A Quick Look at Dead Island and Dead Island Riptide

A big ol' critique of Dead Island and Dead Island Riptide. Spoilers for everything about those two games in this video, and spoilers for Dying Light near the 3 hour mark, which I warn about on screen beforehand.
Support me on patreon: / dorkaxesupport me on ko-fi: ko-fi.com/dorkaxeFollow me on twitter for updates on the channel: / darkaxe54
Go listen to the first episode of "Post Game Clarity" where Drew, Dave, and I talk about Chrono Trigger
• PGC Episode 1 -- Chron...
0:00:00 Two Guys One Ram
0:00:29 Dead Island meh, Dying Light better
0:03:51 Exploration/Immersion
0:17:20 Environments
0:20:22 Looting/Money/Rewards
0:24:52 Toolbench/Weapons
0:28:23 Melee Combat/Tools
0:38:25 RPG/Skill Trees/Fury
0:47:17 Throwing
0:49:04 Enemies/Deaths
0:57:32 Gunplay/Human Enemies/Glitch montage
1:09:53 Misc/Definitive vs GOTY version
1:17:07 Visuals/Audio/B Button
1:25:23 Quests
1:43:34 Story
2:14:45 Ryder DLC and Overall Story Conclusions
2:23:35 Audio Logs/Ryder Gameplay
2:27:21 Riptide Start/Intro
2:31:04 Home Base Defenses/Non-playable heroes and leveling
2:33:56 Dead Zones/Exploration
2:36:44 Returning issues/New problems
2:41:41 Riptide Enemies/Equipment
2:48:27 Stuff only 3 other people care about
2:50:28 Boat
2:52:48 Quests
2:57:36 Skills/John/Voice Work
3:04:30 Narrative/Story
3:23:30 Zombie stories
3:24:37 Conclusion(no credits this time)
3:27:33 Post Game Clarity/Subscribe please
#deadisland

[@Dorkaxe]

Ok I'm actually pretty miffed that I somehow didn't know zombies could drown. I don't think it undermines the point I'm making, but still, very irritating. Beyond that: If there are any mistakes or errors in the video that you notice, click on this timestamp 1:59:57 Sorry but I'm very much done thinking about this game. Hope you all like the video all the same! Join the patreon if you wish, that helps the channel, thank you! Also go check out our first episode of "Post Game Clarity" where me, Dave, and Drew talk about Chrono Trigger. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2GsiJSempababs Support me on patreon: www.patreon.com/dorkaxe Support me on ko-fi: ko-fi.com/dorkaxe Follow me on twitter for updates on the channel: twitter.com/darkaxe54

[@skybluenerd219]

I don't really blame you for the drowning zombie thing, since the original game actually had drowning damage, but was removed in Riptide/Remasters

[@SkaterBlades]

Zombies drowning in the original, in remastered version they didn't. I honestly think the remaster is a complete downgrade, it's just an asset flip from dying light, they changed some of the physics especially on blunt weapons and it introduced some bugs that were not in the original such as a door that can't be opened being added to a bungalow with a collectible and Josephs attackers beating the black off him

[@littlebadassgaming]

1. Zombies could down on the last gen versions of the game, got removed in the remasters and riptide (for no reason.) 2. in Riptide, they specifically nerfed some character skills in the skill tree due to them being too overpowered. (Logan's boomerang going from 75% to 50%, I believe.) 3. The auto-aim system from analog mode and digital could literally be turned off in the settings, if I recall. 4. To talk about the zombies in Dead island dealing " percentage " damage, do recall that you're playing Xian Mei, the lowest hp, lowest defense character of them all. She's not really mean't to take hits, only to dodge. Compared to Sam B, Sam could tank hits and regenerate his health passively to max, even having skills to reduce how much melee damage he takes, as well as keeping zombies knocked down for extended periods of time, he even has an ability to instantly KO any enemies with a single blow. (uppercut.)

