Dead Island: Riptide

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 210 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 210
  2. Mixed: 75 out of 210
  3. Negative: 46 out of 210
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  1. Skydog
    Apr 23, 2013
    6
    Let's just get it out of the way of why critics hate these games, t hey are pretty repetitive in some aspects, but honestly I don't mind it.
    The graphics and gore aspect remains cool and fun from the original game.
    The only issue i have is that the first level is the same exact island, with like very little detail changed except that it's flooded now and your headed to some new area (I'm    Let's just get it out of the way of why critics hate these games, t hey are pretty repetitive in some aspects, but honestly I don't mind it.
    The graphics and gore aspect remains cool and fun from the original game.
    The only issue i have is that the first level is the same exact island, with like very little detail changed except that it's flooded now and your headed to some new area (I'm still playing it so i'm not 100% sure where i'm headed.. Started with an H I believe, I apologize.)
    I don't see much changes in weapons yet except the nailgun (which is hilarious), since i'm not too far.
    My score will fluctuate as I progress, either increase or decrease. as of right now I'm giving the coop experience a 7, i haven't had any problems with the online features.    … Expand
  2. bwaredafarmer
    Apr 25, 2013
    7
    Same game as the original. it is not a sequel and never says that. it is a stand alone exspansion
    has good combat story is a bit bad but it works. if you liked the original you will like this.
  3. tripleb2k
    Apr 28, 2013
    7
    Something very important is missing from this sequel; the setting of the first game. The Resort setting in the first game led to a great adventure. It made Dead Island stand out from other 'Zombie' games. There were other areas to explore in the game too but the Resort stood out. Riptide is missing that great set piece. Now you're on a random island that lacks any unique setting.Something very important is missing from this sequel; the setting of the first game. The Resort setting in the first game led to a great adventure. It made Dead Island stand out from other 'Zombie' games. There were other areas to explore in the game too but the Resort stood out. Riptide is missing that great set piece. Now you're on a random island that lacks any unique setting. When you take away that fun and unique set piece, you're left with an okay zombie killing game full of fetch quests on a largely uninhabited island.… Expand
  4. Asgerew
    May 27, 2013
    6
    I can say I've thoroughly enjoyed this game after playing it for 3 days without changing game, however it is really only a fixed version of the original. Sure there is changing weather but really the environment hasn't changed, it runs smoother but I don't see many changes really. My advice: if you enjoyed the first one, this is for you!
  5. jamess
    Apr 26, 2013
    7
    Not to sound like a broken record buuut, if you liked the original, you'll like this. And hey, next to The Walking Dead Survival Instinct, this looks brilliant.
  6. IGNorant2013
    Apr 26, 2013
    6
    It would have been a better score if they added new scenerys but this time its only the island and the city.

    While the first had THREE huge open areas to explore the island, city and jungle. Plus all the small areas like supermarket, police station, prison etc. so Riptide is less than half the size of Dead Island 1 and so its a fair 6/10. Its not a bad game (1/10) but its pretty    It would have been a better score if they added new scenerys but this time its only the island and the city.

    While the first had THREE huge open areas to explore the island, city and jungle. Plus all the small areas like supermarket, police station, prison etc.

    so Riptide is less than half the size of Dead Island 1 and so its a fair 6/10. Its not a bad game (1/10) but its pretty LAME to be honest (i would give it a better score if i would receive advertisement-money from them as all the other reviewers).

