What is there to know about Dead Island 2?

Photo: Dead Island 2 / Deep Silver

Dead Island 2 will finally be released next week for all platforms. This fact is already intriguing and exciting enough for fans of the first game, which was released almost 12 years ago, and for the sequel, which was first announced in 2014.  After so much waiting, the expectation for the launch of this half-dead project (got it?) from Dambuster Studios are very high, but the fear of flopping is, unfortunately, too. Come and understand why in this article about Dead Island 2, the continuation of one of the biggest and best zombie titles, from two generations ago.

Way back when, in 2011, Dead Island was launched with a wonderful concept. At the time when films like Zombieland, Resident Evil and franchises like Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead were at the peak of their success, Dead Island came with beautiful graphics (that even hold up to today), an intuitive gameplay, lots of blood and a cool story. As expected, the franchise's debut was a success, and in September 2013, just over two and a half years after the international launch, the game had already accumulated 5 million copies sold across all platforms, a very significant number to date, and absurd for a new EP. As a point of reference, a more contemporary game that also hit 5 million copies sold in 2022 was Hazellight's It Takes Two, which won Game of the Year in 2021.

It's also cool to remember that one of the most shocking and well-made trailers in the history of video games also belongs to the first game. The official DI1 ad, a trailer of approximately 3 minutes, shows the beginning of the zombie infection on the island and particularly the experience of a family attacked by an angry horde. Without more spoilers, and for those who haven't seen it, here’s a link to the video.

Harsh development

Then, with the carriage running, at E3 (may it rest in peace) 2014, the first trailer of the sequence was announced, which at the time was highly acclaimed. At that time, the game would be developed by Yager Development, developer of Spec Ops: The Line, and would be released in Q2 2015. At Gamescom 2014, videos of an alpha gameplay showing the pier of Santa Monica, Hollywood and San Francisco were even shown. However, in July 2015, Deep Silver, owner of EP, announced that Yager would leave the project for “divergences in the vision during the development.”

In May 2016, Sumo Digital took over the project, but hardly released any more information about development. After three years in the dark, Sumo Digital left the project, and it was finally announced that Dambuster Studios, developers of Homefront: The Revolution, an internal division of Deep Silver itself, would be the final developer of the game.

The game's development has clearly been a disaster for years, which is exactly why fans are somewhat afraid of this release, eight years later than expected.

The story

10 years after the first game, DI2’s story will take place in Los Angeles. After the virus spread and managed to reach the continent, sometime between the first and the second game, the American state of California is under mandatory total quarantine. And that is where we find our protagonists. The game's first scene accompanies Jacob after a terrible plane crash, where he survives and is soon bitten. Ah, but this is where we realize that he is really one of the protagonists since, in addition to surviving the bite, he gains certain skills.

Here the information is a little cloudy. According to some sources, the game will be based on a struggle against time, where the player will follow the story trying to save himself or fulfill some goal before its inevitable end. Others, however, comment that the protagonists would be immune to the disease. We will only really know at the launch of the game.

The game

Mechanically, the game will work in a very similar way to the first. Collect weapons, improve them with various materials found around the world, and kill everything that moves. According to the game's Narrative Director, Lydia Cockerham, the game would be a love letter to B films from the 80s. So you can expect many Easter Eggs of pop culture to be found around the city.

It is important to point out that, in contrast to DI1, the map will not be fully open, opting for a more linear progression line following the story. According to the game's Art Director, Adam Olson, the goal would be to focus on the quality of the game's places and encounters and not necessarily on quantity. However, PCGamer Magazine, which had early access to the game, said that the city would look like “basically several zone corridors, separated by loading screens, full of streets and alleys that make the map look bigger than it really is”. Finally, the game will not have a daylight cycle and, as previously mentioned, the events will be scripted, directly linked to the story.

An important point to take into account is the blood on the screen. Like any good zombie game, the more brains and guts the better. And it seems that Dambuster had this very clear during development, as they implemented a procedural gore system created from scratch especially for the game, of which they seem to be very proud. F.L.E.S.H.: Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humans.

In an interview with the game's creative directors last year, the developer commented that this system is capable of simulating anatomically correct layers of skin, fat, muscle, the physics of bones breaking, internal organs being torn apart, and body fluids, all at the same time, simulated independently, generating “natural” movement.

On a technical level, there will be six possible playable characters in DI2: Carla, Jacob, Amy, Danny, Ryan and Bruno, each with their own stories, skills and “gameplay styles”. Also, each of these will have a series of skill cards that will introduce a RPG element to the game, leading to the creation of card decks for specific situations according to the player's need.

Lastly, the campaign will have a base duration between 15 and 20 hours, extending that time if the player looks for 100%. Co-op multiplayer will also be available for up to three players, descending from the eight possible in the first game and, for now, cross-platform multiplayer will not be in the game.

Hopefully the new iteration of the franchise is as special as the last.