[@superguy911]

another thing that was needlessly nerfed in the remaster version was the shotgun, in the originals it instakilled everything with a single headshot. (seemed like a scripted interaction unrelated to how much damage you actually did or if you crit) Even one of those straitjacket guys from the front or a crusher from riptide. I breezed past basically every thug in no time with the shotgun in the original

[@Dorkaxe]

@@superguy911 just wild how much that definitive edition changed.

[@Kiezly]

A “quick look” 😂😂😂 3 hours flew by quick !

[@joshuapiplup]

😂😂😅

[@nicklenuts]

😂😂😂

[@Tourettes-syndrome-gaming]

😢😢😢

[@shawnblount1349]

How it be for real

[@kurtcolman9981]

😂😂

[@friendofp.24]

This game was so advanced back then. Fighting zombies with this much detail to their appearance and level of destruction, all in first person was crazy. Having them actually grab you in first person was unseen before. I was terrified of this game as a kid.

[@Jamalboseman]

SAME I can't agree more I legit remember playing this as a kid along with Left or Dead

[@ducte1213]

This scared the crap out of me as a kid. To this same day I still get the creeps from the game but enjoy it

[@maurosgardelis8085]

I used to play this game as a kid, I cannot express how much dread going to the hotel gave me, I used to roam the beach endlessly. Years later I got back at the game, it was not that bad 😅

[@edgarlozano8435]

Probably all late but you’re absolutely right, but here we are someone complaining of a game that came out 11 years ago when it came out we didn’t talk smack about it we actually enjoy it. How are you going to talk bad about a game that is 11 years old like what’s the point? I enjoy this game so much I got scare playing this game lol

[@BlackxExorcistitsyaboi]

​@@SYLVM__I was around back then and GOAT is a stretch. It was alright with friends. But a lot of mid games are alright with friends

[@MegapiemanPHD]

Dead islands main problem is that Techland wanted to make a serious game while their publisher Deep Silver wanted a funny game. They then rushed Techland and released the game way too early which explains the tonal problems as well as bugs, glitches, and odd design decisions.

[@rickkroll]

Always comes down to capitalism. George Lucas has some great commentary on how he was limited, vs how free russian filmmakers were back then at his time. They didnt have to make money, they had to make art. Indie developers and some teams give me hope. When you focus on the art itll pay for itself forever. Sad so much of our art gets dirtied for a dollar. Techland still did a great job but at the end of the day its like the other greats. Fallout New Vegas, Kotor 2, im sure plenty of other video games got the same treatment. Instant classics that could have been better if the workers were allowd to make choices instead of some CEO

[@IlMemetor72]

While it's true what you're saying, I don't think Deep Silver is entirely to blame- a big chunk of the same issues and inconsistencies are still present in Dying Light and Dying Light 2, which in both cases, the publisher backed off- in DL2, there wasn't a publisher- so you can't really give Techland the benefit of the doubt.

[@Cosmicshambler]

Dead island was anything but rushed

[@youtubehasbigcringe]

@@rickkrollmuh capitalism

[@zackie8172]

@@rickkroll Capitalism is why the gaming industry exists leftie

[@Dante-ob5mh]

"Where the hell did I put that?" still lives in the echoes of my mind constantly

[@mitoo4880]

I had to read it to remember it, but the sound is at home somewhere in my brain.

[@savagegames3871]

Its gotta be around here somewhere (the follow-up dialogue)

[@calebboersma4717]

Right next to "I heard this scourge came from outer space"

[@kjohn5450]

"Let’s we what we got here" from Sam B lived rent free in my head for the past 12 years

[@SweatyCowch]

As a die-hard fan of Dead Island who likes it better than Dying Light 1 and 2, you're making the right call reviewing it with the knowledge and experience you have now instead of trying to shoe horn a differen perspective you literally can't have anymore. I'm excited to dig into this full video.

