Dead Island 2

Overview

Dead Island 2 is a 2023 action role-playing survival horror game developed by Dambuster Studios and published by Deep Silver. It is a sequel to Dead Island (2011) and the third major installment in the series. Set about 15 years after the events of the original game and Dead Island: Riptide (2013), the game follows six playable characters (dubbed Slayers) as they attempt to escape a full quarantine restricted zone in Los Angeles in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Instead of a large open world like its predecessor, Los Angeles is split into 10 different open zones, which players can freely explore. Players can use a variety of melee weapons, firearms and explosives to dispatch enemies. The game utilized a procedurally generated dismemberment system, used to create weapon-appropriate wounds on zombies.

Announced in 2014, Dead Island 2 endured a lengthy development period and saw several changes in the studios attached to the project. The developer of the original game, Techland, started the project in 2012, though Deep Silver disagreed with its creative vision and instead tasked Yager Development, the developer of Spec Ops: The Line (2012) to develop the sequel. The size of the project and its focus on online multiplayer proved to be challenging for a small team. Yager was removed in 2015 and replaced the following year by Sumo Digital, which was then replaced by Dambuster, an internal studio of Deep Silver, in 2018. Despite not being an island, Los Angeles was chosen to be the game's setting due to its diverse locations and culture, which fit with the overall motif of the franchise.

Announced in August 2022, the final iteration of Dead Island 2 was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in April 2023. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, which praised the game's visuals, setting and gameplay, though its story and combat received criticisms. The game sold more than 3 million units by May 2024, surpassing Deep Silver's expectations and becoming its fastest-selling game. It was nominated for Best Action Game at The Game Awards 2023. Dambuster Studios released two downloadable content packs for the game. A sequel titled Dead Island 3 is set to be released in 2028.