    Hope I could help you with your decision if you should cancel your pre-order or not. If you liked the first and love to get ripped off with the same engine but less content, you need to buy this TODAY.    … Expand
  7. RezzaDee
    Apr 28, 2013
    7
    Ok first off I have to say I now prefer this and left 4 dead over how resident evil is nowadays as a zombie game.
    The bad reviews are laughable and I hate it when people talk down good games for no reason.
    I admit that there can be improvements (hence the 8/10 I'm scoring it) but just simple things like voice acting/a more in-depth story however with that said its the same as the first    Ok first off I have to say I now prefer this and left 4 dead over how resident evil is nowadays as a zombie game.
    The bad reviews are laughable and I hate it when people talk down good games for no reason.
    I admit that there can be improvements (hence the 8/10 I'm scoring it) but just simple things like voice acting/a more in-depth story however with that said its the same as the first (gameplay wise) so people who enjoyed the first and say they hate this I can't understand, I actually think that the graphics are good!
    Yeah it's no MGS4 graphics but its no bubsy 3D either.
    I think the first part of the game looks worse graphically (mission that lasts 10 minutes) and then it's good again.
    People who call this DLC are just being stupid its a whole new island not just an add on!!!

    Please don't be swayed by the fools and just try it if you like the first, no I don't work for deep silver before any moron claims that either just don't let people make you doubt your own opinion.

    Like someone else said, like the first then get it if not then don't.    … Expand
  8. Phil133
    Jun 6, 2013
    7
    A continuation of the first dead island, anyone who loved that game will find more enjoyment here. There are some changes and new things but nothing of major note. It is still a solid zombie rpg
  9. Jackt
    Jun 27, 2013
    6
    Dead island has a unique gameplay style to it. It offers great hours of fun with up to 4 players, witch is awesome because I love co-op. The story is pretty gripping, I wouldn't say it kept me up at night but its a good plot overall. But there are some characters witch p*ss me off, like that man in the warehouse, his daughter. I've forgotten her name but she was a nuisance. But, I guessDead island has a unique gameplay style to it. It offers great hours of fun with up to 4 players, witch is awesome because I love co-op. The story is pretty gripping, I wouldn't say it kept me up at night but its a good plot overall. But there are some characters witch p*ss me off, like that man in the warehouse, his daughter. I've forgotten her name but she was a nuisance. But, I guess that what makes a good game, having the characters you like and dislike. I like how you choose your character, it gave a more open choice for the player, and what they specialise in. I like that. But, again every game has a negative. Dead island negative is the frame rate. It drops like a b*tch much to often. I try to ignore it but, it always makes me notice and I comment on it. Unfortunately that's not the only negative. The graphics could be better, but there's not more to go on there. The gameplay. You pick up a stick and whack a zombie a few times, and it's done. It feels empty. And to mention, the zombies are hard as f*ck, it's ridiculous. And I hate..HATE the fact that zombies punch on this game. Why? Zombies don't punch. And gruesome as it is zombies want to rip the skin of your body and eat it, piece by piece. So why do the zombies come at me like Mike Tyson? I have no idea. The weapon customisation is pretty good I don't really have a problem with that, if I did it would only be that the resource to find them is a b*tch, but that's what makes it good and realistic, you wouldn't find it easily in a zombie apocalypse. So overall it's a good game, I found that I was playing it for about 1 month before I got bored of it. But, I do occasionally go on it because it kills time and is fun. So I would pick up dead island, not dead island riptide, it is exactly the same as this one.… Expand
  10. herget
    Feb 12, 2015
    7
    Not terrible, not great. True middle child. If you liked the first one you will like this one. If you didnt like the first one, you won't like this one. Same combat, same graphics, same glitches. I enjoy killing zombies. 7/10
  11. houyi111
    Aug 6, 2014
    6
    This game is definitely not a DLC to the original dead island. It is a copy/paste game which is long enough to be called as a standalone game (more than 10 hours for me) if you want to finish all the quests and collect everything. The story and game setting , however, is even dumber than the original game. Although I enjoyed the gameplay, I despise deep silver to release such a "zeroThis game is definitely not a DLC to the original dead island. It is a copy/paste game which is long enough to be called as a standalone game (more than 10 hours for me) if you want to finish all the quests and collect everything. The story and game setting , however, is even dumber than the original game. Although I enjoyed the gameplay, I despise deep silver to release such a "zero effort" game as a retail game.… Expand
  12. Ahazy
    May 7, 2013
    7
    This is more of the same game. I personally love the combat and atmosphere, and they really upped the ante with this sequel, the environments are beautiful and intricate. It's a work of art, only held back by rough story and flat characters. The action is the centerpiece here, but I can only wonder what these games would be like if they had a gripping story to go along with it.

