DEAD ISLAND 2: HELL-A IS BLOODY, LOUD, AND SUNNY

7.5 of 10 bananas. Hell-A, a crowbar, and one of the best zombie gore systems ever built.

By the Alpha. PS5 Day 1 Edition disc listing. Updated Oct 2026.

Platforms: The PS5 Day 1 Edition disc is the Amazon button. It also runs on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC on Steam, with online co-op for up to three players. At my check stock was very thin and the seller was a third party, so check the seller and price before you pay.

Sit with me a moment. I kicked a zombie off a Bel-Air balcony, set his friend on fire with a jerry can, and shocked the rest in a swimming pool. Then I laughed out loud. Dead Island 2 is not scary, not deep, and not trying to be. It is a gore playground in the sun, and the gore is incredible.

What It Wants To Be

Dambuster Studios' 2023 first-person zombie brawler, released after a famously long development. Los Angeles, now called Hell-A, is under quarantine, and you pick one of six Slayers, each with their own perks. You fight with melee weapons, mods, and later guns, across Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Hollywood, and more. The Haus and SoLA expansions add more ground.

What Works

The FLESH system is the star. Zombies come apart layer by layer, skin, muscle, and bone, depending on what you hit them with. Weapon mods add fire, shock, and caustic damage, and the levels are a toolbox of water, fuel, and live wires. The tone is pulp comedy with a sunny LA look. Skill cards let you swap builds anytime. Co-op with friends doubles the fun.

What Breaks

Listen well. It is a chain of hub zones, not an open world. Quests are basic fetch and kill errands. The story is thin and the characters are loud. Combat gets repetitive in the back half, and weapons wear out fast. It runs roughly ten to twenty hours and shows its age as a game that spent years in development.

Who Should Play

Play if you want a goofy gore playground with friends. Skip if you want real horror, a deep story, or a big open world. For a meaner zombie hunt, read my Dying Light: The Beast verdict.

Related: Dying Light: The Beast, Days Gone, Dead Space.

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