Dead Island 2: Haus DLC Review

ign.com:

With how much Dead Island 2’s apocalypse parody poked fun at the Los Angeles area earlier this year, I guess it was only a matter of time before it turned its attention from vicious zombies to equally mindless cultists. I mean, how could they forget California’s reputation for welcoming eccentric people who then take advantage of our tolerance by brainwashing vast swathes of the population? Thankfully, this is something developer Dambuster Studios has corrected with its first DLC, Haus, which transports your character to a cult compound in Malibu where you’ll rub elbows with rich elites and smack down zombies who look like they’re dressed for the runway. And while I won't turn my nose up at a few more good laughs from a game I enjoyed, a three-hour runtime and very few new wrinkles to change up Dead Island 2’s basic zombie slashing formula make this jaunt extremely short-lived and a little unexciting.

Dead Island 2 is a hysterical Los Angeles-infused satire that does most things well enough, but feels like a stroll down the Walk of Fame of celebrated zombie games I’ve already played without adding many new ideas of its own. In fact, aside from the stellar comedy bits, I can think of very few things that Dead Island 2 does better than last year’s Dying Light 2. Still, if you’ve ever wanted to put your Wolverine claws straight through a zombie’s face or knock someone’s head off with a golf club, Dead Island 2’s got you. Its bloodsoaked melee combat and memorable characters are a lot of fun, especially when accompanied by friends in co-op multiplayer. The somewhat generic crafting weapons and upgrading your skills as you lay waste to armies of spray-tanned undead is entertaining enough on its own, but the strong writing and