[@Dorkaxe]

Whew, you had me in the first half I won't lie. Good, glad that was the right call, I was debating hard on whether I could even make a video on this game at this point with the knowledge of Dying Light and its systems.

[@EmilyKimMartin]

@@Dorkaxe Hindsight can be both a blessing and a curse. It depends on how you're willing to deal with the information you have at hand, and you definitely did the right call by approaching Dead Island as somewhat of a trial and error for Techland's eventual polishing.

[@raultrashlord4404]

how did you cognitively convince yourself this game is better than DL1?

[@ninianstorm6494]

@@Dorkaxe it is beyond doubt wef nuland-pnac Rumsfeld either did-let 9/11 happen>analyze overlap cia targets tell the truth that mccain in person syria/libya prove also cia did coup in ukraine! recall 2001 wesley clark kill 7 country 5y memo said libya syria? 2.3 trillion missing 2001 to do proxy libya-syria-2004 ukraine cia agitators(troops on ground) aware bush send rice to georgia with 1 billion dollars after his nato speech you can say he persuaded earlier georgia to strike first blood on russia=then pay them with 1 billion as sorry since no one else in nato back georgia up much like later nuland order shell donbass with obama tell russia not to interfere=same with assad must go speech kzbin.info/www/bejne/aX6mlGCKa5yqbbs 1. dnc/mccain types say russia bomb own pipeline-missile in to poland=lied about never received hurricane maria supplies counterpart=kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4rQdKePgapsoZI 2010 wesley clark got blackmailed by hillary clinton= kzbin.info/www/bejne/laGqnHmDndRpedE putin files created to cover up coup 2014 nuland f eu with by obama greenlight shelling donbass 1>kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ7Ve4V-rMeJfZo 2>kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpKclYqImKmIhqM 3> kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3PIg3Vtp7yelZo obama is bush 3-4th term, biden 5th kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5PJpIeZf6h-eqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJfQeaKci7GserM

[@SweatyCowch]

@raultrashlord4404 I like it better as in I prefer it. I recognize they are better in a bulleted list of features and benefits and have hundreds of hours for both dying light games. But I have a fondness and attachment for dead island that dying light cant touch.

[@PwnageSoldier]

I like Dead Island despite it's massive flaws, it's just a shame knowing that the game that could've been would've been so, so much better than what we got if it wasn't so rushed out the door. I'm glad Techland did learn from DI and put that into DL.

[@thew00dsman79]

It should be noted that the reason the mayor’s area got attacked by the zombies was because prior to that, you had bribed the guard with alcohol to leave out the bottom, so he didn’t do his job since he got drunk, so when you come back everyone’s dead!

[@damonlongstreet8630]

I got like 400 hours in DI....how the fuck did I never relieve that

[@wattycuffee5664]

No, the zombies got in through the front door when a ram charged through the doors and broke the barricades. Then a horde of zombies ran through. That guard was only guarding the entrance to the sewers in the basement. Which the zombies didnt get in through.

[@thedamntrain3467]

original dead island had great atmosphere imo, the setup for the reveal of the stubby arm guy was great

[@GreenEyedDazzler]

“Stubby arm guy”

[@Sarah.J.Jacobson]

I loved these games. I had so much fun playing DI, DI riptide, DL. I got the Dead Island games back when I could only get used single-player games. Spent so many hours playing these games. Still have my xb360 copies. I think I'll replay them on the series x after this video.

[@MrSlendyMannn]

I used to adore DI back when it launched on the 360. Now I want to go back and play it.

[@mr.2cents.846]

Me too. Genuinely enjoyed it.

[@friendofp.24]

The fact that the game looked that good, had that much detail in the zombies, the limb and gore systems, the zombies grabbing you in first person, was mind-blowing at the time.

[@GreenEyedDazzler]

@@friendofp.24if you never played a zombie game before maybe 🤔 what happened to left for dead 2?

