Lifeless Island 2 Overview (PS5)

9 years in the past, Lifeless Island 2 entered the general public zeitgeist with a vibrant and humorous reveal trailer. It teased a brand new, vibrant setting in L.A. while doubling down on that irreverent tone of the unique sport. Nevertheless, because the years handed on, the hearsay mill started to churn out tales of inner struggles, with the undertaking switching improvement fingers and being delayed time and time once more. When the evaluation code finally landed in our inbox — a mere eight years after its proposed 2015 launch window — we could not assist however really feel sceptical. Fortunately, our pessimism was met with utter shock, as Lifeless Island 2 is not only a cohesive zombie-slayer — it is a fairly good one.

Lifeless Island 2 is an open-levelled RPG, set throughout the zombie-infested streets of Los Angeles, and immediately we’re concerning one in all our favorite features of this sequel. ‘Hell-A’, because it’s coined, is not an infinite open world crammed with an awesome variety of icons. It is truly made up of 10 rigorously curated open ranges, starting from the millionaire mansions of Bel-Air to the labyrinthine sound levels of Monarch Studios. It’s very refreshing to be given manageable areas to discover that really feel purposeful and distinctive in their very own methods. There aren’t repetitive areas, we aren’t left working for miles on finish to get to our vacation spot, and even the degrees themselves vary in each measurement and linearity. There are nonetheless side-quests and different content material to work your method via, however these serve extra as methods to review the surroundings a bit of nearer, offer you cooler weapons, and in the end make you’re feeling like a badass as you slay numerous undead opponents.

All of it signifies that every time we reached a brand new space, we have been rubbing our fingers collectively, wanting ahead to uncovering new world particulars supplied up by its surroundings. And every new zone has its personal flavour too, just like the blood-soaked undead bridesmaids within the Halperin Resort, or the bevy of muscly giants dropped at their premature demise on the Venice Seaside strongman competitors. The degrees do not simply affect the place you are slaying zombies, however what sorts of zombies you are slaying, and it retains you in your toes as you discover. In truth, we have been utterly gained over by Lifeless Island 2’s setting. It appears like a 2010 sport in its scale, rigorously and densely curated with all of the graphical and mechanical prowess of a 2023 launch — and we imply that in the very best form of method.

However what’s a terrific zompocalypse — the sport’s time period, not ours — with out some enjoyable zombie-slaying gameplay? Lifeless Island 2 fortunately strikes on from the stilted sport really feel of its predecessor to ship one thing fast-paced, dynamic, and horrifically gory. The sport’s ‘FLESH’ system actually does make this a few of the most satisfying zombie-killing put to the medium. With every slash, bash, and swing, pores and skin and bones are torn, snapped, amputated, and mutilated earlier than your very eyes. Bones jut out of eliminated legs as you swipe at them with katanas, eyes come out of sockets as you bash skulls with hammers, and pores and skin will burn away in actual time as you wield some lethal acidic knuckle dusters. On the odd event, we felt the sport might have carried out with extra zombies on-screen directly, but when that was the price of having extremely detailed gore, we predict it was nicely definitely worth the worth.

That is as a result of the FLESH mechanic feeds into the weapons programs. It is not something groundbreaking, and even new to the franchise, as you fiddle with weapon courses, perks, and harm varieties. Nevertheless, the chaos you may trigger with stated weapons turns into a case of morbid curiosity. What would a sledgehammer with an influence mod do to a zombie’s cranium? How simply might you slice off limbs with an acid-tinged sword? It is a enjoyable type of bloody experimentation that entices you into its weapons modification in a method that the majority video games fail to do.

That being stated, it is responsible of the online game sin of filling your stock with too many pointless issues. You will spend almost each waking second of your exploration of L.A amassing varied doodads as you loot suitcases, drawers, cabinets, automotive boots, cabinets, safes, chests, vehicles, and even the zombies themselves. All of those knick-knacks are used to craft up the deadliest of weapons, however we might be mendacity if we stated the rigmarole of looting did not get outdated after some time. The inflow of larger and higher weapons means you are always having to determine between ditching the weapons you want for one thing with larger stats and a unique tier.

Then there’s the cardboard system, which works via the sport’s six playable characters, a mechanic that appears like a scaled again model of one thing initially supposed for extra. At first of your marketing campaign, you will select your personal protagonist, every with their very own persona, expertise, and traits. We selected the foul-mouthed Irishwoman, Dani, who prioritises stamina however nonetheless packs a punch together with her Thunderstruck explosion potential. We have been comparatively stunned by the persona on present through the sport’s cutscenes, but it surely all started to really feel a bit pointless. Dialogue for all of the NPCs was generic as to suit every of the six protagonists, and because you could not swap characters through the sport’s marketing campaign, neither is there any distinction to the marketing campaign primarily based on who you play, there was actually no cause to replay all of it simply to check out a unique character sort. And actually, the much less we are saying in regards to the sport’s run-of-the-mill storyline, the higher.

After all, the larger characteristic listed below are the playing cards themselves, which can apply a bunch of passive and distinctive skills to your character. There may be definitely a depth to the form of builds you may craft as you unlock and uncover extra playing cards throughout the marketing campaign. For Dani, we used the likes of an influence amplifier for our drop kick, and you may combine up your ultimate-styled Fury Mode potential to rampage via hordes of zombies. Nevertheless, outdoors one or two key expertise and the odd boss battle, we actually weren’t compelled to dive deep into the cardboard system, particularly when simply slashing and smashing away can be simply as enjoyable and efficient.

Conclusion

In the long run, although, Lifeless Island 2 is a refreshing shock amid the 2023 launch roster. It is a enjoyable and easy zombie-slasher expertise that could be let down by its uninspiring RPG parts and boring loot-cycle, however greater than makes up for it with its killer setting, brutal melee fight, and gorgeous graphics. Whereas we suspect some will likely be disenchanted by the sport’s measurement in any case these years, we discovered it totally revitalising to discover a AAA expertise that respects your time, and extra importantly does not overstay its welcome. Within the day and age of 300-hour RPGs, it is good to know that some video games are right here for a enjoyable time, not a very long time.