One of the most famously vaporware games of the last decade is actually coming out this year. Deep Silver has released a new extended gameplay trailer to build up some hype for Dead Island 2, due out in just under two months.
The 14-minute trailer shows off an assortment of DI2’s gameplay, including its combat, skill system, weaponry, the new rechargeable “curveball” moves, and environments.
In Dead Island 2, it’s been a couple of months since the outbreak on Banoi, and now the same zombie virus — a mutation of kuru — has reached southern California. You play as one of six characters, or “Slayers,” who’s still alive in the zombie hell that’s overtaken most of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.
As the new trailer highlights, however, just because almost everyone’s dead and you’re surrounded by enemies doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the situation. DI2, like the original Dead Island, is primarily about one thing: strapping random bits to household goods to turn them into anti-zombie weapons. Go ahead and electrify that shovel blade; it’s sort of the point.
The March 2 DI2 trailer introduces several of the additional elements that DI2 has added. The skill trees from the original games have been replaced with a customizable set of skill cards, which allow you to add a custom assortment of passive and active abilities to your character. This includes a ground pound, a heavy palm strike, and an assortment of bonuses whenever you successfully dodge or block an incoming attack. Timing is important here, as evading an enemy at exactly the right time sets them up for a gory counterattack.
You also get access to what the game calls “curveballs.” Instead of crafting thrown items like Molotovs or zombie bait, they’re now simply available on a short recharge timer. The bait in particular lets you decoy rank-and-file zombies into a location of your choosing, which you can then opt to electrify, douse in acid, or set on fire.
Image via Deep Silver
Dead Island 2 is due out on April 21 for PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store. Its collectors’ edition (above) ships with a Steelbook, an expansion pass, 2 pins, 1 patch, and two packs that offer special custom weapon skins.
Featured image via Deep Silver
