Dead Island 2has done well to please fans since its recent release on April 21, with the game’s launch marking the end of a wait that lasted over a decade. The gruesome yet eccentric zombie survival title can be said to have already stamped the franchise back on the map of the wider gaming industry, allowing the IP to be once again compared to its industry peers.
In particular,Dead Island 2has drawn many comparisons to the recentDying Light 2, with these two franchises having historically been regarded as each other’s most comparable and direct competitors. Now that fans are becoming more familiar with the newDead Islandrelease and its identity, the long-standing similarities between both IPs clearly extend to their most recent mainline releases in many ways.
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The firstDead Islandlaunched in 2011, starting something of a revolution in contemporary zombie titles in which many of them follow the same general framework of their offered gameplay experience. DespiteDead Islandand its follow-up spin-off titleRiptidebeing having solid receptions, the franchise would quickly go into a kind of developmental limbo from which it seemed it may never recover.
During this time, the original team behindDead IslandTechland went about creating a new zombie-centric IP,birthing theDying Lightfranchise in 2015. Both franchises feature a first-person perspective and an affinity for RPG mechanics such as skill trees and gear rarity. WhileDying Lightcan be said to stand on its own two feet with its focus on parkour mechanics, it is clear that Techland took great inspiration from its past project when developing the game.
These similarities extend to the kind of game world and narrative mechanics of both franchises, withDead IslandandDying Lightboth featuring open worlds with mainline stories and side-content quest givers. With the recent release ofDead Island 2, the discourse behind these similarities is once again fervent, with both franchises still playing well off one another yet experiencing some similar pitfalls.
Dying Light 2released in 2022, at the time standing as a living example that the franchise had exceededDead Islandin terms of sustained relevance. This enjoyment was short-lived, however, withDead Island 2releasing on April 21and bringing the two IPs back on level pegging in terms of mainline releases.
Both of these more recent releases possess the same overall identity and framework that their launching titles provided, with the games currently being in fascinatingly similar states. Of course, both new titles feature zombie killing as their core allure, with both games relying heavily on gorey melee combat more often than not.While guns are available inDead Island 2to a greater extent thanDying Light 2, both games still essentially push players toward melee combat thanks to the inefficiency and rarity of firearms and ammo.
With both titles also opting for an urban dystopian setting, such asDead Island 2’stake on Los Angeles, the inherent similarities between both franchises is more apparent than ever. It must be said thatDead Island 2portrays a much more comical and over-the-top take on this dystopia than the more grounded and grittyDying Light 2, typifying how each franchise has toed the line of still maintaining its own unique feel. While bothDead Island 2andDying Light 2are similar in numerous ways, it is clear that both games offer different overall feels and themes that have seen them both grow to be successful.
Dead Island 2is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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