Dead Island 2 Review – Painting the Town Dead

Useless Island 2 on PS5

I in all probability ought to begin this off by saying I’m a giant fan of the unique Useless Island video games. I additionally way back gave up hope that this sequel would ever truly materialize, contemplating that the event modified palms at the very least twice over the past 12 years. In case you’ve been aching for some zombie gore and exploration as a lot as I’ve throughout that point, then Useless Island 2 might need precisely what you want.

Useless Island 2 begins with a handful of Los Angeles (humorously known as Hell-A) residents boarding a aircraft by way of completely different means. Some purchased their method on the flight, whereas others sneak on or use trickery. That is the final aircraft out of an overrun LA, however one thing dangerous inevitably occurs, and the aircraft crashes. Your chosen survivor/slayer (from a alternative of six) wakes up nonetheless within the wreckage however very damage.

Their path by way of what stays of the aircraft finally leads them to the remainder of the survivors, together with celebrity Emma Jaunt. Nevertheless, her standing as a star means she rapidly abandons the world, leaving you to guard the one different folks alive. Whilst you struggle valiantly, you continue to find yourself bitten. True to kind with the unique video games, you uncover you might be truly immune and resolve to make use of that immunity to assist.

In my first playthrough, I went with Ryan, a stripper who pretends to be a firefighter to slide onto the exfil aircraft. I don’t know if it’s been the bad string of protagonists with awful dialogue, however I loved all the pieces Ryan needed to say. His snippy wit and offended retorts had me in a continuing good temper when he’d converse up throughout a quest or in response to an NPC. It’s undoubtedly potential the opposite slayers aren’t as enjoyable, however I at the very least occurred to make a good selection.

In all ways in which matter, Useless Island 2 is someway simply… extra Useless Island. Regardless of the lengthy stint in growth hell and the developer switches, the tip outcome remains to be a sport that delivers on the expertise of the unique. You continue to have an finish aim as you wander by way of a number of zones doing numerous quests for a bunch of individuals as you hack aside zombies with modified weaponry.

Whereas there are only a few duties that may fall into fetch quest territory, the sport does reuse a number of aims over the course of the sport. Greater than a few instances, you may be compelled to scour an space for one single factor that’s annoyingly well-hidden. Whereas the bounds had been all the time clearly set of the place to look, the figuring out icon to your goal is just too small and simply neglected. On high of that, sometimes, you’ll have to kill all the zombies in an space as your complete goal, however for those who die, it’s a must to restart the entire part.

Fight is unimaginable and nowhere close to as stilted as the unique, however nonetheless does boil right down to mashing R2 to win. Between the visible harm results and the sport’s nice motion, I by no means felt this get to me, however others won’t have the identical expertise. The stamina system has been totally reworked, so solely heavy assaults are affected by it. This implies infinite fast assaults and kicks, each issues that drained stamina in a really annoying method within the first sport. Weapon sturdiness does return, although, and I barely want it hadn’t.

To start with, whenever you’re caught with solely low-durability choices, they break very simply. This implies you might be typically compelled to make use of one thing you possibly didn’t need to or aren’t conversant in. On the intense facet of that, weapons really feel properly acceptable to their kind and are divided into a number of classes so you may get a deal with on the way it will deal with if it’s one thing new you haven’t used but.

There are the Headhunter weapons that do elevated vital harm (crowbars, sure knives). I used a good crowbar for a piece of the sport as a result of seeing the contact yellow harm numbers of a crit may be very satisfying. Usually charging up a heavy assault will gradual you down, however Headhunter weapons don’t have that problem, letting you continually regain one of the best angle.

After that, you’ve bought the Bulldozer weapons. These are supposed to knock zombies down and away and are often two-handed weapons like a sledgehammer or baseball bat. Scoring simply the best hit to fling a zombie to the bottom is their promoting level, however heavy assaults usually focus extra on outright harm.

Maiming weapons are for going proper for the limbs however are nearly totally ineffective in head-based assaults. Absolutely anything with a pointy blade counts as a maiming weapon, so it’s the most typical kind you’ll discover. In case you are wanting fast assaults that may simply take out the legs of each zombie in a crowd, these are what to give attention to.

The final group is the Frenzy weapons that target their quick assault energy to hit more durable. Their complete profit is that speedy assaults will set off vital hits wherever on a zombie, which is able to, in flip, buff their assault velocity. If you wish to give attention to DPS, Frenzy weapons are a good selection, however not one thing I discovered myself sticking to as I most well-liked the direct function of the maiming weapons. It helps that considered one of Ryan’s particular distinctive expertise was well being regeneration upon knocking a zombie to the bottom, and nothing does that higher than eradicating a leg.

The unique Useless Island gave each character a particular Fury assault that was distinctive to them, however Useless Island 2 removes a few of that uniqueness. As a substitute, the Fury assault briefly turns you right into a monster, tearing and slashing at enemies to regain well being and do large harm. A number of the sport turns into tips on how to hold that fury gauge talent topped as much as unleash everytime you’re in a pinch. Although, it takes a good chunk of the story for this to unlock, which makes it definitely potential gamers may really feel the repetitive nature of the sport set in just a little too laborious earlier than issues begin to change up.

Useless Island 2 additionally options weapons way more closely than both earlier sport. The quantity of ammo you may maintain for every kind by no means will increase in any method, making preservation the last word aim. For this, I caught to a Sporting Rifle, like the primary weapon you get within the sport. This semi-auto rifle that hit laborious was the best to protect ammo whereas getting the utmost profit for every weapon shot, and so simply made essentially the most logical sense in my conservative method to creating each bullet rely. Truthfully, weapons dealt with so effectively that I sometimes forgot I wasn’t in an FPS like Again 4 Blood or Left 4 Useless.

