Back from the dead.
Sumo’s involvement was short lived though and it was also taken off development sometime around 2019.
After that,Dambuster Studiostook up the reins and since then all has been worringly quiet.
How much of Yager’s original vision remains in the project?
Is there a connection narratively to the first Dead Island?
James Worrall:It follows on, yeah, but we do a lot of brand new world building.
David Stenton:We’ve genuinely focused on the areas that we feel passionate about.
We really set our stall out to be the best first person melee combat game.
And I think we’ve you know, this was genuinely fun to play.
And we put so much effort into that first person fighting experience.
Is this a good example of what to expect from Dead Island 2’s open world?
David Stenton:We’ve divided L.A. up into a series of districts.
you might travel between the districts as they unlock, according to the story progression.
There are all sorts of side quests of various different types that go on within those districts.
So for example, we’ve got a rollerblading screamer with a helmet on rollerblades.
It’s about being in your face, right?
Tell us more about the ‘gore tech’ you’ve implimented.
It’s all procedural.
Melting is our favourite.
It’s really rewarding.
But, you know, morally there’s still clearly monsters and humans against monsters.
David Stenson:We’ve been working on this stuff for years and years and years.
It’s no secret that Dead Island 2 has had a tough time development-wise.
How has it been working in secrecy for so long when people like us have been presuming the worst?
And that’s what keeps you going right?
David Stenson:We’re massively excited as you’ve got the option to imagine.
This is the start of the homestretch.
It’s funny seeing the reactions, you know, like questions on is that an eyeball hanging out?
And we’re like ‘there’s also brains and we can make the jaw hang off as well.’
It’s really fun seeing people play, even though it’s tough, right?
Because the combat has got a lot of depth to it.
I just went okay, this is the next big game.
