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For earlier builds of the game that were scrapped, see Dead Island 2 (2014).
Spoiler warning!
This article contains plot details that can ruin player experiences. Proceed with caution!

See you in HELL-A!
— The slogan used for Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2 is an action role-playing survival horror video game developed by Dambuster Studios and published by Deep Silver. It is the third main entry in the Dead Island series, taking place 15 years after Dead Island: Riptide. The game was released on April 21st, 2023

Main Plot[]

Dead Island 2 takes place with most of the city of Los Angeles overrun by zombies. Increasingly intense earthquakes have caused the military to lose control of the zombie outbreak. The Slayers make their way onto 71 Heavy, a military evacuation flight. Robert Steele has bought his way onto this flight as well. He turns out to be infected and the plane is shot down as per military protocol in order to contain the virus in Los Angeles.

After surviving the crash, the slayer meets Emma Jaunt and some other survivors. They are invited to Emma's Mansion and will head there after attempting to help other survivors at the plane crash. The slayer is bit during this time and is barely able to make their way to Emma's Mansion before passing out. After waking up, it turns out that the slayer is immune to the Autophage virus, responsible for the zombie outbreak. Eager to get out of LA, the slayer want to contact the authorities about their immunity.

Emma informs the slayer about a military HQ stationed at the Halperin Hotel and the slayers heads there. The military HQ has fallen to the zombies, however Major J. S. Booker is still alive as can be heared on the hotel intercom. On their way to Major Booker, the slayer learns that the military has been dissolving zombies in the Halperin Hotel Pool and pumping the waste into the sewers. Before the slayer can reach Major Booker, she is killed by Becki Russo. With the Major's master keys, the slayer heads to the Ballroom, kills Becki and uses the radio present in the ballroom to contact Dr. Reuben Reed.

Dr. Reed claims to be part of the CDC and says that the slayer is vital in making a vaccine against the zombie infection. The slayer heads back to Emma's mansion to convince the rest to head to Dr. Reed in the Serling Hotel. Michael Anders, Emma's PA, has gone missing, and the slayer must first find him to convince Emma to move out. The slayer heads to Michael's House where they learn to seek out Jessica. Jessica directs the slayer to Monarch Studios where Micheal is being chased down by Alesis Hernandez. The slayer saves Micheal and receives a call from Sam B.

Sam B has his eyes on guns and the slayer helps him retrieve these from Nikki Gutte after which they head back to Emma's Mansion. Michael turns out to be infected and after turning, is disposed of by the slayer. Angered by the slayer killing Michael, Emma kicks the slayer out of her mansion. On advise from Sam B, the slayer heads to the Serling Hotel via the Brentwood Sewer. Here they meet Patton who saves them from a Burster.

While traversing the sewer, the slayer comes across a gigantic mass of living flesh which is the result of the military pumping the dissolved zombies into the sewers. A bit later they find themselves on a damaged bridge above a horde of zombies. Here they meet Lola Konradt and her group. Lola pushes the slayer of the bridge to 'open their eyes', after which they awaken their Fury by temporarily turning into a zombie-like state which they use to clear out the zombie horde. They exit the sewer at Venice Beach where they rescue survivors at the Blue Crab Grill. Alex suggests the slayer proceeds through the military zone to the Serling Hotel.

At the Serling Hotel, the slayer meets Dr. Reed, who states that the military is in control. The military will only help if the slayer can prove their immunity. To this end, the slayer heads to the Santa Monica Pier where they take a blood sample in the CDC camp. After this, they head to the Lifeguard HQ to acquire a 'blood drive', which is a laptop required to process the taken blood sample. It turns out that the blood drive is still at the end of the pier. The slayer heads over there through the Pier Ocean Park, while being chased by Butcho the Clown. At the end of the pier, they defeat Butcho and take the Blood Drive, after which the end of the pier collapses.

Back at the Serling Hotel, the slayer wants to deliver their blood sample to Dr. Reed, who turns out to be in a conversation with Lola. It is revealed that Lola and Dr. Reed used to work together. Then Jimmy bursts into Reed's office proclaiming that Tisha, Reed's daughter, headed out in search for food. The slayer is tasked to bring Tisha back.

The slayer makes a deal with Tisha. The slayer gets a direct line to Lola, while Tisha can continue her investigation into a data transfer between The Serling Hotel, the CDC and the Randgate building. For their direct line to Lola, the slayer heads to the OSK Store where they hear a conversation between Noah and Dr. Reed. The slayer learns that Noah is immune and that he agreed to help Dr. Reed with his vaccine program. After this, the slayer receives a photo of Dr. Reed's Lab and heads there.

Inside, the slayer finds the remains of Noah. due to heinous experiments, Noah lost his immunity and appears to be dead. Noah revives due to an electrical shock and transforms into a Mutator. The slayer defeats Noah after which they lose control in a fury-like state. Tisha comes in and defeats the slayer, leaving them near death on the floor. When the slayer comes by, Lola and her group are on location and they help the slayer with their 'rebirth'. This process turns the slayer into a so called Numen, also called 'the endpoint' by Lola. Lola also informs that 'cataclysm-level shit' is soon to happen, from which only Numens can save humanity. She also claims that there is no cure for the zombie infection.

