The last time anyone saw anything official out of Dead Island 2 was Gamescom 2014, nearly 8 years ago. Early gameplay footage then confirmed a California setting, highlighting Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood, and bigger locations like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and little more. Weapon mods, zombies, and 8-player co-op were all also shown, but then again, that was years ago.
Since then, Dead Island 2 has been passed from developer to developer, beginning at Yager Development, being moved to Sumo Digital, and eventually landing at Dambuster Studios, an internal studio of Deep Silver. It’s only reasonable then that various aspects of the game have changed, and it’s very possible that the Dead Island 2 currently in development (recently reaffirmed by Deep Silver) looks nothing like its 2014 counterpart.
With this in mind, it’s impossible to imagine what it’ll look like when Dead Island 2 drops trailers, news, and gameplay reveals…eventually. If some of that original design remains, though, there’s one thing Dead Island 2 should do that could raise the bar for future open-world zombie games and put this title ahead of its main competitor, Dying Light. Whereas Dying Light 2 will continue to expand on its story over time with DLC, Dead Island 2 should set out to expand its scope and bring an epic day-one story and open-world design to the game.
Dead Island 2, Open-World Designs, and California
The plot for Dead Island 2, as shown in 2014, is simple but sounds like a generic zombie story: “After the events of Dead Island, the US Armed Forces put California into quarantine due to a new zombie outbreak.” This really isn’t that different from Dying Light 2: After the Harran Virus is cured, a new outbreak happens, and boom—players are Aiden in Villedor.
Many zombie games' main draws can be broken up into factions trying to survive, a cure attempting to be discovered, or one or two single people being saved/cured. One or two people are also usually the difference in the destruction or a cure, but Dead Island 2 should set out to tell a more unique zombie story, and it already has potential for that: California. Instead of a fictional setting, Dead Island 2 originally featured several locations around this real-world setting, but it could instead form a truly original zombie story and open-world game by expanding on this concept alone.
Instead of focusing on the big cities, Dead Island 2 could instead create a condensed, collected version of California. This would allow the setting to provide a level of immersion and environmental storytelling akin to Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption. Obviously, it wouldn’t have to be a 1:1 recreation of California, but just as Red Dead brings together an amalgamation of western elements and stories into its own, Dead Island 2 should set out to do the same with California.
Dead Island 2: Breaking the Norms of Zombie Games
Taking this emphasis of an open-world design and sprinkling in these real-world aspects could then be used to create a more grounded story within those elements. If Dead Island 2’s story focuses on survival, a cure, or these basic elements in every zombie game, then it’s repeating everything that has been done before. Instead, it should be an open-world game where zombies play a major role, but the threats and story do something more than retread old territory.
Instead of seeking pure survival at the hands of a zombie horde, players could be dealing with growing environmental threats of wildfires within the quarantine, especially as the latter prevents government interferences (presumably). The environment could thus be as dangerous as the surrounding zombies, and it could be about protecting what’s left of “home” instead of surviving. Instead of a cure being the main goal or the entire destruction of California being a huge calamity coming, it could be about discovering a spy, a secret facility, or some other element that is currently stopping the US Government from providing further assistance. It could even go as far as to show a way that zombies can live beside humanity, if they were intelligent enough, that is.
Obviously, these are just ramblings that aren’t likely to appear in the game, but the simple fact is that Dead Island 2 should set out to tell a more immersive and unique story than most zombie games. California gives it the best chance to do that, and if it seizes the moment, Dead Island 2 could take the lead into the next generation of zombie games.
Dead Island 2 is in development.