Escape Dead Island

Escape Dead Island published on PC, PS3 and X360 is one of the two spin-offs to the first-person cRPG action series – Dead Island by Techland studio. Deep Silver, the owners of the franchise, hired other studios to create more games in the series’ universe. This time, we are presented with a third-person perspective adventure survival horror developed by Swedish Fatshark – known for multiplayer action games set in historical realities: War of the Roses and War of the Vikings.

From the chronological point of view, Escape Dead Island forms a bridge between the first Dead Island from 2011 and the second part published in 2015. Serving as an introduction to Dead Island 2, the game will explain the genesis of the mysterious virus that changes people into zombies.

Plot

Cliff Calo, the main hero, is a spoiled son of a media baron. Being very ambitious, the protagonist wants to create his magnum opus – a documentary revealing the truth about the virus from Banoi island. He gathers some friends, steals a yacht, and sails towards the overran-by-zombies archipelago, or more precisely – to a top-secret base under quarantine. The facility is on an island near the place where the action of the first instalment took place. Cliff hasn’t a faintest clue of the danger waiting for him and his friends, so the journey quickly turns out to be a dramatic fight for survival.

Gameplay

In Escape Dead Island for PC, PS3 and X360 you fight zombies in a different way than in the base-versions of the series – the main hero is not immune to the virus, so close contact with the undead usually ends up in Cliff’s death. Therefore, even though the game offers a wide range of weapons – particularly melee – like firefighter’s axe or a katana – the gameplay emphasises stealth actions and low-profile elimination. The game features a lot of skills and adventure sequences with the main ingredient still being the world exploration. The hero’s mental health also plays an important role in the story. More and more traumatic experiences Cliff gets on Narapela make him go mad – after having numerous psychedelic visions he loses his grip on reality and cannot tell the difference between reality and make-believe.

Technical aspects

This somehow contrasts with the visuals that are colourful, lively, and vibrant, which draws a rather pleasant picture. The use of cel-shading makes the game look even more enjoyable. However, the graphics themselves are not of the highest quality, even for the seventh generation platforms. The game concentrates on the story, so there is no multiplayer.

Last updated on 28 August 2014