
It’s unknown if Dead Island 2 allows for the same, though that might be what the Numen category in the Skill Deck is for.Ĭompleting quests and killing zombies in the original game grants XP, and there are three skill trees to invest in – Fury, Combat and Survival. Each can be upgraded thanks to the Fury skill tree. Rage Mode, on the other hand, sees each survivor having unique abilities – Xian Mei’s Bloodrage sees her swinging a sword more powerful, while Purna uses a revolver with infinite bullets. The difference is that FURY involves ripping zombies apart with your bare hands due to the infected within each Slayer. It’s a gauge that must be filled with kills and once activated, allows for using powerful attacks for a limited time to kill enemies. On the surface, Dead Island 2’s FURY seems the same as Rage Mode from Dead Island 1. The overall similarity between both games’ combat is still pretty strong, especially since dodging is still available, but Dead Island 2 feels more refined and hard-hitting. They still have durability and rarity tiers like the first game, but their damage type now plays a bigger role in combat thanks to the FLESH System.įor example, katanas are better for cutting off limbs and more precise damage, while sledgehammers are good for wide-arcing swings that can hit multiple enemies at once and deal blunt damage. The modding system for weapons in Dead Island 2 looks to be more advanced, with different options depending on the materials gathered. It’s a huge step up in detail and sheer overkill. Zombies will even burn and melt procedurally, the latter causing their limbs to fall off. Depending on the weapon, you may slash through flesh and bone or crush limbs outright.

You could knock their jaw off, split through their face, etc. It’s a procedural gore system which allows for much more realistic damage. Probably the coolest (or most gruesome) difference between the two games is the FLESH System in Dead Island 2. And hopefully, we’ve achieved just the right balance.” Time, of course, will tell. They also have unique play styles – like Logan, Dani is good with throwing weapons – but instead of having unique skill trees, each Slayer has a customizable Skill Deck with different cards.Īlso, for those concerned about characters “quipping” too much back and forth, creative director James Worrall told The Loadout, “Generally speaking, our characters try not to quip at everything.” Each has an idiom or phrase, but the team has “stayed well away from this notion that heroes should suddenly go into this comic exchange that goes back and forth and back and forth.” Citing Thor: Love and Thunder’s exchanges, Worrall said, “We made a conscious decision to stay away from that kind of stuff. Dead Island 2 has six – Jacob, Ryan, Carla, Bruno, Dani and Amy – and dubs them Slayers, learning more into the pulpy tone. You can revisit previous districts, but the entire world isn’t stitched together into this freely explorable space with no loading screens.ĭead Island 1 introduced us to four survivors – Logan, Purna, Sam B and Xian Mei – with different stories, abilities and personalities.

However, it’s a lot more linear, based on various previews, and you’re mostly killing zombies en route from point A to B with a few things to distract you. Los Angeles, or HELL-A, is divided into multiple districts that open up as you progress the story with different side quests, collectibles and so on in each level. Dead Island 2, on the other hand, is decidedly not an open-world title. It also feeds into the game’s streamlined nature, where you’re focused solely on killing zombies.īanoi Island in the first game is considered an open world – aside from some areas gated by story progress, you could explore freely. The team felt this worked well with the setting and characters instead of the “dark and serious direction” several games picked. Narrative designer Lydia Cockerham told WCCF Tech said the Los Angeles setting resulted in wanting this “whole pulpy, irreverent tone that is a love letter to B-movies from the ’80s and all these kinds of things that we all have in our psyches.”

With Dead Island 2, Dambuster Studios is taking more of a light-hearted, satirical feel to the tone. Let’s look at 10 of the biggest differences between Dead Island 1 and 2, and how things have changed.Įvery fan remembers the initial Dead Island 1 cinematic trailer, and though it didn’t quite hit the same emotional highs, the game was still pretty serious. Even more interesting is how the formula has changed compared to the first game, which launched in 2011 and developed by Techland, who would subsequently make Dying Light.
Dead island 2 for ps3 Pc#
With Dead Island 2 finally releasing on April 21st on Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, PS5 and PC after years in development, it’s been a hell of a journey.
