At PAX East 2023 there are so many different video games to check out, but there was one that stood out for me. That was Dead Island 2 developed by Dambuster Studios and Published by Deep Silver. Before I want to dive into my impression of the Dead Island 2 demo, let’s take a trip down memory lane and talk about the history of Dead Island because there has been a large time gap between the First Dead Island and the second one that is coming soon.
I remember when the first Dead Island was released back in 2011 and I picked it up for the Xbox 360, I remember I put in so many hours into the game because I love video games that have zombies in them, the survival aspect of the game keeps you on your toe and develop a plan to survive. If I recall, the majority of the game I played Solo, and I will tell you it is such a beautiful open-world survival game when it first was released. I was amazed by the graphics and the exploration to find resources and weapons, and this was part of the reason why I fell in love with survival games.
Afterward, they did release a bunch of DLCs for the game and of course, I picked it up because the story for the game was fantastic and I wanted to know more. Then in 2016 Dead Island was remastered and released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One and this was the version where I played the game again but this time I was playing with friends because Dead Island isn’t just a solo game, but it is also a co-op and it is even more fun playing with Friends.
Anyway, that is my little history of Dead Island and how much it impacted my taste in gaming and the survival concept. During Pax East 2023, I got to try a demo for Dead Island 2 which I was super excited to play because I’ve been waiting for a sequel for a long time, before we dive into my impression of the demo, here is the trailer for Dead Island 2 which is scheduled to be released on April 21st, 2023 for PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X.
Demo Impression
PAX East 2023 was full of amazing games, during my time there one game I couldn’t wait to get some hands-on time with was Dead Island 2. Many of us know that Dead Island 2 has been in development for quite some time to the point no one knew when or if it was going to be happy. Fast forward over those here and it’s finally at the point of being in our hands to play. As stated, during PAX East 2023 I went straight to the booth to game some time with the game to see how much has changed from its predecessor and now.
The Demo starts you out on a night at the beach, and there are a bunch of zombies around me. So I figure this would be the best time to test out some weapons and moves. Started with a few melee weapons like a Katana, a Claw hammer, and a metal bat, but I think my all-time favorite is the Wolverine claws I got. This weapon didn’t just look like something straight from Wolverine but also it was modified to have an electric shock to it which I thought was so cool because who doesn’t want to try and shock zombies while clawing them at the same time?
Next up, I decided it is a good time to test out some ranged weapons, it was my pistol or my assault rifle. Both weapons are great and I do like the rifle, in the end, I just love the pistol. I feel like it is the iconic weapon a survivor has to have to survive during a zombie apocalypse. After doing the weapon test and taking out some zombies while practicing, it was time to continue my objective, I was heading to a carnival that was near the beach and there were zombies left and right. I was exploring the area cautiously while heading to the objective and I wasn’t sure what to expect or pop out because I tell you one thing I do get jump-scared a lot.
As I continue through the carnival I end up at the arcade it was dark and scary but I had to find a way to turn the power back on to get to the next area so I was checking around the area and then went to the control room on the second floor to press the button to get the power back up. Next thing you notice a bunch of zombies appear in the Arcade room and I had to get rid of them all, one of them was a special zombie when it was screaming it was almost like my eardrums were about to burst and I had to focus on taking that zombie out. Some of the zombies I started kicking so I could make them fall so can use the takedown move of stepping on their head and it was awesome.
After clearing the room, I then proceeded toward the Ferris wheel and then activate another button but also have to survive while it was doing its thing. The next thing I notice there was a bunch of zombies running toward me along with huge zombies that were super strong. I was taking out my gun and I just love it, because I was able to take a few of the zombies out before I ran out of bullets, I also use Molotov and grenade to even the odd but it wasn’t enough. I survive for a couple of minutes before I was overwhelmed and died. That part was probably the hardest throughout the demo.
Dead Island 2 demo Takeaways
I love the UI system because it was so well organized and easy to navigate using both the controller and keyboard & Mouse, it is for sure an upgrade from the previous UI system from the first Dead Island. Item management is always important, and it was easy to figure out what items were and to know if I had them equipped or not. For each item you scroll over you will get a 3D model of that item as well so not only can you read what each item is called, you can see how they look.
The zombie sounds and designs were top notch, they look so terrifying and almost like movie-level makeup. The sounds of the game made me feel like I was in a zombie horror movie and that I was being cautious as I was exploring and preparing for anything. The level design felt perfect, it did feel like an open-world zombie game where I can almost go anywhere as long as it is accessible, I even found a bunch of locked doors and I wonder what they could open up. Side missions? Hidden chest?
The controls for the game were awesome, I was able to switch between the controller and keyboard & mouse smoothly in the middle of the game. In the beginning, I was using a keyboard and mouse because I thought I try something new, it took a while to figure out the buttons but then halfway through the demo I switch to the controller because that was what I was more comfortable with and used to playing other zombie games. And it was a smooth transition and I didn’t have any issues at all.
Dead Island 2 is a zombie game that will test you to the maximum when it comes to surviving and using your fear as a weapon. I played a lot of zombie survival games and every one of them has that little feature that makes it great. I can see all of those little features in Dead Island 2 like the crafting, gathering, special combat, and jump scare. I am looking forward to seeing where the story continues from the first Dead Island, exploring the City of Angel (LA), and taking out a bunch of zombies with my friends in co-op mode. This could either be the best zombie game I ever played or a good contender for game of the year.
To get the latest news and update regarding Dead Island 2, you can follow Deep Silver and Dead Island on Twitter