[@Cunaverse]

Always nice to see these long deep dives and how you explain your experiences and relevant examples when mentioning mechanics, good vibes to you, also i appreciate that the audio is balanced well, good consistency and engaging informative video, also the chapter inlcusion is always cool. Just the video i needed to unwind and chill

[@Dorkaxe]

Love the appreciation, especially about the audio balancing! I know it always bugs me when other channels make their audio completely different when showing examples/other clips/music than their audio for speaking.

[@somehomelessguy3779]

I don't know if you listed this in the video, I just started watching this. But techland had problems with deep silver during the making of the game, and whatever idea techland had was thrown out by deep silver. This is one of the reasons why techland stopped working with deep silver after riptide and why Dead Island 2 was taking forever. One of the other major reasons why techland left is because of how deep silver treated their staff (techland) very poorly.

[@iraloS]

I was actually killed by a beach ball in the original game and it is one of my fondest and funniest memories of this game. They probably changed the physics of em so they were less lethal 😂😂

[@kondigong8589]

thats exactly the type of video i like most. long, entertaining and funny. thank you for your work!

[@phoenixrose1995]

I believe the "force" stat determines how fast you deplete a zombies stamina to be able to knock them down

[@ducte1213]

Dead island was the bare bones of all the other series. When you get to the slums, it looks like the pre build of dying light. Dead island made dying light. For a game like this to be released in 2011 is legendary.

[@mentosvagabond]

That scientist quest maybe tedious and annoying, but damn he did give you a katana, which is basically a endgame Melee.

[@absolutehumunculusphilly1268]

heck yeah best katana in the game

[@fulltimeslackerii8229]

Ain’t no way you didn’t like the pause song. It was so good

[@bozzbozz2800]

Facts

[@RESGorilla]

Was just going through your DR retrospective (for, like, the tenth time) so I'm happy to see this having never played DI. Thanks for putting so much work into your videos. You're one of my favorite long-form essayists and am always eager for more.

[@niall798]

About the radio guy knowing you’re immune. In the book it’s mentioned that all people who have O- blood type are carriers to the disease and the four player characters all have this blood type on a record. I’m guessing this element didn’t get properly added into the game for whatever reason but the narrative still relies on it.

[@Dorkaxe]

I know the doctor mentioned we're o negative, but that seemed like a "here's new information that the doctor just learned", so I wouldn't think the radio guy would know that yet. If so, I don't know why the doctor would need to test our blood the first time.

[@Rezifying_]

Honestly one of the most underrated reviewers on KZbin. You never fail to entertain me and u love your star wars reviews. Excellent video, I no life tf outta this as a kid

[@ASDArtistry]

I think it’s funny how the spray paint explains ACAB, tells you how smart they thought there target audience is

[@Dorkaxe]

Imagine the gang guys in the game having arguments about this. "My man, ACAB speaks for itself, it's perfect as is!" "I don't know...I just wonder if it could be more clear if we ALSO wrote out the phrase a few times, too? To cover all our bases?"

[@tommymaxey2665]

Another great 3 hour review to watch. I love how in depth your reviews always are. Nothing is left untouched or unanalyzed

[@andreg9777]

Without dead island there would be no dying light.

[@PitirreSpiderman]

I agree

[@GreenEyedDazzler]

I mean I’d be fine with it, I played Dying Light on release and don’t remember a single thing except that it was annoying and had a grappling hook 😂

[@BlackGhostMan]

Canonically it takes roughly a day for the survivors to go to the prison. Despite this,after finishing act2 and you enter the church for the first time Sinamoi mentions that "it's been a few weeks" and that they need food or else an unnamed child they rescued is going to die. So the time thing is kind of convoluted. Imo it's been a few weeks since in my opinion some feats are impossible to do in one day The sewer section, getting the bank, visiting the mayor twice,the supermarket raid also the jungle. It'd take days to complete

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

It's always exciting seeing one of these lengthy vids pop up from this channel. I swear it doesn't sound like the man is reading from a script, the delivery always feels natural and made in the moment. The balance of being informative and being hilarious is one deserving of accolades beyond what KZbin could hope to offer. Which, I guess KZbin don't really care to offer jack shit, but fuck them. Great vid and much appreciated! Never realized that Dying Light is basically just Dead Island but with improvements made across the board.

