Dead Island

Obviously, I love this game. Used to play it on the 360 all night growing up, ran through the campaign sometimes two times a night. Met some of my closest friends playing this game. Nostalgia from back in the day mixed with some absolutely awesome upgrades from the original make this a timeless classic for me.

It might be a terrible game from the early 2010s, but it's MY awful game from the early 2010s, I remember coming home from school and booting this up, and the nostalgia still hits good

This review is based on 100% completion and 38.6 hours of gameplay on steam with many more on Xbox. This review will also apply to the original version of this game for the most part.
Recommendation:
Would I recommend this game? Yes, it's not a bad zombie game, and one of the first I ever played, so I do have a nostalgic attachment to it. Don’t go in with massive expectations—while back in its day this was an exceptional game, by today’s standards, it would be considered an "okay" or "good" game, it’s more of a good classic. If you're looking for another solid game to add to your collection, this is a good pick-up. But if you're after something more fleshed out, I’d recommend looking at something like Dying Light.
The main differences with this Definitive Edition compared to the original are the improved graphics and the inclusion of the DLC. Other than that, you’re basically getting the same experience as the original, so it will feel a bit dated in some areas since it’s an older game. Still, it's good for what it is and will keep you busy for a good few hours.
One thing I’ll point out, which I’m not 100% sure about, is that this game seems to make my PC run a lot harder compared to other games with higher requirements. So, keep that in mind. The only real issues I had were with dynamic lighting, like in the prologue when you first see the infected and have to run away—my game would drop frames and stutter extremely hard. The only fixes were either loading into another area or restarting the game. I also ran into a few bugs: I’d randomly get killed by being thrown into the air by the map, touching an object, or even just getting out of the car. I also had frequent "survivor killed" pop-ups, forcing me to reload a checkpoint or exit the game. This bug occurred when survivors fell through the map and died, even if you’re not near them or have already saved them. Despite these bugs, the game ran surprisingly well overall.
As for gameplay, it can feel clunky and unintuitive at times, which can be frustrating. Some weapons, like two-handed hammers, don’t feel viable because the actions move your screen too much, making me feel nauseous—lots of weapons do this. Combat can also be annoying with zombies pushing you back while still running at you, which can make you get stuck in the wrong animations. The driving is okay—nothing special—but it’s useful for clearing out zombies before getting out.
The co-op/multiplayer runs well, even when connecting with people across the world, which was a pleasant surprise. The only letdown is progression tracking for the person joining the host, as only character progress like levels and loot are kept—story progression is not. You do get a warning about this before joining someone’s game, though.
The Definitive Edition does offer some nice enhanced graphics, which I think still look good by today’s standards. The lighting especially makes the game look more modern, though some models and elements do still look a bit scuffed. Overall, it does a good job visually.
Lastly, the game’s arena mode isn’t bad, especially in co-op. It’s pretty standard, but it’s a good source of money once you get far enough for special enemies to spawn more frequently.
While I do recommend the game, it goes on sale regularly due to its age, so I’d suggest waiting for a good deal before picking it up.
Achievements:
There are a few multiplayer/co-op achievements you’ll need to do, one RNG achievement, and one that requires waiting 28 days. To my knowledge, you’ll also need a controller for one of the achievements. (There actually seems to be a workaround for this if you don’t have one, but I can't 100% confirm myself.)
The achievements are fairly easy in this game. The main ones to watch out for are the multiplayer/co-op achievements, such as needing to play with 10 different individuals and two others that require a full squad (3 other players). Since this is an older game, finding people to play with might be tricky, but making a post and waiting for people to reach out over time will be the way to go.
There’s also one achievement for using the analogue control settings in the arena, which, to my knowledge, only works with a controller. The controls feel clunky, but it’s not too bad if you do this with another person at a decent level—you can just use jump kicks to get it done quickly. Once you’ve got it, you can switch back to the normal controls. (There seems to be a workaround for this where you can select a controller in the settings and then set it to analogue and then switch back to keyboard and mouse, and it will still be in the analogue settings even without a controller, but I personally can't confirm this 100% works though.)
The arena is a good way to grind out some of the miscellaneous achievements, like specific kills, if you’re cleaning up before moving on to Act 4 or just want to get them done quickly.
For the achievement that requires exploring all areas, I recommend following a guide. There’s a great guide by Xeinok and Ralf in the Steam guides you can check out here. ( It's on the original Dead Islands community guides, so it may be a bit hard to find through Steam itself, but it will come up easily on Google if you just want to find it later on.)
Some achievements can be a bit tricky to get to pop, but none were too much of an issue for me. If you meet the requirements for an achievement and it unlocks in-game but not on Steam, sometimes you just need to give it a minute, load into another area, unlock another achievement, or simply exit to the main menu and load back in.
Other than that, all the achievements in this game are fairly easy.
For more in-depth yet straight-to-the-point reviews, feel free to check out my curator page here.

