It’s been a long time coming but Dead Island 2 is finally here after nine long years. The story takes place, ultimately, unconnected to the previous games. There are some callbacks and characters that appear as references though such as Sam B., who was previously playable.
There are six other playable characters instead including Jacob, Bruno, Ryan, Carla, Dani, and Amy and they’re all trying to escape L.A. but just after takeoff, the plane gets shot down. Now, with the help of a famous actress, players must try and survive the zombie-infested streets of L.A. That’s the basic story of Dead Island 2, so now let’s get to the tips.
8 Checkpoints And Difficulty
There are no difficulty levels in the game, so those that are not up for a rough action RPG might want to step back. There are things that can help ease players in though such as online co-op gameplay.
Players can get together with two friends online. The more players join their crew, the better. Also, the checkpointing system is fair in that players won’t lose much progress from where they fall. Money and experience points won't be lost either.
7 Play The Story
There is another way to get better at the game besides getting a co-op group together. Simply playing through the story missions will open up a whole catalog of weapons and upgrades that will beef out characters. Players will eventually learn to mod weapons and get more skill cards and skill slots.
Guns will change the whole course of the game along with the Super Saiyan-like Fury Mode transformation players can get into. Side quests will help players get more experience points and rare gear, but it might be best to stick to mainline story quests until the aforementioned Fury Mode power is unlocked.
6 Modding And Skills
Like the previous Dead Island games, a big mechanic of the sequel allows players to mod weapons. Players can attach electricity or burning elements to things like axes or swords. These elements will leave effects on zombies as well as increase the threshold of damage the weapon does overall.
Skill cards will unlock as the story progresses and as players level up. For both mods and skill cards, it’s best to experiment with them all to see which fits best with the style of play.
5 Always Buy Fuses
Fuses act like the golden keys to the world of Dead Island 2. Nearly every house and building will have one fuse box open. Placing a fuse in will unlock a secret area stuffed with gear and materials that are rare for an action RPG.
Vendors, such as Carlos who lives at Emma’s house, will sell them. His stock is not infinite, but it will replenish over time. The same is true for the other vendors in the game. So, when fuses are available, max out the inventory because the investment will be worth it.
4 Beware Of Skulls
Certain enemy zombies will have a skull next to their health bars, instead of levels. This will usually indicate that players are in the wrong area at the wrong time. It’s a way to signify extreme level differences between enemies and players. It’s okay to run in these circumstances and that’s a good rule of thumb, overall.
Even if zombies are within the player’s level, the overwhelming amount of them can be too much. So, make use of the open-world gameplay and run like the wind.
3 Using The Environment
Weapons will break after repeated whacks to decaying flesh. These weapons don’t break as easily as the ones in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild but players definitely need to stock up. Thankfully, there are other ways to take down enemies via the environment.
For example, if there is a loose electrical wire, players can douse that area with water and the electricity will spread. Dousing zombies with water will also make them more vulnerable, so be sure to experiment.
2 Fast Travel
One of the key things that can make or break an open-world game is the fast travel system. At first, it may seem like Dead Island 2 doesn’t have one, but it does. There are maps in safe rooms and houses, such as Emma’s and players can look at these maps, select a place to fast travel to, and that’s that.
There are no extra items needed to pull this off, so players should use this mechanic for completing side quests. It’s a mechanic that should be better highlighted in the game itself, and maybe it will be with a patch, eventually.
1 Use Headphones
In a game with no difficulty levels and zombies lurking all around, there is one major thing players can do to stay alive longer and that is to wear headphones. Being able to hear where zombies are coming from will be like an alert system. Also, sometimes, NPCs will try to call players to commence a side quest.
There are a plethora of reasons to wear headphones, besides increasing the immersion of the zombie horror experience. If players want to immerse themselves more, then they should consider turning off the HUD as well.
Dead Island 2 releases on April 21, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.