[@stingingrogermate6358]

Am I trippin because I specifically remember kickin the zombies til they fell over in the pools then they took damage which showed up as blue numbers?

[@sup7537]

It was removed in the “Remastered” versions

[@theflumpsydumpster7228]

I've just gotta say, I love that your channel and this video just popped up in my feed because I personally just did a run of the first game with Sam B where all I used was my fists. Not brass knuckles, not One Punch Mode from the Definitive Edition, just my fists, and only to see if I could. I indeed could, but it was a ROUGH journey, especially against the bandits with guns later in the game

[@Gazelly]

Every fight with zombies is rendered hilarious when you realize that jump kicking them in the head knocks down most instantly. And since the stamina penalty is so low you can do that infinitely.

[@metroided34]

That's basically what inspired them to add the drop kick in DL. Hell, Dead Island 2 turns that into an ability called "Flying Kick" which at the cost of a lil bit of stamina lets you send enemies flying, but only on at a time unlike the drop kick.

[@irritablerodent]

I despise level/loot treadmills; that's eventually what killed it for me with this game. I would actually avoid getting XP as much as possible, since I knew as soon as I levelled, all my attacks would suddenly do less damage (the zombies would all be raised a level). The only moment you feel more powerful is the time between finding a new weapon and your next level. Then everything all but resets to baseline. The XP bar is literally a progress bar to losing the damage buff you just got. Drove me nuts.

[@jessehenderson2967]

Worlds that level up with you, IMO, kinda ruin the power fantasy of an RPG.

[@eriksipos373]

@@jessehenderson2967 definitely agreed. some levelling up is obviously needed, but when I'm playing an RPG by the end I wanna feel like a semi-god at least and feel like I achieved something by grinding and completing all the side quests

[@superguy911]

@@eriksipos373 another thing is that dead island 1 takes you back to the starting zone. In a good RPG I expect you to find the starting zone in ruins with high level enemies or to otherwise absolutely destroy everything there if forced to return to it. Instead nothing changes when you go back and the gameplay feels the exact game as it did in at lvl 1. It truly exposes the progression system as a total sham

[@naytny5819]

this will literally only happen if you actively choose to hold on to shit weapons, the system is in place to encourage players to find new weapons and loot hence the "looter shooter" genre.

[@naytny5819]

@@jessehenderson2967 You mean when the game stops being challenging and none of your weapons or gears even matter at that point.

[@TheTopgeartony]

Again another great vid to help fill the noise while working. I remember being immensely excited for this game when it was coming out, even getting it with friends. It's one of the games that taught me to temper my expectations along with a few others around that time.

[@GreenEyedDazzler]

Are we the same person

[@ubermorpth2208]

Between you and PatricianTV with these long videos. I very much am enjoying my time. On that subject I would actually be interested into seeing how you feel about RPG's like Elder Scrolls or Fallout as I don't think you have done a video on an RPG for this channel yet,

[@ubermorpth2208]

Also should mention as something from your RE video, if you're looking for a game who's first and second experience is really vast and different (but in a good way) would be Darkest Dungeon. I argue it's also a very note worthy game for its own mission statement of having you make tough calls.

[@Sad_Elf]

to give an idea of how bad the definitive demaster is, you can actually drown the zombies in the originals, its a tactic to lead groups to pools when getting overwhelmed and to take a few out by drowning and kicking them into water

[@TheQuietTimes]

I legit didn't notice how long this was when I clicked on it. But I'm here for it.

