The original Dead Island was released in 2011 during the tail-end of the Xbox 360 generation, where its mix of first-person melee combat, sunny tropical setting, and RPG mechanics presented a different spin on the “take out zombies” genre. Even though the original game’s developer, Techland, would go on to create the celebrated Dying Light series, a sequel to Dead Island was announced as far back as 2012.

Take a glance at a nearby calendar, and you’ll notice that 2023 means that over a decade has passed since we first heard about Dead Island 2. Of course, the version we got to play for several hours recently is very different from what was initially showcased back in the day - with UK-based Dambuster Studios effectively starting from scratch when it took over development on the long-awaited sequel in 2018.

Following on from our brief hands-on time with the game last year and this new meaty look at the game’s opening hours, it’s safe to say that Dead Island 2 delivers intense, gory, and over-the-top first-person melee combat.



Even if you spend time exploring each Los Angeles-based location as its introduced, you might come across a few shotgun shells here and there but no actual gun for them to be used. Instead, you’ll spend all your time (at least initially) whacking and slicing zombies up close and using a few throwables to create an environmental (and elemental) advantage. The melee focus adds a level of undead intimacy that’s hard to quantify, in addition to highlighting just how detailed the undead in Dambuster’s vision of HELL-A are; from a technical, animation, and artistic standpoint.

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It’s safe to say that Dead Island 2 delivers intense, gory, and over-the-top first-person melee combat.

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Dead Island 2’s zombies are not only varied in their outfits and physical size but with little clues as to what they might have been doing before the world went post-apocalyptic. Exploring an LA hotel with signs of a wedding is fun in battling staff and formally-attired guests. Of course, you’ll want to make short work of their shambling and running (Dead Island 2 features both kinds), and how each hit registers is next level. In a nod to the B-Movie vibe of the game’s HELL-A setting, Dambusters dubs the underlying system FLESH, and it’s not hard to see why.


Armed with a high-damage golf club rewarded after completing an early side-quest, this resulted in a finishing move that knocked a zombie onto its knees. A well-placed whack on the top of its head made its eyeballs fall and dangle from its eye sockets. Finding a simple garden rake and upgrading it at a crafting table for improved damage led to several swipes that ultimately removed its face. It went flying, leaving behind muscle and bone.

And it’s not just a string of scripted and violent death animations - the system is procedural to the point where cuts and chunks represent the damage and overall “health” of a zombie. From skin to flesh, fat, and bone, it’s all here and reacts to where you hit or cut. And once you get access to fire, you can melt zombies like in that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It’s gruesome, to be sure, but more comical than gritty, a tone that carries through to the vocal in-game protagonists that double as action-RPG classes with unique stats and abilities centred around things like agility, stamina, and strength. For streetsmart stuntwoman Carla you can equip an ability that knocks back zombies with a jump-kick, represented by an unlockable card that you can swap out for another move. Passive abilities relating to healing are available; others might offer brief boosts to overall damage.


As you progress, more cards and slots become available, alongside new elemental modifications you can apply to weapons. You can customise and upgrade weapons using the simple but effective crafting system, adding immediate depth and options for different builds and playstyles.

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From skin to flesh, fat, and bone, it’s all here and reacts to where you hit or cut. And once you get access to fire, you can melt zombies like in that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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As an action-RPG with weapon stats and leveling, and co-op, you might expect Dead Island 2 to feature a large open-world LA to explore with things like dynamic weather and an ever-changing time of day. This isn’t the case; parts of the city, like Bell Air and Hollywood, are presented as level-style regions with branching paths and smaller, more contained exploration. A more “linear” approach isn’t bad; it puts the focus on pushing through the story and on the combat itself, with a base-of-operations and a few off-the-beaten-path side quests on offer to create some freedom.


There’s backtracking too, where a change between night and day can ramp up the level of unease - especially when you can hear all the threats. The bonus of a more guided journey through LA is that you get to see some truly impressive environmental detail, from the hotel mentioned above to swanky Beverly Hills homes and mansions. Not only are all of the parts and components you loot handy in keeping your arsenal fresh, upgraded, and ready (weapons do degrade over time in Dead Island 2), but having impressively detailed locales adds some welcome context and fun to picking up your seventeenth piece of ‘x’ component.

Like the original, you’ll be looting a lot of suitcases, wardrobes, and drawers.

Above all, Dead Island 2 is fun to play. Even though it’s every bit the action-RPG that its predecessor was, the improved and impressively gory combat gives it a different feel - not to mention the tonal difference to something like Dying Light 2.


Dead Island 2 is currently in a far more polished state than the original game ever was. Running on a high-end GeForce RTX-powered PC, the frame rate in this preview build was rock-solid, with no stuttering or otherwise glaring issues. And yeah, it all looks great, too - with a level of detail that feels more than a step or two ahead of the original. Or, any first-person melee-based combat game, for that matter. This is worth mentioning based on the hit-or-miss state of high-profile releases in recent years, especially on PC.

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Above all, Dead Island 2 is fun to play. Even though it’s every bit the action-RPG that its predecessor was, the improved and impressively gory combat gives it a different feel - not to mention the tonal difference to something like Dying Light 2.

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If there’s one criticism or concern, Dead Island 2 could be a little too simple in its action. It’s varied, deep, and challenging when taking on larger “boss zombies, swarms, and hulking brutes. Dying cues a respawn with little progress lost, with weapons plentiful. Not to mention the binary parry and dodge system.

Coupled with its “not an open-world game” design, Dead Island 2 might not have been the game we expected, but that’s not a bad thing. From playing several hours of its opening, it has all the pieces (attached or otherwise) to deliver an engaging single-player or co-op experience. So even though the final game might outstay its welcome, we didn’t get bored even after four or five hours of placement. The tone, over-the-top violence, and impressive FLESH-based combat are the standouts, and when it comes to slaying zombies - that’s pretty much what you want.

Dead Island 2 is out April 21, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S