While the hellish Los Angeles setting of Dead Island 2 is great fun, the third game needs to return the franchise to its island roots.

Thanks to the surprising success of this year’s Dead Island 2, a possible Dead Island 3 now seems much more likely. After ten years in developer purgatory, developer Dambuster Studios has finally brought Dead Island 2 back from the dead, but the game’s setting falls short of what the title suggests. Even though Dead Island 2 already has two DLCs, with the second coming sometime in 2024, many fans are hoping for more Dead Island in the future. If this means a third game in the franchise, then having a real island as a setting would be ideal.

There’s no doubt that Dead Island 2 was a big surprise to many, but the fact that the game isn’t set on an island while the title suggests the existence of an island felt a bit jarring at times. While it felt natural after a while, and there was obviously charm in calling a zombie-decimated Los Angeles “HELL-A,” there was a bit of disappointment that we didn’t get to experience an island.

If Gearbox were to copy one of Dead Island 2’s useful mechanics, the next Borderlands game could revolutionize the all-important loot system.
Dead Island 3 should go back to its roots

Although Dead Island 2 didn’t have a literal island, at least it makes sense to use Los Angeles as a metaphorical island. During the events of Dead Island 2, Los Angeles has been overrun by the infected, isolating it from the rest of America. This isolation makes the town a metaphorical island, and while it worked for the game’s story, a third mainline Dead Island needs to return to what made it stand out: a true island setting.

Return to Banoi?

The first Dead Island game took place on a fictional island called Banoi off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The ending of the first game gave fans a cliffhanger, and it would be incredibly interesting to see what Banoi is like now, after the initial outbreak of the infection. A game that follows a die-hard survivor who has managed to live on the island years after the plague broke out could be a great recipe for a zombie story. Like the first game, Dead Island 2 followed the events of the beginning of the outbreak, and it would be fascinating to see what an infected community might look like long after the outbreak in the next game.

If not Banoi, a new and exciting location

If Dead Island 3 doesn’t return to Banoi, the next obvious step would be to set the game on an entirely new, never-before-seen island. Dead Island is made even more immersive by its locations, and while the Los Angeles version of the second game was an exciting location, a never-before-seen island with its own unique story entirely made up by the developers could prove to be even more immersive. Getting lost in a fictional world is one of the greatest parts of gaming, and Dead Island 3 should embrace it.

Of course, there’s currently no concrete news about Dead Island 3 on the horizon, but recent DLCs and the overall success of the title leave room for another chapter in the story. Dead Island 2’s use of real-life locations is fun, but the island of Banoi in the original Dead Island made the game even more charming, and it would be exciting to see a third mainline game return to what made the first installment so unique.

Source: GameRant