[@ethans2647]

Played both with my brother. While they aren't perfect, and I can imagine getting bored in singleplayer (which happened in Dying Light for me), I loved my time with these games Co-op really made them great, the hi-jinks we got into was great fun

[@Yshtola.]

using a katana to slice through zombies in riptide might be one of the more satisfying game experiences

[@B-A-L]

Shame you had to wait for over half the game to get one!

[@gothshawty]

The groups of perpetually spawning running zombies in moresby made me rage so many times bruh holy damn

[@TheFawse]

The analog controls were way better, but I struggled so bad to activate my character’s special jump attack with them that I had to go back to digital. Even looked up a guide for it and couldn’t reliably get it to work

[@MaoriNative_NZ]

Three and a half goddamn hours shiiiieeeessshhh😂😂😂 this is crazy man, i love really long descriptive breakdowns on games i love. Imma sub

[@TheDarkyodk]

I don't know why, but I still remember discovering the Riptide infinite xp method when the game came out and I was 11. That memory has never left me.

[@YouMakeMyMotorRun]

Your view on the progression system finally made me see the shortcomings of it: it doesn't work AT ALL in a linear experience. No matter what you do, if the game is a narrative linear experience, where all the enemies in the area are supposed to be consistent with one another, before you move on to the next area... having a progression system kinda throws all the balance out the window. Maybe skill trees or skills in general have a place there, but changing the base numbers like health or stamina, and then upping the damage output of the enemies because the experience demands to be challenging, doesn't work. It's just higher numbers coming at you, but the percentage needs to remain the same.

[@ratroll1978]

In my opinion the glitches are one of the things that make these games the most fun

[@irritablerodent]

Thanks for drawing attention to that VO actor, Adam Croasdell, he really is good. I'll keep an ear out for him in future. He does tv acting too, pretty sure I have seen him before.

[@Dorkaxe]

Heck yea! He was so great it caught me off guard. Like, his character model being so stiff didn't even do him justice, the dude fucking nailed it.

[@Grey8270]

It’s a shame John Morgan never returned he was a good character and Adam Croasdell really made him stand out

[@maltsutty]

Hell yeah new Dorkaxe video !!! That’s some goooood weekend watching 🎉💪🤘

[@Dorkaxe]

heck yea bud. Any news on what you're working on currently?

[@chemicalconfusion6164]

God damn this is a good review, never knew all of that about the dlc

[@ItsRawdraft2]

The intro sequence is still unbeatable

[@Kiezly]

Thank you for making this ❤❤❤

[@CekFocks]

in the original version Zombies was able to drown themselves in water

[@Getz-Da-Chompy]

There was actually a Dead Island book that was released at the same time as the game - I know because I read it. The book also didn't show or even hint at anything in the DLC. I think that it was likely written in retrospective to cover the story's flaws rather than being planned from the beginning.

[@mzamethodman7134]

Dead island walked so dying light could run....and Dying Light 2 could stumble

[@ImJustLayZ]

And dying light 2 flew*

[@Stegosaurus4000]

