It's a one note thrill, but does well to make that note absolutely sing.

A surprisingly lean and mean sequel which amplifies the bloody thrills of the original through its impressive presentation and flexible mechanics.

Dead Island 2 is an adventure that in the end disappears without a trace. If you enjoyed the first one, you will probably enjoy this sequel as well; however, if you are looking for something more exciting and incisive you will necessarily have to look elsewhere. But it's nice to look at, somewhat relaxing in company, and despite the flaws it could be just the game you've been looking for.

Dead Island 2 is a hilarious gore-fest and a competent zombie-slaying adventure, but lacks creativity outside of its great sense of humor.

In the end, though, Dead Island 2 is a refreshing surprise amid the 2023 release roster. It's a fun and simple zombie-slasher experience that may be let down by its uninspiring RPG elements and boring loot-cycle, but more than makes up for it with its killer setting, brutal melee combat, and stunning graphics. While we suspect some will be disappointed by the game's size after all these years, we found it utterly revitalising to find a AAA experience that respects your time, and more importantly doesn't overstay its welcome. In the day and age of 300-hour RPGs, it's nice to know that some games are here for a fun time, not a long time.

Dead Island 2’s witty lines, weapon system, and combat customization options save it from obscurity, but let’s hope the next installment offers a lot more variety and creativity to compete with the other zombie titles out there doing it better.

Dead Island 2's visceral combat can effortlessly pull you into the zone as you slash, shoot, and kick zombies while making sure they head into the afterlife with fewer limbs attached. A simple but effective upgrade system gives you the means to counter any foe, while its varied arsenal of melee and ranged weapons keeps things interesting for a good while. Repetition inevitably sets in well before you roll credits, being reflected both in its uninspired mission objectives and how you eliminate opponents. Its disjointed and confused narrative doesn't do it any favors either, but, as long as you focus on slaying zombies, there's certainly fun to be had here.

Gross, gory, and gorgeous in equal measure, Dead Island 2 may not be one of 2023’s most exciting or innovative games, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun and well worth the wait.

Dead Island 2 is the loud, boisterous, vibrant cousin to Dying Light 2, with a meaty combat system, insufferable characters, and a much smaller but densely packed world.

Dead Island 2 is every bit the gory zombie slasher it wants to be. But as enjoyable and solid as it is, issues with repetition and the gameplay loop stop it from being the game it perhaps could have been.

Dead Island 2 does not pretend to be anything more than just a video game, even for a moment. Its every element, from the bland story to the environments, serves the purpose of making smashing zombie heads fun. The problem is, after a couple of hours this fun starts to give way to repetitiveness.

As a mindless distraction played while mentally checked out, Dead Island 2 has merit. It is enjoyable for good periods of time, and it’s done a solid job of refining the messy hack n’ slash of the original game while improving ranged combat alongside it. As fun as all the zombie slaying can be, however, an intense lack of variety coupled with dreary exploration is outright exhausting at times, and I wouldn’t blame any player for moving on long before finishing the story. It’s not a game that’s entertaining while it lasts - it’s entertaining while you last.

Dead Island 2 stands firmly besides its predecessor as only a marginal improvement. While there something to be recognised in the flexible skill system and satisfying dismemberment effects, Dead Island 2's lack of objective variety and uninteresting playable characters fall short of its potential. There's still some fun to be had for zombie fans, just don't expect a reinvention by any means.

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.

Dead Island 2 has been long in the making, but it might’ve been a little too long. Various aspects of the game, from the semi-open world to the tongue-in-cheek characters are reminiscent of zombie titles from 8-10 years ago and do little to reinvent the overly-used zombie trope. The only real saving grace is the combat, which when paired with the gory flesh system provides visceral, satisfying melee combat that’ll keep you entertained throughout the otherwise dull campaign.

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.

But if, as the end nears, its unswerving focus seems less of an asset than in its early hours, Dead Island 2 has emerged from development hell in more robust shape than we could have expected. Certainly, there is enough potential in a refined and updated version - one that finds room for more immersive sim-style experimentation - to leave us pondering something that seemed unthinkable going in. Dead Island 3? It doesn't seem quite such a terrible idea after all. [Issue#384, p.100]

Dead Island 2 will amuse you for days with its stylish vision of a zombified LA, but it’s also limited in scope, and with skill systems that feel shallow and impersonal it won’t hang around long enough to achieve superstardom. The fact is, Dead Island 2 is one of 2014’s best zombie beat-’em-ups – it’s just a pity we’re in 2023.

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.

Dead Island 2 feels hopelessly dated and simplistic. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

It's unlikely to make any Game of the Year lists but Dead Island 2 provides plenty of low-brow thrills.

Dead Island 2’s devotion to truly gross zombie gore is commendable, but its bland, stereotypical characters, and tired, genre-rehashing plot make it more difficult to appreciate its inventive combat than it should be.

I had as much fun here as I would have had watching a schlocky B-movie, but Dead Island 2 doesn’t do much to push the crowded (and dated) zombie genre forward. An underwhelming narrative and a general lack of creativity in mission design left me hungry for a more substantial meal. There’s a sharp-witted takedown of American privilege somewhere in Dead Island’s arsenal, an edge that was perhaps dulled down with age. For the series to survive another decade, it might need to hit the grindstone and craft a point that can actually pierce skin.

Dead Island 2 is a lot of occasional fun when played together with a friend, but the game suffers from a distinct lack of meaningful story development and gameplay which feels quite samey from time to time.

Where the likes of Dying Light offers slick parkour and Resident Evil gives us smart survival horror gameplay, Dead Island 2 has nothing of substance to balance out the endless waves of flesh munchers. It’ll undoubtedly satisfy your bloodlust, but it won’t be long before you’re craving something a bit meatier.

The prolonged gestation period of Dead Island 2 has finally ended with a familiar sequel, eschewing the unpredictable and uncomfortable pastures of Banoi for a monstrous version of Los Angeles. Dead Island 2 will be a pleasing romp for fans of the original with its cavalcade of chaos-causing weaponry, its adrenaline-packed wars with the undead, and its cool new modifications and traps to keep the zombie slaying fresh. Before long, though, it becomes apparent how Dead Island 2 suffers from some frustrating design problems, like trapping you inside an area until you’ve cleared all undead, as well as coercing you to perform one of a small handful of utterly tedious tasks like tracking down keys to open doors and transformers to open/close gates.

Dead Island 2 is all about breaking skulls and bones, but it won’t be breaking any bloody records. At the end of the day, it’s just dumb old fun, killing zombies in a badass gory fashion with your buddies. The high asking price and frustratingly unbalanced gameplay prevent me from recommending this as a day-one purchase, but I have confidence it will find its bearings among its zombie-slaying fans someday.

Neat zombie bashing mechanics are woefully under-served as it loses its way more with each hour, making the shiny hyper-violence yawnworthy by the end. [Issue#27, p.68]

Dead Island 2 is definitely showing lots of signs of the development hell that it went through. It’s a game that’s stuck in the past with overtly simplistic gameplay, a plot that is completely derivative and a gore system that may be fun for a couple of hours, but it outstays its welcome too soon.