The Case

The first Dead Island was an outstanding game for multiple reasons. It was unique, fresh, scary at times, and It included an absolutely brilliant combat system which made the player feel the weight of their fists and weapons like never before. Now we get to return to the tropical paradise in a standalone expansion called Riptide. But is it worth returning?

The Trial

First of all, you need to be aware of the fact that Riptide is not a sequel nor is it a truly new game. It is a set of all the well-known elements put together in a different way and with a few new pieces to play with. It underwent a few tweaks, making the gameplay even more addictive and satisfactory, but if you hated any of the core elements of Dead Island then you will probably find it the same here as well.

The story begins right after the final scenes of the first game, with the immune survivors landing on a military ship off the coast of Banoi. Their happiness does not last long as they are taken prisoner by a man called Frank Serpo. Drugged and experimented on, the heroes get a chance to escape when their ship is hit by a mighty storm, followed by a crash. They end up on Palanai Island, part of the same archipelago, and quickly learn that it has been struck by an outbreak of the all-too-familiar zombie plague.

The 4 playable characters of the first game are joined by a new one, martial arts specialist John Morgan. He is interesting in gameplay, dealing powerful kicks and punches without having to think too much about his weapons’ durability, making him a good choice for the zombie-slaying veterans and newbies alike. We do not know all that much about him at first, but the diary collectibles scattered throughout the island will cast some light on his past.

Now as for the island itself, if you played Dead Island, you most probably remember it being divided into several “environments”, namely the jungle, some tunnels and a city. Well, welcome back as Riptide features the very same sights, only a little shuffled and with a new model or texture added here and there. It is almost a year since yours truly last played the original but it is easy to imagine that someone who just finished it and want to jump right into the continuation could be a little disappointed. No reason to mourn though as the locations are still believable and full of surprises, with an interesting addition of instances found from time to time. These tiny, often puzzle-like areas pose some extra challenge as well as a chance to obtain rare crafting materials.

In terms of weaponry Riptide provides as much diversity as its predecessor. Once again the core of our personal arsenal are the melee toys – slashing, blunt and throwable. There is also a new type designed especially for Morgan – claws. Every weapon can be modified (once we have found the corresponding blueprint and components) which allows for lots of customization and near limitless ways to annihilate the living dead. There are also firearms to be found (though they are just as scarce as before) and a few completely new devices used mainly “for fun” – the nailgun, flare gun and harpoon, to name some of them. These beauties give interesting effects and putting a nail in the forehead of an approaching zombie does will keep you entertained for quite some time.

There are other new options like, the team menu, which allows us to perform special quests for our NPC friends (mostly “fetch” quests) in order to power them up in teamfight missions or expand the stock of the shopkeepers. This one could be done better though, as right now the player usually ends up doing the quests in waves, like “I have a backpack full of materials, time to give them away”, instantly amassing experience points for a few levels. Another interesting novelty is the addition of boats as controllable vehicles, which you will be using quite often to traverse the partially flooded jungle.

If you are more of a pack wolf, Riptide offers the same great matching system as the first game and joining another player in their struggle takes as little as the stroke of a button. It works flawlessly and so does the disconnection process, so it would be a shame not to break some bones with a friend! And for the social freaks there is the achievement system and, erm…Facebook events? Anyways, have fun!

The last honourable mention goes to the bestiary (zombiary?) of the game. Why honourable? Well, mostly because it didn’t change much. Apart from the well-known walkers and the infected, we also meet the new kinds of stronger, special zombies. For example you have The Butcher, a horrifically fast, unstoppable beast, which is sure to cause you a meaty headache. And there are the Drowners, who give you a heart attack when first encountered. Also, some of the more important missions will have a Diablo-style boss at the end, with a unique name, higher stats and, of course, epic loot drops.

And the bad things? Well, apart from the aforementioned repetition, which may or may not be seen as a flaw, I encountered an alarming number of technical problems. They were rather minor, yes, but annoying nonetheless. Having to boot the game up 3 times because of it crashing during the logo splash or a need to play with the system cursor visible on-screen are not situations you would expect from a top-rank game, right? Right.

The Verdict

Dead Island: Riptide is a fun game to play, just as much as the first one. Among all the zombie games, this franchise is and will most probably remain yours truly’s favourite, thanks to the fighting system, the great realisation and the hack’n’slash mechanics. Judging from the number of the “join a nearby player” pop-ups I encountered throughout the game, many people seem to think likewise. Just… come on Techland. Give us a proper sequel next time!

Case Review