Once again great video! For reference, I played the first Dead Island and its DLC a lot when it first came out, but I have seen several let's plays of Riptide when it first released. Dead Island was really hyped up in the early 2010s. I remember I couldn't go on KZbin without seeing trailers, let's plays, and gameplay-tip videos on every page. I guess I fell into that hype train because looking through your video, yikes, there are a lot of issues with the story and gameplay that I guess 8th grade me never noticed. I will say the story, at times, is cool. I do like how Riptide ties the whole infected thing with the Fury mechanic, but there's just so many issues with the story. Even when I first played it, I thought it was kinda bloated and honestly was kinda confused. Even when watching your video, I kept going "Oh, I forgot that even happened": subplots that went nowhere, characters that just show-up for the sake of story, storylines that should be the focus but just get dropped, etc. This part of my comment isn't supposed to be nitpicky, just my response to some of your criticisms. Don't worry, I won't mention the zombies-drowning thing (I thought I had Mandela Effect situation until I saw your comment). 1) At 22:00 although I understand how looting the hotel as soon as you wake up and the looting in the aftermath of the prologue may seem unethical, there are plenty of other examples where zombie-game protagonists have done this. Using Dead Rising 2 as an example, just three in-game hours (or probably less) into the Fortune City Outbreak, Chuck (who himself is there to get Zombrex) encounters the looters ransacking the pharmacy and even threatening the clerk. 2) 1:07:25 Moresby (the city in DI 1) is said to have been "dangerous before the outbreak" in a loading screen and through in-game hints like the abundance of gang members, so this can probably operate as an in-universe reason why the city inhabitants are hyper aggressive and why the city looks somewhat decrepit. It might be a weak excuse as it doesn't explain the human enemies in other locales, but it's something. 3) Just some in-game information, the timer when you're down operates as a window for a co-op partner to revive you. I will admit it is pointless in the singleplayer. 2:51:20 Also, from my finite knowledge of Riptide from watching let's plays, co-op partners can operate weapons in the boat. Although to what extent, I don't know.

[@Dorkaxe]

I think Dead Rising 2 is nearly the polar opposite. A zombie outbreak has already happened 4 years in the past, everyone in the world knows about zombies and how dangerous they are, and zombies are clearly all over everywhere in Fortune City. There could have easily been people, even, who saw the dangers of the zombie gladiator game things and assumed another outbreak would happen sooner or later. I also have no problem with looters looting, since taking advantage of the chaos for greedy purposes is expected and fine. Idk why our characters do it besides non-diegetic reasons such as repairing our weapons. in Dead Island, this is the first anyone is hearing or seeing it, but even ignoring that, the knowledge of zombies still doesn't explain away us being allowed to take other people's stuff right in front of them without them caring. I genuinely can't remember other games where you're able to take their stuff as if it's something you found out and about and the NPCs being fine with it. Fallout/Elder Scrolls it was considered stealing, and I can't even think of other titles where "loot" was simply other NPC belongings/bags. Idk it just seems SUPER easy to avoid, especially given how there are so many assets/doors, etc that are off limits without explanation anyway. A cabinet or suitcase of an NPC being simply decoration would make far more sense than a seemingly grabbable water bottle or whiskey bottle. It's interesting, Dead island just so happened to have so many factors that made the looting silly. Remove or fix any of them and I might not have even cared. It's the lengths they went to make it feel more immersive, so many other things being arbitrarily off limits, and the poor in-world/explained motivations for us to be grabbing all this shit in the first place, which makes it hard to overlook. Thanks for the detailed comment all the same, I appreciate the insight on some things and your perspective.

[@Stegosaurus4000]

@@Dorkaxe No problem! 👍

[@DavetheTurnip]

You did it! Nice job. I’m going to broken record myself and say you need to now do a video on a game you love. 😁

[@jayson6633]

Great vid man, played this game so many times and was able to get a great laugh out of it and some of your critiques lol. I will say tho there are a lot of details hidden around the game and dlc about the story that help it make more sense

[@ihateyankees3655]

My biggest issue with the two games is a clashing tone. It could have been cathartic, skull cracking fun where you do quests for rich tourists that want you to get them more champagne. It could have been a touching story about a desperate struggle to survive. Instead they tried to have it both ways and gave us whiplash.

[@Kiezly]

The zombies did drown in the water in the original release. The definitive edition remaster messed up a lot of things about the game.

[@Dorkaxe]

Yea apparently they do take a small bit of damage, which is annoying that I didn't catch that. Especially since I went out of my way to try using water, such as the pool in the hotel. I talk about the definitive/original a bit near the middle.

[@kujo4388]

Idk but I was 12 when this game first came out and it was just peak. It was during the late 00s-early 2010s zombie obsession and it really stood out at the time. Oddly enough we all noticed all the jank and found it charming.

