Dead Island 2’s hollow, lighthearted tone is dead on arrival and done better elsewhere. The developers have opted for broad zaniness over melding story, gameplay, and environments into a believable world. The dialogue is packed with quippy nonsense that neither matches the chintzy style or manages to be clever enough to elevate it, amounting to little more than a conceptual cop-out that’s unfunny and unbalanced in both gameplay and tone. Sure, there’s gore and viscera, but it’s all done in a cartoonish manner. Even though this is a zombie game, there is little to no tension or horror on display. While the basic premise of fighting through a zombie-infested Los Angeles could be intriguing, the execution falls short. This isn’t as noticeable when playing in co-op mode with friends to chat with, but it gets quickly stale in single-player mode. It’s yet another recent game where unique mechanics or set pieces have been replaced by a constant hunt and peck for crafting items in bland, generic environments. There’s tons of reused assets and visuals, and you’ll quickly notice that the house you’re currently looting has the exact same structural layout as the one you raided an hour ago.
Unfortunately, exploration is underwhelming given its importance to the game loop. Although California’s gun laws are fairly stringent, it seemed odd that you had to travel quite a way before obtaining a firearm in a zombie-infested hell scape. Dead Island 2 does a solid job of making melee combat satisfying, which is essential as it’s all you get for roughly the first five hours. You must feel the weight of the object, the momentum of the swing, and the impact of the blow. Creating a convincing sledgehammer in a video game requires a great deal of effort. With a game this shallow, the way the weapons feel and impact the combat is a major factor that can make or break the experience. IF gore is your thing, you couldn’t ask for more.
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