Dead Island 2 review – rollicking zombie hack-n-slasher has missed its moment

Deep Silver; PC, PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Hacking at the undead in post-apocalyptic LA is a lot of fun, but the game's delayed release has made it sluggish and limited

Once in a while, the story behind a game's development is more epic than anything being shown on screen. This is one of those occasions. Work on a sequel to 2011 zombie adventure Dead Island began in 2012, but the project has since been through at least three development studios on its tortured route to release. German studio Yager had three years on the project before publisher Deep Silver passed it on to Sumo Digital for another three years until it washed up with Dambusters, Deep Silver's own in-house studio. It's a credit to everyone involved that it actually functions as a finished product, albeit one that shows the scars of its troubled gestation.

The sequel shifts the action to a post-zombie-apocalypse version of Los Angeles, where the narrative stumbles between sprawling Beverly Hills mansions, Hollywood movie sets and sunny beaches. At the start you choose one of six characters, all with differing stats and special abilities, and while attempting to escape the city you must solve the mystery of how the contagion came about and whether or not there's a cure. In between crushing the skulls of a thousand undead monsters, you also meet survivors - mostly stoners, preppers and superstar influencers - who all have a part to play in the emerging story.