Dead Island 2 is just over a month away and thanks to a new batch of media previews which dropped last night, we know so much more about the zombie game than we did before. For example, we now know that Dead Island 2 won’t let you change the difficulty. The game follows the original game’s mechanics of scaling the zombies to your level so you will always have the same challenge throughout the game.
We also now have confirmation that Dead Island 2 isn’t an open-world game. Instead, the game follows a large hub-like approach where you’ll explore a set area, do side quests and move on to the next hub to do the same thing again.
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Apart from that, there are some other interesting details to discover thanks to the latest preview content. I have simply put them all down below in bullet point form so you can quickly take it all in.
Dead Island 2 Exploration and Story
- No Difficulty Modes – Zombies scale based on your player level as you enter an area. However, some areas include tougher Apex Zombie encounters which are fights against unique zombies that wield special abilities and weapons.
- Not Open-World – As mentioned before, Dead Island 2 is structured similarly to the first game. The story will carry you through certain areas and let players explore them the way they want to. Areas span from linear streets to larger open hubs with various activities to undertake before moving on to the next zone. Some zones are larger than others.
- Hollywood Star Map – The in-game map of each area is detailed across a Hollywood Star Map similar to the ones you’ve seen in the real world. You can navigate through the zones and the activities by looking at this map.
- Unique Written Side Quests – Each side quest in Dead Island 2 has been carefully written to introduce unique characters and take players to locations that they might miss.
- Exploration is Key – Weapon mods and new blueprints to craft weapons are discovered by completing side quests and exploring the zones. Dungeon-like areas hold rare and more powerful mods and blueprints.
- Backstories – While exploring each zone, the game will give players better insight into the lore behind the outbreak and the events which took place beforehand.
- A New Outbreak – Dead Island 2 is based on a new Outbreak so players don’t need to know what happened in the first game or Riptide to understand the story.
- Throwbacks to Dead Island – While it is a new outbreak, there are reportedly throwbacks to the first games and even characters in past stories.
- Easter Eggs – Like previous games, Dead Island 2 will feature loads of Easter Eggs to uncover across quests and the explorable zones.
Dead Island 2 Weapons, Characters and Combat
- Six Playable Characters (Slayers) – Dead Island 2 includes six playable characters known as Slayers who act as unique classes in the game. There are also six save slots so you can have one of each.
- No Switcheroo – Once you have created a game with a set character, you can’t switch unless you create a new save.
- Each Slayer Builds Differently – Each Slayer in Dead Island 2 packs unique stats which complement different play styles. They also have unique dialogue throughout the game to listen to.
- No Skill Tree Just Skill Cards – You won’t unlock new skills in Dead Island 2 as you did in the first game. Instead, Skill Cards are earned and unlocked. Some cards are common across all Slayers while some are also unique to each one.
- Skill Cards Come in Four Types – You can equip four types of Skill Cards – Abilities, Survivor, Slayer and Numen.
- Abilities – Adds new functions and attacks to your Slayer.
- Survivor – Adds stats and buffs to your Slayer
- Slayer – Enhances your unique Slayer abilities with buffs related to your combat actions.
- Numen – Unknown at this point
- New Skill Slots Mean More Skills – As you progress through Dead Island 2, you’ll unlock new Skill slots which means you can slot more Skill Cards into your character.
- Weapons Break – Weapons have a durability scale in Dead Island 2 which means they break when you use them.
- You Can Fix Them – You can fix broken weapons so you don’t have to toss them away when the durability bar has depleted.
- Workbenches Are Vital – At workbenches throughout the game, players can upgrade weapons to their level, repair broken ones and craft new weapon types.
- Weapon Types Are Fun – Each weapon type has a unique attack pattern and damage effect on zombies. Each weapon type can also “finish” a zombie in a unique way.
- Missed Weapons Are Sent to You – There is a weapon safe in Dead Island 2 where you can store unused weapons. You can also obtain missed weapons which you may have overlooked when looting
Dead Island 2 FLESH System
Dead Island 2 features a unique FLESH system which handles everything in terms of gore. Weapons all interact differently thanks to this system. For example, sharp weapons gash zombies leaving cuts and open wounds on them. Blunt weapons can break bones and bruise zombies. This also affects how zombies walk around.
The FLESH system also has its own physics system for organs. This means intestines and organs spill out of zombies when you kill and slice them apart. You can take a zombie corpse and completely clean out its organs with a weapon. Even slice away the meat from a bone until there’s only a skeleton left behind.
Punching a zombie over and over again will result in it bruising and swelling. You can even break a zombie’s jaw leaving it dangling on its face. The zombie makes a different sound as a result of the jaw being broken. You can also throw weapons at zombies. In some cases, these weapons can get stuck and you can pull them out during a grab or after you kill it.
So that’s all the new information I could gather from the latest previews of Dead Island 2. The game is set to launch on 21 April for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Catch up on the last extended gameplay look here.
Source: GamingBolt / MP1ST
