Article by Samuele Zaboi
Pending the arrival of Dead Island 2, scheduled for next year, Deep Silver has decided to give new life to the series with the publication of a new chapter, Escape Dead Island, which is placed between the first and the second episode. The choice to publish the game only on consoles of the past generation already appears as a small defeat, as if the purpose of Escape Dead Island was only to occupy the space waiting for Dead Island 2.
Zombie everywhere
In Escape Dead Island the player will have to take on the role of Cliff Calo, the son of a father in search of his own path and aspiration. For this reason he leaves, in the company of some friends, for Banoi to investigate and discover the mystery behind the spread of the lethal Pathogen HK virus that is slowly taking over the island. The first big news that stands out to the eye of this spin-off (we cannot speak of a real Dead Island) is the transition from first person to third person view. Featuring graphic novel-style gameplay, the title will put users in front of an alternation between stealth and action phases even if these have not been developed properly, with obstacles that are often easily circumvented and with sometimes confusing fights, also due to a game camera that fails to provide the best possible shot on every occasion.
Un po’ stealth, un po’ action
The stealth component shows gaps since the possible actions are not many: you can follow a zombie and kill it with a screwdriver or simply decide to avoid them. Often choosing which of the two actions to perform will prove to be a leap in the dark, leading the player towards glorious deeds or suicides in fact announced. Not even the action part lacks more or less annoying defects: as already mentioned above, the camera turns out to be uncomfortable and ineffective, while the zombies will be able to show themselves extremely strong, able to kill a Cliff perhaps too vulnerable with only a handful of shots.
It is not Dead Island
Beyond a graphic style that can appear pleasant, although even in this case there are imperfections, Escape Dead Island it has little to positively distinguish itself from, apart from the fact that it is in fact a title created for the biggest fans of the series who will be able, perhaps, to turn a blind eye to the various shortcomings of the game. It cannot be excluded that these are also due to the choice not to make the title land on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, perhaps giving an unconscious (but unmotivated) justification for the treatment reserved to Escape Dead Island. During the adventure Cliff will show some signs of madness that will lead to vary, at least in part, the gameplay of the game: this feature, although positive on a theoretical level, has not been exploited properly. The title seems to have been built with too much enough and too little attention, with a very low longevity and with an even lower replayability, despite some interesting basic ideas like the one mentioned a few lines above.
Conclusions
Escape Dead Island turns out to be an unsuccessful attempt to fill a perhaps too long wait between the first and second installments of the series. Made with the purpose of being a fan service, the game shows a non-optimal gameplay with stealth and action phases not without gaps and with the impossibility, at certain times, to actually choose which strategy to adopt. A low longevity and replayability confirm that the overall quality of Escape Dead Island is not high, with the hope, and ultimately the certainty, that Dead Island 2 will be much better.
