Dead Island 2 new video (opens in new tab) Showcasing approximately 15 minutes of gameplay, highlighting the absolute best gorefest (opens in new tab) It’s that ranged and melee combat. It’s full of lewd dialogue and cheap laughter, but it’s still effective. Honestly, it reminds me of the absolutely ridiculous tone of modern American professional wrestling.
In the trailer, the “Slayer” character Dani makes his way through an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood, hitting, stabbing, shooting, and splattering zombies while firing off a barrage of cheesy, annoying quips. (sounds like something we recently saw (opens in new tab).) Again, the atmospheric violence, outrageous fights, and shoddy approach to dialogue remind me more than anything of the absolute stupidity of wrestling.
A fitting promise of variety, as the gameplay reveals that there are “dozens” of different types of zombies that are best dealt with using different weapons and skills. It also shows off the abilities of the protagonist “Slayers”, who seem immune to the zombie plague, but have their DNA mutated by it anyway. You can develop claws and strength that will allow you to throw zombies to the other side.
It’s not just splashing around when the trailer dives into systems like the obligatory creation of weird weapons: katanas with flaming propane nozzles, electrified fist claws, and more. There’s also a strange limited-use one called Meatbait, a “blood and guts bag to lure zombies away” kind of power.
Unsurprisingly, the crafting system spends far more time than this trailer’s five seconds spent picking up the gaudily highlighted wires, light bulbs, and random chemicals in the broom closet of garbage. You will spend it on collecting.
Display skill cards (opens in new tab) It replaces the old Dead Island talent tree. With these, you can customize your character with powers and stunts like a stylish mid-air full-body dropkick (wrestling!) or a ground stomp that trips nearby enemies (wrestling too!).
There’s also a series near the end of the trailer showing off Apex Zombies, “hypermutated” zombies with unique behaviors. Examples include the spike-clad punk his monster with spiked arms, the big burnt-out man wearing chains, the obligatory fat vomiting monster, and perhaps the biggest bridezilla in all of professional wrestling. monsters were included. (No kidding, so this is the most notable part. They used elaborate zombie gooping explosion physics on the cake, 100% sure of him.)
We’ll see if Dead Island 2, which releases on April 21, 2023, can keep up with its campy tone. (opens in new tab)And yes, for the record, it’s the last release date change for a game that spent nine years in development hell (opens in new tab).
