Dead Island 2’s gameplay features the notorious bridezilla zombie and has a pro wrestling feel
Dead Island 2
Dead Island 2’s (opens in new tab) ranged and melee combat are shown off in a new video (opens in new tab), showcasing about 15 minutes of gameplay. There is a lot of campy or annoying dialogue and some cheap laughs, but overall, it works. More than anything else, the tone of modern American professional wrestling comes to mind.
The trailer follows the “slayer” character Dani as she kills zombies in an affluent area of Los Angeles with a variety of weapons while making a number of cringeworthy or annoying jokes. (Reminds us of something else we’ve recently encountered) Despite this, the approach to gore, brawling, and campy dialogue reminds me most of the absurdity of professional wrestling.
The gameplay reveal promises “dozens” of different zombie types, each of which requires a unique arsenal and set of skills to defeat. It’s a showcase for the protagonist “slayers,” who are immune to the zombie plague at first glance but have been genetically altered by it nonetheless. In this “fury mode,” Dani’s claws and strength grow to the point where she can toss zombies across the room.
The obligatory crafting of bizarre weapons, such as a Katana with a flaming propane nozzle, electrified fist claws, and so on, is also detailed in the trailer, proving that the game has more to offer than just gore. Curveballs, as they’re called by game designer Dambuster, are strange, one-time-use abilities. One example is meatbait, a “sack of blood and guts to draw zombies away from you.”
With a crafting system in place, you can expect to spend a lot more time scrounging around for scraps than the protagonist does in the trailer, who spends all of five seconds collecting wire, lightbulbs, and assorted chemicals from a broom closet.
There are also examples of the skill cards(opens in new tab) that will be used instead of the talent tree in earlier versions of Dead Islands. These allow you to give your character special abilities and perform special moves, such as stylish midair full-body dropkicks (wrestling!) and stomping the ground to trip up nearby enemies (also wrestling!).
Apex Zombies, described as “hyper-mutated” and “super-intelligent,” are featured in a series of images shown towards the end of the trailer. There was a giant bridezilla monster at the end, which was perhaps the most pro wrestling of all the monsters shown. Other examples included a spike-covered punk monster with spike arms, a big burned-up guy wearing chains, the obligatory fat vomiting monster, and the obligatory fat vomiting monster. (Which is the best part to watch because, no, I am not joking, they most certainly used their complex zombie-gooping explosion physics on a cake.)
When Dead Island 2 debuts on April 21, 2023, we’ll find out if the game’s campy vibe can hold up (opens in new tab). The game was in development hell for nine years, and this is the final delay (opens in new tab).
