We’re just under two months away from Dead Island 2, the hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2011 original from Techland. In the zombie-infested open-world, players take control of four playable survivors who must navigate the fictional island of Banoi while fending off hordes of the undead. In the recent gameplay trailer for Dead Island 2, gamers get their first look at the updated combat mechanics. In a mere 15 minutes, players meet Dani, a playable slayer who uses a variety of weapons to hack and slash her way through different encounters, be it with the Standard zombies (Walkers, Shamblers, Runners), Variant zombies (grenadier walkers), or Apex zombies (hyper mutated zombies).
In the aftermath of the gameplay trailer’s unveiling, fans were quick to draw conclusions and form an analogy between Dead Island 2 and a similar title — 2015’s Dying Light. What many naysayers didn’t know, however, was that both survival horrors were conceived by the same developers: Techland. Dead Island was a resounding success back in 2011, but then Techland attempted to improve on their tried-and-true formula, and they did, as Dying Light sold over 18 million copies and marked a turning point for the studio. In the years following, Techland revived the Dead Island franchise with the announcement of the upcoming sequel, but not everyone is convinced that Dead Island 2 won’t just be another Dying Light.
There are a lot of accusations that Dead Island 2 borrows far too many techniques from Dying Light, which Techland seems to be using as a proverbial crutch. As much as Dying Light — and even its sequel Dying Light 2 — was a resounding success for Techland, there doesn’t seem to be much motivation to go above and beyond, but rather stick to one’s strengths. While that isn’t always a bad thing, in this case, it just translates into laziness.
Even though the comparisons are mostly unfavorable, there’s seems to be the general consensus that some Dead Island fans are unaware that Dying Light came from the same studio and isn’t merely a copycat — and vice versa. Although there’s no harm in revamping the Dying Light gameplay to optimize effectiveness for Dead Island 2, no one wants a repeat of the same game.
While the general reactions read as decidedly mixed, there are those who are entirely on the fence until the early reviews convince them otherwise. Only then will we get a better idea of what Dead Island 2 has to offer — and whether or not it stands on its own two feet.
Dead Island 2 comes to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and Microsoft Windows on 21 April 2023.