    The    This is more of the same game. I personally love the combat and atmosphere, and they really upped the ante with this sequel, the environments are beautiful and intricate. It's a work of art, only held back by rough story and flat characters. The action is the centerpiece here, but I can only wonder what these games would be like if they had a gripping story to go along with it.

    The game gets an 8 from me, but loses a star due to semi-freuent stuttering and in one case really annoying crashes. If you didn't play the first one, consider picking this one up, it's even better.    … Expand
  13. MrLuBurt
    Jun 1, 2013
    7
    Dead Island Riptide is a step up from Dead Island 1 to a certain extent...

    Firstly, the map... One of the biggest disappointments of this game, it is so dull and generic with 1 main road leading to around 3 or 4 little villages which are very similar to one another. It focuses on more of the forest type surroundings in what we saw in Dead Island 1 later on in the storyline and quite    Dead Island Riptide is a step up from Dead Island 1 to a certain extent...

    Firstly, the map... One of the biggest disappointments of this game, it is so dull and generic with 1 main road leading to around 3 or 4 little villages which are very similar to one another. It focuses on more of the forest type surroundings in what we saw in Dead Island 1 later on in the storyline and quite frankly it's not good, not good at all. Yes the lakes and rivers are a nice addition but most of the map consists of driving a boat and every now and again a Drowner (new infected) will attack you but this becomes very repetitive. All in all the map is just not very good, it looks nice and the environment is very little satisfactory but it does not make up for the poor size and overall layout of the map.

    However, the new additions are brilliant, if you have played Dead Island 1 and are tired of the same weapons and infected then this game is perfect. Dead Island Riptide introduces a new character by the name of John, new infected such as the Drowner and Boss type enemies such as QuickDeath and Ogre, who are substantially harder than your original infected or walkers. Dead Island Riptide also introduces a variety of new weapons and mods, there are so many I can't possibly name them all.

    Lastly the Co-Op. Although there are 5 playable characters the game is not 5 player co-op, I feel 5 players would be too much and that 4 is a perfect number. The Co-Op gameplay is very similar to Dead island 1's co-op. Slice, Dice and Destroy any zombies that cross your path. With friends.

