Dead Island 2 Review

Killing Zombies Never Felt This Good

However, the negatives of the story are cushioned by just how damn enjoyable it is to go out on your own and smash the ever-loving spine out of anything in your way courtesy of Dead Island 2's impressive FLESH system, which allows the player to literally tear muscle from bone, carve off arms and legs, or even punch straight through the head of a zombie.

While this could have easily been a visual gimmick and nothing more, there are huge gameplay advantages to learning how to manipulate this system, as chopping the legs off hulking Crusher zombies so they have no base of power limits their moveset immensely, as does lining up a group of zombies and chucking a Molotov into the mix, as their burned flesh will peel away reducing their movement and offensive capabilities.

It's as disgusting as it is disgustingly fun.

And there are tonnes of different zombies to try your homemade horrorshow weapons on, from beach bod muscle heads to tourists caught on a fright-seeing tour, the variance of models, outfits, and abilities makes for a world that feels paradoxically alive while being very much made up of the undead. Adding to the horde are special infected that can control swarms of insects, explode in a shower of viscera, or are buffed with resistances to elemental effects which render your once potent weapon utterly limp. These act as the garnish on an already heady brew, and force the player to constantly cycle through their wheel of weapons in order to respond to emerging threats.

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