While heading back to the Serling Hotel, a helicopter flies away with Dr. Reed and Tisha. Inside the hotel, Jimmy informs the slayer that Dr. Reed is headed to a lab at Hollywood Boulevard. The slayer convinces Emma to go with them to Hollywood Boulevard, where they can use Reed's helicopter to fly out of LA. To this end, Emma must convince Patton to help them, who is a former military pilot. Sam B joins and the group heads through The Metro tunnels to Hollywood Boulevard.

At the helipad, it turns out that Sam B was bitten in the metro and that he is not (fully) immune to Autophage. The slayer decides to chase Dr. Reed down to his lab. In the Eschaton Beige lab, the slayer meets Dr. Reed and Tisha. Here Dr. Reed is producing one shot of Autophage cure by filtering the slayer's numen blood through his own modified body. As a result, Dr. Reed turns into a mutator. Before turning, Dr. Reed reveals that he started the outbreak to find Numens as Numens are necessary for an Autophage cure. Years ago, he found a ticking timebomb in the human genome. When the clock hits zero, Autophage will erupt in every man, women and child on earth. He also reveals that he modified Tisha's unborn body with Numen blood, so that her body can be harvested to produce Autophage cure.

Dr. Reed transforms, Tisha escapes and the slayer defeats Dr. Reed. They head back to the helipad where they give the cure to Sam B. Then Patton, Emma and Sam B leave with the helicopter while the slayer decides to stay and help Tisha. The story may be expanded in future DLC.

Gameplay[]

The much-loved zombie saga is back!

Dead Island 2 is a unique formula of horror, dark humor and over the top zombie-slaying, spanning an epic pulp adventure.

This thrilling First-Person, Action RPG takes players across a brand-new playground – a hellish vision of LA (or HELL-A, as we like to call it). Dead Island 2 is stylish, vibrant and flooded with zombie infection. Explore iconic, gore-drenched Los Angeles. Meet larger-than-life characters. Slay countless foes in exquisitely bloody detail. And evolve to become the ultimate Zombie Slayer!
— Description from the Dead Island website

Dead Island 2 takes place in the city of Los Angeles, dubbed "HELL-A". The game features several different mechanics than previous games but also retains other aspects such as crafting and Fury Mode

  • Explore HELL-A – Dead Island 2 takes players across the most iconic locations of the City of Angels, now stained with horror, in an exciting pulp journey from the verdant suburbia of Beverly Hills to the quirky promenade of Venice Beach.
  • Brutal Melee Sandbox – Combat delivers the most intense, visceral and gory first person experience possible, with plenty of weapons and brutally tactical options to chew your way through the zombie horde. Whether you’re slicing, smashing, burning or ripping, we want you to truly feel it.
  • Be the Ultimate Zombie Slayer – There are six characters to choose from, each with their own unique personality and dialogues. You can fully customize the abilities of each Slayer, with our brand-new skill system allowing you to re-spec instantly and try out the craziest builds.
  • Zombie Infestation – Ready to experience the most advanced dismemberment system in games? Our LA is crawling with zombies that look and react realistically. These mutated wretches are the reanimated, rotten heart of Dead Island 2 with dozens of distinct zombie types, each with their own mutations, attacks and hundreds of visual LA-themed variants. Our monsters are relentless, challenging, and true Los Angelinos. Will you be able to survive?
  • A Cinematic Co-op Adventure – As a proper RPG experience, Dead Island 2 offers plenty of exciting quests, a crazy cast of characters, and a thrilling pulp story, to truly immerse you in its twisted universe. Re-playability is guaranteed. Add an over-the-top co-op mode for up to three players, and you’ll stay in LA for a very long (and gory) trip.

Weapons[]


Characters[]

DLC[]

Unlike the previous main entries, Dead Island 2 features far more DLC, which adds far more than the DLC for any of the other entries in the franchise thus far. The DLC can add character skins, new weapons or even new areas of the maps to explore.

Development[]

Pre-2022[]

Dead Island 2 was originally announced and unveiled at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 developed by Yager, however nothing more substantial was shown after that, and when Yager were dropped in 2015, info came in drips and drabs with new development teams coming and going. The game was considered forgotten, abandoned or in development hell.

2022 and beyond[]

In February 2022, several news sites reported that Dead Island 2 was still in development and was apparently going very well, with much progress being made. It was also reported that the game could release by the end of 2022, maybe spilling over to 2023 if several large problems were encountered.

At Gamescom 2022, the game was officially unveiled with two new trailers and as well as a character reveal of one of the six playable characters. The new release date for Dead Island 2 is February 3rd, 2023. The game is now in development by Dambuster Studios, an internal company of Deep Silver who will finish the game and continue its development post-release. On 16th November 2022, the game was announced to be delayed for 12 weeks with a new release date of 28th April 2023.

On February 13, 2023 the official Dead Island Twitter account confirmed that the game had just gone gold and that the release date has been pushed up early to April 21, 2023.

Reception[]

Trivia[]

  • A pink inflatable pool flamingo named Flambo is one of the unofficial mascot of the game, along with Carver the Shark, a large statue of a shark holding a surfboard.
  • Jacob and Amy were the first two heroes to be revealed on the Dead Island website.
  • Sam B from the first Dead Island returns and serves as a mentor for the slayer.
  • The cinematic trailer for the game was made by ELASTIC, an award winning creative studio behind some of the most iconic title sequences between 2017 and the release of Dead Island 2. This cinematic trailer takes place after the events the main game[1].

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Images[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. Reddit developer AMA about lore - Hollywood Swinging answer [1]
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