Dead Island 2 by Dambuster Studios differs slightly from Techland’s initial game from 2011.
The Dead Island series has been running for almost a decade, beginning in 2011. The first game was followed by the expansion, Riptide, which became its own independent bundle in 2013. Both were from the PS3 and Xbox 360 eras of gaming, indicating that much has changed in the industry.
With the PS4 and Xbox One in their prime, Dead Island 2 missed an entire generation of platforms. Despite the fact that this new entry is now available on those consoles, the PS5 and Xbox Series X are the stars of the show. So, what has changed especially between the first game and Dead Island 2 in this decade-plus gap?
New Characters And Locations
The biggest noticeable difference in Dead Island 2 is that game is set in a new locale. The name of the series made sense in the original game because players were stuck on an island with a swarm of zombies. L.A. is not an island, but to some it is a paradise, which is an odd workaround to make the sequel fit.
Players will travel throughout the wider Los Angeles area and can choose amongst six characters: Jacob, Bruno, Ryan, Carla, Dani, and Amy. Prepare to put in endless hours into yet another large semi-open-world adventure.
Dynamic Body Changes
Dead Island 2’s graphics may not be as innovative as something like God of War Ragnarok, but it does excel in one area: gore. Zombies will rip people apart in far too many ways to count. They sustain realistic harm in some of the most heinous ways imaginable.
Limbs will fly off, skin will melt, eyeballs will protrude, and so on. It’s so ludicrous that gamers will almost certainly laugh at it. In comparison to Dead Island 2, the original game appears to be a Kirby adventure.
Skill Cards
At their essence, both Dead Island games are action RPGs. Players can collect experience points and level up by killing zombies or completing side tasks. Players would get skill points in the first game, which they could then spend on a talent tree.
This skill tree has been replaced by skill cards in Dead Island 2. These cards will be unlocked automatically as you travel through the story. The wonderful thing about cards is that they can be equipped and switched around at will, allowing for more experimentation.
Multiplayer Changes
Not every change in the sequel is for the better. The first game allowed up to four individuals to play a co-op session through the campaign at the same time. This made logical given that there were only four personalities to chose from.
Players in Dead Island 2 can only play in groups of three. It’s not a significant decrease in numbers, but it’s disappointing for those who enjoy four-player co-op games. On the plus side, connecting to a game is now easier than it was in 2011, thanks to improved infrastructure.
Exploring In The Day And At Night
In the original game, there was no day/night cycle. The sky would change depending on where the players were in Backrooms game. That is also true for Dead Island 2, with one minor exception. Players can fast-travel between regions once an area is unlocked.
When setting up their warp location, players can choose whether to play that area during the day or at night. However, whether players spend their time during the day or at night is unimportant. Playing at night can assist players in immersing themselves in a more horror-like situation, which some may find beneficial.
New Weapons
If there’s one thing Dead Island 2 isn’t short on, it’s guns. For various reasons, many of the older weaponry have been retooled. The Claws, for example, have been replaced by the Bear Claws. The first game’s claws were one-handed weapons, however the sequel’s claws equip to each hand in this new sequel. There are also new weaponry, such as shurikens, if gamers want to pretend to be a ninja slaughtering zombies in Los Angeles.
The melee weapon and gun modding systems have also been updated, allowing players to equip more on each weapon to create extremely lethal combos. There’s a lot more to explore with in the sequel, from electrifying blades to generating a thunderous blow with a mace.
Stamina And Fury
In the sequel, the stamina and fury gauges work differently. Every action in the original game, from sprinting to wielding an axe, depleted stamina. In Dead Island 2, stamina reappears, although it only lowers as players charge up their attacks. This reduces the need to stand around and wait, which is something that fans of action RPGs dislike.
The Fury metre, on the other hand, may be achieved fairly immediately in the first game via the aforementioned skill tree. It won’t be unlocked until around a third of the way through Dead Island 2.
The Doors
This may appear to some to be a tiny modification, but it is significant for fans of the first game. Doors on Dead Island could be opened and closed. In addition, certain doors had to be bashed open, resulting in a short quick-time event.
In Dead Island 2, opening doors is the only thing that happens, and there are no quick-time events. This adjustment isn’t ideal because it removes options for gamers to prevent zombies from chasing them.
Dead Island 2 was released on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on April 21, 2023.