One of the best paradise zombie games of all time
My honest rating: 10/10 (biased)
really honest: 9.5/10
tldr: Dead Island is one of the best first person zombie games that exists, but imo, it shouldn't be played in a fast pace. If you like zombie games that you explore locations with peace and tranquility while killing zombies with nice weapons in a TRULY paradise, then this game is for you.
Unpopular opinion: I think this is better than Dying light, just because in Dying light I feel pressured to complete the main story because of its overly dramatic acting and the whole scenery behind that game, while in this I feel the total opposite, like I can take my time and enjoy it. But both games are really good.
More of my review, talking about some topics
Story : the story of Dead Island is alright for this game, because in my honest opinion you are not supposed to play this game for it's plot, you are supposed to kill zombies and enjoy the paradise while progressing throughout the story without caring too much for the plot. The "boring" aspect of the story is good because it allows the player to do whatever they want, if the story is something overly dramatic, then the player will most likely feel the need to continue the story as fast as they can.
There are some good moments in the story like collecting boxes of juice, that is so cool. So the story in my opinion is 10/10
Quests : I really like them. You have the main quests, the side quests and the continuous, the continuous are quests that you can repeat, for example, one continuous quest that I really like is the one that you have to give 3 bottles of alcohol to a nice dude in the first island, and as a reward he will give you a molotov, and you can repeat that as many times as you want.
Gameplay and mechanics : They are really nice, I'll list them with some facts that I find interesting.
1. Automatic save systems: 1 save slot per character. Meaning that you can have multiple characters even the same ones with its own save slot
2. Inventory system: you can find weapons and items lying around, you'll also find collectables and blueprints.
3. Workbench: the workbench allows the player to repair and upgrade its weapons. You can also create new weapons using blueprints that you'll find throughout the game.
4. Skills: You can level up your character by killing zombies and completing missions, each time you level up, you gain 1 skill point which can be used to purchase a skill from the skill tree (skill skill skill)
5. A map: self explanatory. You'll have a map for each island, but there are some exceptions.
6. Multiple Islands: You'll travel through more than one island, that's right, this game has a lot of different places to explore, and that's a big reason to why I love it so much.
6. Driving: You can drive cars in the islands, how cool is that? I really like the physics btw lol.
7.Fast travel: You can fast travel to several places.
8. Analog Fight (underrated) (I LOVE THIS MECHANIC): a mechanic that allows the player to control the swing of its weapon. for example, you can hold a key to make the character ready to attack, while holding that key you'll move your right stick from left to right, so your character will swing its weapon on that direction, I really like this function because it allows me to hit the zombies in the direction that I want while giving more realism to the gameplay. There is also an easy workaround to make it work with your mouse but you'll still need a controller to choose the option if I'm not mistaken.
9. Arena (DLC): As the name suggests, It's an arena to battle against hordes of zombies, It's a survival gamemode, you'll choose an arena level, and then you'll survive as many waves as you can. It's pretty fun.
Now let's talk about the Ryder White DLC: ---SPOILER ALERT a strange EasterEgg--- It's very mid. It's really linear, there is almost no room for exploration, and the good part about this dlc is that it ends fast, I think I finished in 2 hours, and I was taking long because I wanted to check almost every corner just to see something different and to get the "collectables" which you can't even collect them (wow). But I was rewarded while checking the corners, I found an interesting thing near the ending of this DLC, spoilers ahead if you want to find it yourself:

So yeah overall this dlc is a 5/10. at least you get to know better about the ending of the game, but It's very ignorable, the story of the dlc doesn't make much difference to the main story.
Level design and about the paradise : the best part of this game is with no doubt the paradise that you are in, I really really love the aesthetics the graphics and level design of the first island it's so calm and relaxing. I also enjoy pretty much the design of the fourth island the lab island It's also very pleasant.
About the level design, it's perfect but the second island can be a bit repetitive, oh and there is sewers in this game, and I really like it, even though It's a somewhat simple level design there. I just love this game.
Overall, if you want to relax yourself playing a nice zombie game in a paradise with nice weapons and nice combinations of things that you can do, then this game is certainly for you.

Pros:
- Visual Improvements: The game has received a significant graphical upgrade, with enhanced textures, environmental objects, and lighting effects that make the world feel more immersive.

- Content: The Definitive Edition includes both Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide, along with all the DLC, offering a lot of content for players.

- Quality of Life Improvements: The game features several quality-of-life improvements, such as better inventory management and additional gameplay tweaks that make the experience smoother.

Cons:
- Performance Issues: Despite the visual improvements, the game still struggles with performance, particularly with frame rate drops and occasional bugs.

- Outdated Mechanics: Some of the core gameplay mechanics feel dated and repetitive, which might not appeal to everyone.

- Mixed Reactions to Changes: While many improvements were made, some changes, like altered weapon models and textures, have received mixed feedback from players who were nostalgic about the original versions.

Overall, Dead Island: Definitive Edition offers a lot of content and visual enhancements, but it still has some performance and gameplay issues that might not be for everyone.

The game is impressive, especially considering its release around 2016. The side quests are thoughtfully well-designed and engaging, capable of occupying you for hours. The main storyline, while straightforward, is rich in detail and depth. The leveling system is contentious; if you hate it, you will still hate it, particularly for a game that strives for realism like this one. However, in this game, I find that the leveling system adds meaningful engagement throughout the game. To clarify, at times, you'll need to travel long distances without the option of fast travel, encountering zombies along the way with the system will allow you to earn money and level up, effectively making those encounters more valuable. Unlike many zombie games where zombies are mere obstacles that you can simply walk past because they give you nothing, here they provide a rewarding challenge.
PS I would say 8/10 for this game (without comparing it to modern games). However, considering some parts of the main story of this game, there is a character named 'Jin'. She was useful and had big developments throughout the game but got brutally raped and defenselessly killed and none of the main characters cared (not even showed some grieving or lamenting) about her, despite all her help. This senseless disregard for her character is very frustrating.

I got a zombie army and you can't harm me
Who do you voodoo, bitch?
After 35 hours in I feel I'm familiar enough to write a few lines about the game. Despite it's many flaws I found the game quite enjoyable. In-game Port Moresby has amazing verticality and Zombies follow you up ladders eventually. A showing of AI many modern games lack. Zombies and Raskols seem to be taken out of Stephen Dupont's photo album of the Kips Kaboni (Red Devils)
Player base for multiplayer is rather small and while you can find randoms to play with it's rare. You'll have to solo the campaign if you can't convince your friends.
Get the game at a deep, deep sale and it's definitely worth a try.