Is there even a place for Dead Island 2?
Gaming has seen its fair share of white whales in its history. One of these was Duke Nukem Forever. This is a fitting name because of how long people waited to see it. Although the game launched after more than a decade, it didn’t live up to the hype.
Dead Island 2 is a more recent white whale. Following the massive success of Dead Island and the mixed reception to Riptide’s follow-up expansion in early 2010, announced a proper sequel in 2014. But the project has been stuck in limbo ever since. Although it has not been canceled, there have been no official trailers or gameplay footage. Although a leaked build from a while back, evidence that Dead Island 2 is still being produced has been lacking.
According to a Q&A session with investors at Deep Silver, plans are in place for Dead Island 2 to be released within the following year. This is a remarkable turnaround for gaming’s Abominable Snowman. The gaming landscape has changed dramatically between Dead Island 2’s 2014 announcement trailer and the present. So the question is: Is there even a place to release Dead Island 2?
Techland originally developed the Dead Island games. They have gone on to greater and better things with their Dying Light series. Although Dead Island was a solid concept, it was surrounded by a tangled RPG. Dying Light solved most of its problems and increased the scope and ambition of the project. While it’s fun to play as Sam B and kick zombies in their heads, grapple hooks and dropkicks, are far more effective.
After Dead Island failed to land, Techland’s Dying Light project proved that an open-world zombie survival RPG was worth exploring. They’ve probably carved out a niche in the market for this game, which could only hurt other games trying to replicate it. It is difficult to imagine Dead Island 2 being able to match the achievements of Dying Light without feeling like a carbon copy.
There have been many open-world games launched since Dead Island 2 was revealed. Red Dead Redemption, Ghost of Tsushima, and Breath of Wild have improved the open-world genre. They offer an enhanced layer of interaction and beautiful representations of worlds that are in chaos.
So many games have had a greater impact than Dead Island, it’s difficult to imagine how a new Dead Island could change the game. It’s not possible to have more of the same thing in a different setting. We’ve had so much. It’s difficult to see Dead Island’s potential unless it becomes a VR game or expands on the analog combat system.
Dead Island 2’s release feels like Deep Silver is committing to the project despite not having enough space. Techland intends to keep Dying light 2 running for five years, with new content and expanded features. Any Dead Island 2 release would be up against the fierce competition.
White whales such as Duke Nukem: Forever feel that they suffer because they have been in development so long. While the core mechanics were outdated for their time, the writing and references were a diverse mix of cultures from the decade before. The result felt like a mix of old and new content and gameplay. Dead Island 2 has every chance to feel the same if it was in development for 8-10 years.
This is perhaps a way to acknowledge that Dead Island 2’s hype train has left the station. It’s a bit too late and so much has happened since then that any Dead Island 2 release feels obsolete. It’s possible that Dead Island 2 will be released, and it may be the greatest game ever made. But it doesn’t feel right anymore.
