Dead Island 2 has been a long time coming, and the wait has been worth it for the most part. It launches in a solid state (at least on Xbox Series X) with excellent performance and impressive visuals. And its next-level zombie destruction combat provides some solid fun that shines in co-op.

A snippet from our full review.

Dead Island 2 was announced over a decade ago. Without going into all the details, the version we see today - developed by Dambuster Studios (Homefront: The Revolution) - is a relatively new post-2018 effort. Still, you can’t help but shake the sense that it’s the result of a long and troubled development cycle when firing it up for the first time. Even though that’s not the case.

One of the most impressive things about Dead Island 2 - at least initially - is just how polished it is in terms of visual fidelity, performance, and responsiveness. Not only compared to most titles we’ve seen so far this year but also compared to the original Dead Island from 2011. Reviewed primarily on Xbox Series X, the experience of playing through Dead Island 2’s campaign in co-op was as smooth as a sharpened meat cleaver cutting through the juicy red and hard white stuff of a zombie’s limb.

And that’s initially because where Dead Island 2 excels and makes its mark as a fun blood-soaked action spectacle set in the post-apocalyptic streets and beaches of Los Angeles is with its combat.

Our Full Dead Island 2 Review