    Overall, Dead Island Riptide is an average sequel and is let down by the disappointing map but the gameplay still maintains that zombie killing fun we all experienced in Dead Island 1!    … Expand
  14. WalkingDead5640
    Jul 6, 2013
    5
    I wasn't a fan of the first and this game is a copy and paste of it with nothing too new to offer which is a shame, but it's not a bad game. It's extremely addictive and found myself sitting there in the morning until the evening non stop. Shame there isn't much variation in mission rather than "fetch" quests. I thought the ending was kinda poor, but I love the level up system.
  15. Geologist
    Apr 29, 2013
    7
    If you liked the original Dead ISland game, chance is you'll like this one less. I'll be honest, it's no masterpiece of a game, but it's still fun to play, and the graphics in the game look much much better than the original. Thing is, it's nearly the same thing as the first Dead Island. That's the letdown of the game, and why critics have bashed it so much. While I don't think it deservesIf you liked the original Dead ISland game, chance is you'll like this one less. I'll be honest, it's no masterpiece of a game, but it's still fun to play, and the graphics in the game look much much better than the original. Thing is, it's nearly the same thing as the first Dead Island. That's the letdown of the game, and why critics have bashed it so much. While I don't think it deserves the bad ratings it got, Dead Island Riptide balances beautiful graphics and fun weapons, with a sadly bland storyline, ceaseless gameplay and a few hilarious glitches here and there. It's not horrible. It just could have been better.… Expand
  16. MGTE
    Jun 3, 2013
    7
    Once again, game with lots of potential fails miserably but don't get me wrong this game is actually really fun especially if you play with your friends and that's the way you should play this game, with friends. Let's talk about the game, in my opinion dead island riptide should be a DLC for the original dead island because nothing is really improved in this game, everything is the sameOnce again, game with lots of potential fails miserably but don't get me wrong this game is actually really fun especially if you play with your friends and that's the way you should play this game, with friends. Let's talk about the game, in my opinion dead island riptide should be a DLC for the original dead island because nothing is really improved in this game, everything is the same except for couple new zombie types and one main character. Dynamic weather mechanic is broken, one second weather is rainy but sometimes it immediately changes and it looks quite hilarious. If you have played the original you won't see any changes. As for the story, it's the same as in the original, nothing innovative really.
    Judging by the ending they are making another dead island. Overall, dead island riptide is a fun co-op game with generic story and decent gameplay.    … Expand
  17. Zornock
    May 5, 2013
    5
    everything dead island was, only a little better. the story is predictable and boring, but is a fun game when with friends. the biggest thing i hate about this game is the ending, which is total crap.
  18. YixsXBL
    May 11, 2013
    7
    I gave this game a 7 because it was good, fun while it lasted... I believe people voted poorly because they bought this game and i rented it knowing it would be a short and fast zombie slaying campaign fun, i did a lets play on my channel check it out http://www.youtube.com/user/YixsXBL
  19. ForeignWhisper
    Jun 8, 2013
    6
    This game........ oh.........This game is just, just. I don't know what to say. I thoroughly enjoyed this game at times, and then at other times i just HATED it. All of my friends have the same thoughts on Dead Island: Riptide. Good at times, Crap at others. For the most part i liked the game, fun combat and a large range of quests to do. Even though these quests and combat can be buggy atThis game........ oh.........This game is just, just. I don't know what to say. I thoroughly enjoyed this game at times, and then at other times i just HATED it. All of my friends have the same thoughts on Dead Island: Riptide. Good at times, Crap at others. For the most part i liked the game, fun combat and a large range of quests to do. Even though these quests and combat can be buggy at times. The story is what really ruined this game, it was jaded and i had no idea what was going on at times and i did not like the story at all. 6/10… Expand
  20. Randlez9600
    Jul 4, 2013
    6
    I loved the first dead island and I like this one too but it really hasn't done anything different. Adds one character, new weapons and missions but all around the same game.
  21. Jspotter89
    Nov 6, 2015
    7
    A review for Dead Island: Riptide should read almost exactly the same as a review for Dead Island. The reason? They are almost exactly the same game!

    Ok, so that's not ENTIRELY true. There is a new playable character, but he's just as bland and stereotypical as the other four. The combat has been refined a bit, and there's some changes here and there with the RPG elements. Finally, the    A review for Dead Island: Riptide should read almost exactly the same as a review for Dead Island. The reason? They are almost exactly the same game!

    Ok, so that's not ENTIRELY true. There is a new playable character, but he's just as bland and stereotypical as the other four. The combat has been refined a bit, and there's some changes here and there with the RPG elements. Finally, the story makes an attempt to be about more than just survival and/or escape...and it's falls flat.

