Fans are becoming more and more familiar with the recently releasedDead Island 2, following a long and often unsure wait in which the game underwent a decade-long development cycle. In many aspects, the title appears to have lived up to the lofty expectations that were set by this level of anticipation, providing an experience that remains true to the original themes and framework of the franchise while still feeling fresh and innovative.
One of the many ways thatDead Island 2stays true to the wider formula of the franchise is with its large roster of playable characters that the player can choose from. While this is a positive callback to the identity of the original game, it remains that this roster of characters does not offer many material differences to gameplay, with the title not really taking full advantage of what kind of experience this character choice could have fostered.
RELATED:Dead Island 2: All Legendary Weapons and Where to Find Them
The originalDead Islandreleased in 2011 was a well-received launching title that smartly blended hack-and-slash zombie tropes with RPG elements such as skill trees, open-world exploration, and a layered crafting system. As well as this, the originalDead Islandfeatured four possible protagoniststhat the player could choose from. Each of these different characters offered somewhat unique takes on the narrative ofDead Island, as well as different in-game stats that essentially acted as different classes that the player could choose from.
With different characters dealing more melee damage or having a higher health pool, for example, the small yet varied roster thatDead Islandboasted was more than well-received by fans. Besides the aforementioned in-game use of this cast of characters, they additionally helped fostercooperative gameplay inDead Island, a famous aspect of the title that was contingent upon the canonical group of survivors that are involved in the game’s core narrative. While the recentDead Island 2carries this system forward, it is done in a way where the full potential of its character choice is not quite reached.
WhileDead Island 2smartly offers a similar and diverse level of character selection as its mainline predecessor, there are some issues with how the concept is executed within the recent release that affect its impact and utility. For example, whereas the originalDead Islandoffered an intimate selection of just four distinct characters,Dead Island 2has six different potential protagonists.
This may seem like a positive improvement at first glance, yet this increase toDead Island 2’splayable rosteronly further detracts its involved characters from a true sense of depth or ties to its narrative. The range of possible protagonists waters down each character’s importance and presence, perhaps overstepping the mark of the kind of dynamic the originalDead Islandcreated.
As well as this, the different stats that each ofDead Island 2’scharacters possess is fairly marginal, with many characters having very little difference from one another stat-wise. In this way, it may have been wiser forDead Island 2to implement its own character creation system, further leaning into the RPG elements of the franchise. Like thecharacter creation system ofFallout, this would have allowed the player to attribute in-game statistics where they wanted to while offering a beneficial level of personalization to the title. WhileDead Island 2’smany characters still offer lots in the way of replayability and range, it is clear that a smaller yet more unique roster akin to the first game may have raised the potential of this particular mechanic even further.
Dead Island 2is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:Major Gaming Events That Have Taken Place Between Dead Island 2’s Reveal and Release
