The first Dead Island 2 trailer was wonderfully rendered, directed and executed. It was purely a cinematic scene of Santa Monica slaughter that brought back the horror, emotion and black comedy from the original game and left a lasting impression.
As with many reveals, that first look at Dead Island 2 was not indicative of what actual gameplay might be like. Thankfully the advent of Gamescom 2014 this week has delivered the first Dead Island 2 gameplay trailer and it’s a sunny, bloody good time on North American shores.
Whereas the first Dead Island 2 trailer was set right on the edge of a California beach, this one heads inland a little bit into the Hollywood Hills where the rich and famous become prey and ultimately zombies. There’s a suburban feel to the surroundings as the antagonist hacks and smashes his way through the undead and blood splatters all over the sunlit asphalt.
There’s choppiness in some of the Dead Island 2 gameplay trailer animation, especially during the hack attacks on zombies. Publisher Deep Silver is very clear to preface the trailer with a notice that all footage is culled from a pre-alpha build of the game.
With many more months between now and the game’s spring 2015 release, there’s still plenty of time for developer Yager to get Dead Island 2 running smoothly and hopefully without bugs.
Dead Island 2 is being developed exclusively for Xbox One, PS4 and Windows PC. The first playable demo set beneath the famous Hollywood sign will make its public debut on the Gamescom 2014 floor.
