Dead Island 2 Review (IrishCoffee)
Amazing graphics. Best gore system i've ever seen. Highly detailed world. And yet its one of the most shallow games i've ever played.
Dead Island 2 is basically gold covered bread with its emphasis on great visuals and vibrant world but once you bite into it its really just bland ass bread. The combat is so damn disappointing. Weapons and feedback are outstanding across the board, but that doesnt mean the combat doesnt get bland and stale quickly. Most if not all enemies can be killed with spamming light attacks while the brutes can be stunned with a "parry" THEN spammed to death. Its such a shame since like mentioned, the visuals are in combat are very impressive with flesh getting ripped open and organs falling out. Claws slash wolverine style wounds that looks awesome, brass knuckles can break ribs and smash open jaws. All of this doesnt require an animation either and be done with the spamming attacks. Its a very impressive system that deserved to be in a better game.
The story is bland and the vibe is trying hard to be self aware humor with its emphasis on modern media and influencers. Its not BAD, but its been done in every goddamn form of entertainment and its honestly boring. It took me 10 minutes just to pick a character to play just because i didnt want to hear the cringest dialogue in my playthrough. I don't like anybody here, but i hate ryan the least.
Exploration is also a low point. The game has several RPG elements with its card system and workbench, but even through thorough exploration i was rarely rewarded with either a card or a blueprint. The weapons have levels and colored rarity but whats the point when you can find a decent weapon you like and with the click of a button be able to make it your current level with all the added damage? I mean i accidentally put myself in the DLC area and got a crossbow that has near unlimited ammo in the base game from zombie drops, has crazy high damage, and doesnt break. The whole system is just flawed and shallow.
I don't hate Dead Island, i remember as a kid getting super hyped for the first game and loving it despite its jank. I replayed it recently and still liked it. The issue is, the first game had more thought put into its RPG elements and characters, while this game feels like they spent 5 years making a really dope looking tech demo then plopping out a half assed game. For $30 with expansion pass, i'm not unhappy with my purchase but i WOULD BE if i spent $70 on EGS for day one access. Its the type of game you pick up and put down 100 times until you beat it.
Also, fuck you epic games. I refuse to link anything to you or your bullshit store. Look up how to delete epic games store connection request and thank me later.