PREVIEW – Dead Island 2 is back from the dead, and a lot has changed since we last saw it.

Dead Island 2 was resurrected at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022. After years of speculation, delays, internet whispers, and pretty significant Dead Island 2 leaks, developer Dambuster Studios has finally given the game the re-release it always deserved.

As we’ve come to know, we’re in for a dystopian sandbox vision of Los Angeles, aptly named HELL-A because of the zombie baddie hordes in the office. As luck would have it, only you and a select few are immune to the undead apocalypse, and you have no choice but to save the day and humanity. In Dead Island 2, you’ll be able to do all this and more in single-player and even three-player cooperative modes – read what we know so far about Dead Island 2.

Dead Island 2 release date

Dead Island 2 has a release date of February 3, 2023, which means the action-RPG horror adventure will arrive nearly 11 and a half years after its predecessor. The first Dead Island was released in the US on September 7, 2011, followed by a European release two days later.

Dead Island 2 platforms

Dead Island 2 PC – One of the most buzzed-about terms among desktop Dead Island fans, Dead Island 2 gained a significant boost following the Dead Island 2 leak on August 18, when an Amazon listing detailed the platforms, since-cancelled story details and new screenshots. Of course, PC isn’t the only confirmed Dead Island 2 platform, with the game also coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Xbox One.

Dead Island 2 trailers

Outside of the now iconic 2014 E3 zombie-transformation cinematic below, it’s been pretty quiet on the Dead Island 2 trailer front for quite some time. However, at Gamescom 2022, Deep Silver and Dambuster Studios treated us to a new reveal trailer and some brand new actual in-game footage.

Let’s take a look at the development journey. First, here’s the Dead Island E3 2014 announcement trailer to refresh your memory.

Next is the new Dead Island 2 reveal trailer, shown during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022.

And finally, here’s the Dead Island 2 gameplay trailer to see what you can expect from the game when it launches in 2023 as one of the most anticipated upcoming Xbox Series X and PS5 games.

Dead Island 2 combat

Deep Silver heralds Dead Island 2’s combat as building “the most intense, visceral and gory first-person experience possible”. Along with that, expect plenty of weapons in Dead Island 2’s six playable characters – each of whom boasts unique personalities and dialogue. Even better, each character’s abilities are fully customisable, with a new skill system designed to re-spec characters on the spot to test out new builds. What’s more, Deep Silver promises that Dead Island 2 will have “the most advanced dismemberment system in gaming”, so we suspect this game is not for the faint of heart.

Dead Island 2 cooperative mode

Dead Island 2 co-op sounds good, and while the zombie slash ’em up can be enjoyed in full single-player mode, teaming up with two companions in teams of three sounds like great fun. It’s not yet clear what cooperative gameplay will look like in Dead Island 2 – whether it will be available from the start, or integrated into the story mode like Dying Light 2, remains to be seen. According to Deep Silver, “replayability is guaranteed” as teams explore Dead Island 2’s “exciting” pulpy storyline and chat with the diverse characters in the “twisted” universe.

Dead Island 2 development

Dead Island 2 has had a long development journey to this point, to say the least. Originally led by Yager Development, work reportedly began on the sequel in 2012 before the project was officially announced at E3 2014. Sumo Digital took over development the following year before primary care of Dead Island 2 was handed over to current developers Dambuster Studios three years ago in 2019.

Given how little information was available during the game’s development, it’s hard to say how much the game has changed from its inception to the present day. Now that a release date for Dead Island 2 has been confirmed, we can certainly expect to see more between now and release.

-theGeek-