Dead Island Definitive Edition

About Dead Island Definitive Edition

Dead Island Definitive Edition is the remaster of Dead Island, developed by Techland and published by Deep Silver. It came out on May 31, 2016 on Steam (Windows and Linux), PS4 and Xbox One, and also runs on Xbox Series X|S. It includes all previously released DLC and adds full HD graphics, improved models and a new lighting system. It is voiced in English, with text and subtitles in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Czech, Polish and Russian as well.

The setting is Banoi, a tropical island with a luxury resort. A zombie outbreak hits while you are there, and your only thought is to survive. The store sums it up as paradise meets hell: sunlit beaches, palm trees and pools littered with bodies, the infected crawling over the sand. You pick one of four survivors, each with their own past and a knack for a kind of weapon, and wake in the resort hotel to find that you are immune.

Play is first-person and mostly melee. You start with whatever lies around, such as a boat paddle, and move on to knives, machetes, Molotov cocktails and, about a third of the way in, guns. Swings drain a stamina bar, weapons wear out and need repairs at workbenches, and blueprints let you craft stronger ones. Main quests carry the story of how the outbreak began, while side quests, mostly errands, earn experience and money.

The horror is physical: walkers that rise from bodies you thought were dead, fast infected that come in packs, floaters that spew toxic fluid, hulking thugs and suiciders that explode when they get close. Fights are close and bloody, and you can be overwhelmed in broad daylight. It is action first, with gore and the madness of an island falling apart, rather than the slow fear of survival horror.

Against the 2011 original, reviewers noted the remaster adds no new story, but fixes the collectibles and trophies that used to glitch and runs at 1080p with a steadier frame rate. Dead Island 2 moves the same idea to Los Angeles with another studio and a darkly funny tone. Players who like Dying Light, Techland's later zombie game, will find the same first-person melee against the infected.

How to play Dead Island Definitive Edition

1. Buy the game on Steam, PlayStation or Xbox and start the story.
2. Choose one of the four survivors; each has a past of their own and a favoured kind of weapon.
3. Explore Banoi in first person, from the resort beaches and jungle to the deserted city and the highlands.
4. Fight the infected up close with the melee weapon of your choice, watching your stamina bar between swings.
5. Repair and upgrade weapons at workbenches, and craft new ones once you find blueprints and the parts.
6. Follow the main quests to find out what lies behind the outbreak, and take side quests for experience and money.
7. Invite up to three friends to play the story together online (PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass Essential is needed on console).

Tips

• Do not let the infected surround you; fast ones come in packs, so back off and take them one at a time.
• Hit bodies lying on the ground before you walk past: some of the dead are only waiting for you to come close.
• Keep throwing knives or bombs for suiciders and kill them from a distance, before they get close enough to explode.
• Pick up every weapon you see. Repairs cost a lot, so spending money on better or crafted weapons goes further.
• Hold on to weapons you are not yet high enough level to use; they are usually stronger than what you carry.

Questions