One of many worst elements of the unique Useless Island was that you may be effortlessly knocked to the bottom if a zombie interrupted an assault. Luckily, that function didn’t return. It has as a substitute been traded for a fast time occasion everytime you get grabbed, which isn’t all that robust to take care of and usually isn’t all that frequent.

All weapons will be outfitted with elemental mods or special perks that may improve sure traits like harm and sturdiness. There are much more heavy-duty ones that may restore well being by way of attacking or assist you to deal extra harm, particularly to limbs. The good factor about weapons is that they by no means change into ineffective. You’ll be able to pay a (reasonably costly) sum and match the weapon as much as no matter degree you might be on the time.

Nevertheless, cash is a slight problem. The quantity you get from zombies actually by no means adjustments. Even after the story closed out and I may nonetheless roam Hell-A, they’d nonetheless solely reward me with round $30-40. This felt notably unfair when the restore prices for considered one of my greatest weapons was $3700 and the extent match was $20,000.

Fortunately, there are many extra weapons being dropped by enemies or hidden throughout the world to promote. You get 16 stock slots, and when these refill, there’s a storage locker that can gather all of the weapons you couldn’t choose up mechanically whenever you depart a zone, just like Borderlands 3’s Misplaced Loot machine. This additionally applies to thrown weapons you both don’t gather or can’t find. In fact, it additionally features a part so that you can retailer gear manually you don’t need to maintain however nonetheless need to hold.

Among the best new options is a sizeable group of throwable weapons (completely different from regular weapons you may throw) known as Curveballs. These are issues like shuriken or grenades that don’t have a restrict. You have got an infinite inventory, however they work by way of a cooldown. It all the time feels nice to get the Curveball again at simply the best second to demolish a gaggle of encroaching undead.

Character development this time round has additionally been modified. Every part now works totally by equipping particular talent playing cards reasonably than using a talent tree and factors. This can be a good system as a result of playing cards will be simply swapped, and it allows you to create a particular construct that you just’re proud of utilizing. Would you want extra bonuses for maiming zombies? What about augmenting sure non-weapon assaults like kicks? All of that is simply potential, and there are many playing cards to earn on level-ups or loot from zombies.

To maintain this from feeling stale, as gamers will doubtless have principally the identical playing cards up till a sure level, Useless Island 2 introduces the Autophage mechanics. Sure talent playing cards add to Autophage (usually for a stable profit) to fill a three-segment gauge. This makes you stronger and augments your fury talent, however diving too far into this makes you much less human and lowers different stats. You aren’t locked into this at any level, as playing cards can all the time be swapped, but it surely was a pleasant addition if you wish to play up giving into the an infection.

The zombies themselves are fairly unimaginable as effectively. Whereas there are definitely repeated fashions everywhere, that by no means mattered. It all the time felt good to smash a baseball bat right into a zombie’s face. The gore mechanics on this sport are loopy, too. You’ll be able to truly watch a zombie face break resulting from stated baseball bat, and it’s grisly.

The fundamental zombies are the walker and the shambler, with the latter being the weakest of all of them and simply killed with solely a few good hits. Issues shift dramatically when the particular contaminated come into play, and three of the 5 sorts are launched earlier than you get your first gun. This implies it’s a must to study their patterns with melee earlier than getting the possibility to struggle them the simple method. The Crusher is a hulking monster, and it takes fairly a bit to make them take a knee in between all their ground-pound assaults. Upon studying the Fury assault, 90% of the time, I used it to kill a Crusher that I didn’t really feel like preventing in a prolonged battle.

The sport additionally introduces Screamers and Slobbers that in all probability do precisely what you assume. The screamers entice zombies however will be silenced briefly with a curveball or (later) a gun. Slobbers are your introduction to caustic harm after having dealt purely with fireplace and electrical energy as much as that time. The primary boss struggle with one was in all probability one of many hardest fights of the entire sport, however very rewarding.

Zombie spawns are additionally the one factor that irked me within the sport. Exterior of protected areas, you aren’t actually ever protected. However that is confirmed by way of means which can be form of annoying. You’ll be able to open doorways within the sport however can’t shut them. If you’d like a particular reprieve from the preventing (which is comprehensible), your solely choices are the protected areas.

Regardless of cleansing out a home, there’s all the time the possibility that zombies can have spawned inside someplace, and they’re going to instantly simply discover you. I’d discover zombies in locations they fully shouldn’t be, and that barely bothered me. On the intense facet, there’s completely by no means a scarcity of zombies to struggle or kill in inventive methods.

Useless Island 2 ought to function a shining instance for each video games that make it out of growth hell and sequels with an enormous time hole. In contrast to in some circumstances, I didn’t simply get a zombie sport that had the Useless Island title slapped on it, I truly bought extra of the sport I needed. I’m positive a few of my love for the unique is right down to nostalgia, and I may in all probability by no means return to it. However every time I’ve thought again on the primary sport in my head over the past decade, Useless Island 2 is completely the sport I’ve pictured. If solely extra sequels may very well be this expertly made.

Reviewer: Cameron Waldrop | Award: Editor’s Selection | Copy offered by Writer.

Professionals

• Terrific fight mechanics and weapon sorts.
• Nice weapon crafting.
• Superior gore visuals.
• Ability playing cards enable gamers to make their very own builds.
• Entertaining essential character dialogue.
• Reworked stamina system from authentic sport.
• Curveball weapons are a sport changer.
• No scarcity of zombies to slay.

Cons

• Zombie spawns are just a little wonky.
• Cash dropped by zombies doesn’t scale up with development.
• Overused quest aims will be annoying.
• Some gamers may really feel slowed down by a few of the video games repetitive nature.

Launch Date
April 21, 2023

Developer
Dambuster Studios

Writer
Deep Silver

Consoles
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X|S, PC