    And that's why this game gets a 7/10 from me. I still enjoyed the core element, i.e. bashing zombies heads in with shovels, bats, and other melee weapons, and some of the surrounding elements were fun. But by and large, Dead Island: Riptide is an extended edition of Dead Island.    … Expand
  22. proxskullz
    Sep 9, 2013
    6
    Dull repetitive game play that is very similar to the first one. They haven't changed much or added anything however it can be fun on multiplayer at times but I still couldn't call this a good game.
  23. IornZombie
    Nov 28, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. WARNING: SPOILERS
    The game had many more glitches than the original, and not much love put into it.
    My personal recommendation is to just rent it with a friend, everyone has a different opinion, mine of this game is not high although the beginning was sort of good, but again this is just my opinion. i thought the ending could have been much more thought out and the ending was the biggest flaw of the whole game. It was almost impossible to survive without a partner. Though the game did not appeal to me as the first one did there was some good moments, i just think the main bad guys death should of been a bit more intense then a few zombies glitchily knocking him down and then very poorly eating him, the other main upset was the fact that yo go through so much and become a awesome zombie killing machine and your character just dies that upset me very much, all in all the game could have been better but i can never hate any game!!!    … Expand
  24. harryjc
    Dec 24, 2014
    7
    The sequel to Dead Island. You're back, on another island, ready to slay zombies. Much improvement over the first, but still somewhat buggy, and there's a feeling that what you're playing is unfair. Overall fun, despite its frustrations, and offers a horrific adventure.
  25. P3DR0AF
    Aug 16, 2014
    7
    Is a vicious game but has a lot of bugs, is repetitive
    The game is fun if played with friends but is a game to play one time and its over
    But waiting for Dead Island 2
  26. ThePotnoodleBoy
    Jun 21, 2014
    5
    There isn't much improvement from the predecessor and this game feels more like an expansion pack with exactly the same story. But zombie killing is zombie killing and zombie killing is fun, right? 5/10
  27. Somecthemes
    Feb 2, 2015
    7
    If you liked the original Dead Island, you'll likely love this as it is a direct continuation of that vein. The only part that was add that you'll likely hate is the water which can means slogging through sucking swamps that take forever to reach out of the way locations. Truthfully I imagine every review of this game would jump by 1-2 points if every swamp had been paved over. As it isIf you liked the original Dead Island, you'll likely love this as it is a direct continuation of that vein. The only part that was add that you'll likely hate is the water which can means slogging through sucking swamps that take forever to reach out of the way locations. Truthfully I imagine every review of this game would jump by 1-2 points if every swamp had been paved over. As it is the traversal of the map can be arduous and that would be the only downside from Dead Island.

    Now if you haven't played Dead Island and become familiar with it's many limitations, here are the basics. The series has some rpg elements that let you level a character to take them from average still to god of death to dead things. Sad part is that the actual trip is a long marathon of grinding enemies and revisiting areas to complete the many, many side quests. Like Borderlands quests, you'll have to find something far removed from your quest giver. Odds are that you'll wonder why someone would pay you to go find 6 bits of wire or 7 blades snapped from their handles, but ultimately it's a minor consideration given that you're playing a zombie apocalypse game.

    The characters and npc dialogue is also lacking, with cursing so often that you start to think it's part of some joke you're just missing. That or they really couldn't think of anything better to say, which would be rather pathetic. So you'll quickly get in the habit of skipping any such dialogue and probably cut scenes as well.

    So, as to who should buy this game, any FPS'er with a bit of boredom at just mowing down waves of enemies, like Doom, Half-Life, Halo, and the like. RPG players looking to get into some action, like me after playing Fallout:NV and having my 30th crash.

    Others looking for in-depth storytelling or exploration should look elsewhere, like Skyrim.    … Expand
  28. Barnes1987
    Mar 28, 2017
    6
    Poor game that is a step down from the original. Can be somewhat fun if played with friends but still very buggy and repetitive. Worth a look if you can get it for cheap or free.
  29. CloudStrife05
    Aug 19, 2021
    7
    There was really no need for this to be released but it was a decent playthrough.
  30. CausticMisery
    Jan 28, 2023
    6
    More of the same, but smaller, buggier, a few lackluster additions. Liked that your characters can talk now.

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
39
#39 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 43
  3. Negative: 8 out of 43
  1. Games Master UK
    May 30, 2013
    59
    Serviceable co-op romp which goes out of its way to irritate. [July 2013, p.72]
  2. Console Monster
    May 29, 2013
    65
    The combat and weapons are fun and the levelling systems keep things interesting and give an air of replayability to the title if your Xbox is starting to get a little dusty. If we see a third instalment though, the game needs to step up a little to keep up with the competition.
    Read full review
  3. GameOver.gr
    May 24, 2013
    50
    Dead Island: Riptide is an unnecessary addition to the franchise and it has nothing to offer when compared to the first title of the series. Two years was a long time for a company like Techland to improve upon the experience of Dead Island, but nothing was done about it.
    Read full review
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