Deep Silver and Dambuster Studios have revealed two newDead Island 2characters that will be available for players to choose as their playable avatars. Opting for a significantly less grimdark rendition of the zombie apocalypse than one might expect, the game’s playable characters also reflect this storytelling approach, providing some interesting backstories and context to the whole experience.
Following its surprising re-announcement in August 2022,Dead Island 2has had its marketing fired up anew with a focus on the game’s wackiness and wanton violence. This is likely to help differentiate the title from Techland’sDying Light 2, which is admittedly fairly similar at face value. Gameplay and tone-wise, however, the two titles appear to be worlds apart, with the newly revealed characters underlining this notion as well.
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Game Informer had the opportunity to spend some time playingDead Island 2, and one of the showcase’s most notable features was the ability to choose between two previously unknown characters: Ryan and Dani. Both of these characters' backstories reflectDead Island 2’s irreverent marketing tone: Ryan is a pole dancer with a firefighter routine, while Dani is a punker with a penchant for roller derbies. Their skillsets, too, are appropriately tuned, as Ryan gets to throw enemies around thanks to his hulking physique, and Dani can be turned into a berserker with access to explosive heavy attacks.
ThenewDead Island 2gameplay trailersimmediately pinpoint the fact that the developers aren’t interested in making a game that takes itself too seriously. Specificcally, Ryan was created to play around with the idea of an authority figure who, in fact, doesn’t behave as such at all, said the game’s narrative designer, Ayesha Khan. Dani, on the other hand, came to California from Ireland, and her background allowed the team to create a unique personality type - especially when dialing into her berserker tendencies.
Dead Island 2’s latest delaymight be relatively short, as the game’s only really been pushed back 12 weeks, but the original title’s fans have been waiting a good long while for anything to happen with the IP. The game had initially been announced over a decade ago, and though it’s spent a good part of that period in development hell, audiences are eager to see what Deep Silver and Dambuster Studios end up doing with it.
One of the biggest issues that the game may face is the fact that the originalDead Island’s spiritual successor,Dying Light, came out to critical acclaim and received a reasonably well-received sequel in the interim.Dead Island 2needs unique featuresto differentiate itself from the competitor, and it remains to be seen whether these can feasibly be delivered. Yet, the developers' wackier approach to design and gameplay should help achieve this goal.
Dead Island 2releases May 21, 2025, on PC, PS4, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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