Official trailer

Announcement Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure

Developer

Dambuster Studios

Publisher

Deep Silver

Series

Dead Island

Engine

Unreal Engine 4

Platforms

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox One

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

Yes

Co op

Yes

Age ratings

PEGI

18

USK

18

CLASS IND

18

ESRB

M

GRAC

19+

ACB

R 18+

Release dates

Subscription history

Trophies

Trophies60

Platinum possibleYes

Platinum

1

Gold

5

Silver

15

Bronze

39

Total

60

Points

1785

Platinum time

25 hours

Difficulty

3 out of 10

Playthroughs for platinum

1

Online trophies

4

• Who Do You Voodoo? Collect every Dead Island 2 trophy! Platinum 33.49% of players
• Welcome To Hell-A Survive a plane crash, get bitten, and create your first Zombie-Free Zone. Bronze 44.43% of players
• Hotel California Fight through the Halperin Hotel to make contact with the authorities. Bronze 42.63% of players
• Personal Assistant Personally Assisted Track down Michael and rescue him from the Terror at Monarch Studios. Bronze 40.04% of players
• Git Gutte! Join forces with Sam B and get your hands on some firepower. Bronze 39.69% of players
• Friends Like These Encounter a mysterious... benefactor? Well, that's what she'd call herself, anyway. Bronze 39.04% of players
• Dr. Reed, I Presume? Survive the many perils of Venice Beach and meet Dr. Reed at the Serling Hotel. Bronze 38.35% of players
• But Doctor, I Am Butcho Slay a killer clown and get your blood sample back to Dr. Reed. Bronze 37.71% of players
• Can't Handle the Truth Learn the truth about what you are as dark secrets are revealed. Bronze 37.48% of players
• Like Riding a Bike Find Patton and convince him to fly you out of Hell-A. Bronze 37.34% of players
• A Patton Emerges Survive the Metro system and get to Hollywood Boulevard. Bronze 37.18% of players
• Make it So Help Sarah and Sebastian light a beacon of hope. Bronze 35.14% of players
• Our True Nature Give up your chance to be human again. Gold 37.06% of players
• Gore Horse Help an artist to complete their greatest (and grisliest) piece of art. Bronze 34.91% of players
• Go, Bobcats! Reunite all the VCLA Bobcats. Bronze 35.96% of players
• Internet Famous Complete Amanda's Clickbait quests. You won't believe what happens next! Bronze 35.43% of players
• Making Your Mark Complete 10 non-Story Quests. Bronze 36.92% of players
• Rising Star Complete 20 non-Story Quests. Silver 35.86% of players
• LA Influential Complete 40 non-Story Quests. Gold 34.85% of players
• Ooh, Shiny! Find your first Legendary Weapon. Bronze 36.98% of players
• Zombologist Unlock every zombie type in the Zompedia. Bronze 36.96% of players
• On Safari Complete the first tier of every Zombie Challenge. Silver 34.94% of players
• Variety is the Spice of Death Complete the first tier of every Weapon Challenge. Silver 34.96% of players
• Bucket List Complete the first tier of every Combat Challenge. Silver 33.97% of players
• Survival Skills Complete the first tier of every Survivor Challenge. Silver 33.89% of players
• Smorgasbord Complete the first tier of every Exploration Challenge. Silver 35.24% of players
• Sharpest Tool in the Box Complete 5 Lost & Found Weapon Quests. Silver 34.45% of players
• Sole Survivor Complete 9 Lost & Found Missing Person Quests. Silver 34.65% of players
• Jumbo Keyring Unlock 10 Lockboxes Silver 35.28% of players
• Bookworm Collect 50 Journals. Silver 38.62% of players
• Stacking the Deck Collect 30 Skill Cards. Bronze 38.25% of players
• Humanity Distilled Equip your first Numen Skill Card. Bronze 37.17% of players
• Max Headroom Reach level 30. Gold 35.22% of players
• Down with the Sickness Reach the highest tier of Autophage infection by equipping Autophage Skills. Bronze 36.46% of players
• Anger Management Slay 50 zombies with Fury Attacks. Bronze 38.03% of players
• This is My Weapon Fully upgrade a Superior weapon and customize it with a mod or perk in every slot. Bronze 38.05% of players
• Not Even My Final Form Slay a Mutator before it transforms. Bronze 35.22% of players
• Hazardous Materials Slay 100 Zombies using Caustic, Fire, or Shock damage. Bronze 40.67% of players
• Break a Leg Maim 100 limbs. Bronze 42.15% of players
• Slayer Squad Complete any 5 quests in co-op. Bronze 36.94% of players
• I Am the Resurrection Revive other Slayers 5 times. Bronze 36.77% of players
• Coup de Grâce Slay 25 zombies using finishing moves. Bronze 41.28% of players
• Perks of the Job Complete 5 Blueprint Challenges. Bronze 37.33% of players
• Donk! Throw a melee weapon and hit a zombie 35+ meters away. Bronze 35.09% of players
• Apex Predator Knock down 10 Apex Variants. Bronze 39.09% of players
• I Got a Zombie Army and You Can't Harm Me Perform 25 perfect defensive moves. Bronze 39.31% of players
• One of Us Received Konstantin's gift. Gold 16.59% of players
• Pork Chopped Defeat Long Piglet. Silver 16.74% of players
• Whatever It Takes Complete the Rites of Passage in Haus. Bronze 16.95% of players
• Wilhelm Send 15 zombies to their doom in the bottomless pits. Bronze 16.16% of players
• Top That, Tisha! Get five headshots with the Crossbow in quick succession. Bronze 15.59% of players
• Lawn and Order Maim 10 zombies with gardening equipment in the Cul-De-Sac's tall grass. Silver 16.09% of players
• Drop The Beat Defeat The Dirge and silence the Beat Gold 14.92% of players
• No Encores Help calm Grace by suppressing the Beat Silver 15.25% of players
• Three's a Crowd Survive your first Clotter encounter Bronze 15.79% of players
• The Direct Approach Ram into 5 zombies in a single charge Bronze 15.05% of players
• Rip 'n' Tear Slay 5 zombies with a supercharged Ripper, and bisect 5 more with a Sawblade Launcher Silver 14.38% of players
• Festival Clean Up Simulator Clean up the large Caustic-X spillage in Utopia Bronze 14.77% of players
• Groundhog Slay Complete all Story Quests in NG+. No actual groundhogs were harmed in the completion of this. Silver 11.09% of players
• Shoulda Stayed Dead Slay all 10 Revenants in NG+. Bronze 10.87% of players

Playable today

Credits

Publisher

Deep Silver

Developer

Dambuster Studios

Released

2023-04-21

Age rating

ESRB M

Region

US

Time to beat

about 18 hours