Dead Island 2 Preview: Back From The Dead

screenrant.com:

Nine years after it was first announced, is finally launching in April 2023 and — thankfully — it seems to be worth the wait. Multiple delays and studio-switching can often mean a game is doomed for failure, but went hands-on with for a six-hour gameplay preview, and it looks as though the dormant series has returned from the dead with a vengeance.

The lengthy gameplay preview offered a super-sized dose of ’s story, combat, characters, and setting. At the time of writing, it’s still unclear just how long it will take to beat, but six hours into the game left plenty to discover.

Related: Dead Island 2 Will Have Voice Control Thanks To Alexa Feature

takes place not on an island like 2011's ’s fictional Banoi, or Palanai from 2013's but in Los Angeles, which is affectionally referred to as “” While Banoi and its archipelago made for a fun and refreshing playground, L.A is just as entertaining to explore, albeit a lot less tropical.

The game’s large map is split into 10 districts, each with its own side-quests, points of interest, and main story missions. Unlocking each district is linear, which means players can’t easily wander into an area that’s too OP for them. This makes the game feel a lot more contained than it really is, and the more districts a player unlocks, the more chaos becomes available.

Playing on Xbox Series S, looks and runs great, and wandering the streets of Hell-A offers a very good current-gen experience. The environments in particular are a stand-out in terms of their graphics and design. One element missing from the original is its sweeping views of the beautiful landscape of Banoi — Hell-A is a bit too industrial for that level of beauty, at least in the first six hours of the game.

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