Dambuster Studios has revealed one of Dead Island 2’s “most fascinating” new features: the skill deck.
In an interview with Game Informer (thank you, NME), creative director James Worrall and lead narrative designer Khan announced that the long-awaited – and frequently delayed – sequel will take place in Los Angeles a decade after the original game.
The team added that LA will practically be a character itself owing to “the fantastic eccentrics and self-confidence of the city”, and feels that the skill tree will be “one of – if not the most – fascinating addition to the game”.
Khan made the revelation when asked if there was a skill tree and instead replied: “There’s a skill deck… that’s much better.
“The art is fantastic, and they’re entertaining to look at, but they’re also a lot of fun to play with. [You can] change skills in the air; you can take off, change a skill, and land with a different loadout, which is incredible.”
“You may also take some significant chances with your loadout,” Worrall noted. “It truly pays off… and occasionally things go horribly wrong.”
“Dead Island 2 is pretty much what you get if you Google ‘development hell’ after eight years and three studios,” we noted in our Dead Island 2 hands-on preview. “Dambuster Studios, the current custodian, has completely rebooted it, and it appears to be doing a fantastic job.
“[The production team] refused to comment on the missing years or other studios, but based on what I’ve seen of Dead Island 2, the effort appears to have paid off. My little encounter with the zombies on the beach promised a sophisticated and unexpectedly enjoyable zombie apocalypse. One that’s more of a comic adventure than the previous serious ‘is man the actual monster?’ crap. Which, after a true epidemic and the current situation of the globe, is perhaps what we need.”
We learned late last year that Dead Island 2 has been postponed again further, and will now be released 12 weeks later, on April 28, 2023.
Here is a list of all the new games for 2023. (and beyond).