[@Jonesy__Music]

1:55:20- Dorkaxe straight up turned into Seinfeld with those voice cracks hahahaha

[@GiggleFist720]

2:08:11 I love how the kind officer goes from firing his sidearm nonstop for a few magazines worth to reloading after every shot. That was impressive. But then he was also running second chance from black ops and that blew my mind. Great game!

[@IngrownMink4]

I am fascinated by your review. You really didn't leave out almost any detail about the saga and I loved that you went into even the most insignificant details. All my friends laugh at me for saying that I like Dead Island, but really for me this saga is like a B-movie, it seems intentionally a bad videogame even though it takes itself seriously in many occasions. Anyway, I loved the video. Thanks for taking the effort to suffer this saga and to make a 3h review about it without going crazy!

[@DigBick1337-]

You like dead island but thank him for suffering through the saga?... I think you should just be honest and say what you really wanted to do, is to glaze this guy

[@justinfleck6329]

Wow as always an amazing job! My fav parts are when you go crazy...then have to clam yourself down from the future ha ha Such an amazingly in-depth review, i love how you even dug into the real disease this was based off and provided info on that too!

[@Mikman360]

Man fighting you with most skin peeled off: I didn't hear no bell.

[@melodytext6041]

If you read the book, it adds context to the story. And it hints that the reason all four of them were on the island at the same time is because they all were possibly immune.

[@saintbriago8886]

Being a Dead Island hardcore fan involves knowing all the flaws of the game, accept them, and still enjoy the game. Great critique, worthy of a like and subscription.

[@gavvy8434]

As a person who did experience dead island before dying light I really enjoyed it at the time. One of the few games I preordered as a kid and I put well over 100 hours in the game when it first came out. Man is it hard to go back to now but all I have are fond memories.

[@Kiezly]

What’s really funny is since the game came out in 2011, and the remaster in 2016, I would argue that the remaster needs ANOTHER REMASTER. Not only is the original game outdated, the remaster is outdated. If they made another one and port it to PS5 / Xbox Series X, updated the engine to the dying light 2 engine, fix bugs, fix lighting, change gameplay issues, introduce maybe some new features from dying light 1 & 2. Update the textures and models. And you could make the game way better and up to modern standards. 😅😅😅 and I would absolutely buy it.

[@user-hb5uh8rb5u]

I think they should do that but on Dead Island 2's engine

[@Kiezly]

@@user-hb5uh8rb5u yeah maybe that may be better off.

[@jojogodtier]

I agree whith what you said about the suiciders in dead island. It would be even cooler and more disturbing if they yelled. "RUN AWAY" it would fit the tone to a tea.

[@zacharyashmore1830]

This is actually a hilarious video. I laughed out loud so many times watching this. The side quest section was great.

[@skybluenerd219]

As someone who loves the Dead Island games, I think you're pretty fair with the negatives. I appreciate that you acknowledge that even without Dying Light as a comparison, the flaws would still be there. Especially since the remaster didn't do a whole lot to fix/polish the jankiness, your mindset still feels valid

[@Arcknives]

Man, the sound design of the original was so haunting to me as a kid. I used to feel genuine fear when I would hear the Thug's roar, or the distant screams of the Infected only to see them sprinting towards you while screaming maniacally. By far the scariest was the Ram. Just the feeling of barely managing to slip past it while it barrels past, roaring, really made me shrivel up. So, while the gameplay is quite iffy, the zombie's noises are some of the best I've heard, some of the only ones that have stuck with me because they actually inspire fear.

[@sebastiangonzales46]

This game is the blueprint of Dying light. I had a ton of fun playing Dead Island back then

[@DNyCe36]

Awesome Video. Very well done m8!!

[@maltsutty]

My time with it involved kicking zombies in the face while they were trapped in the pool Back in the day all my buddies said they LOVED this game . When I tried it I never thought it was anything special , you covered all the issues I had with it lol. I did however enjoy Dying Light so techland are improving at least.

[@sillygoose4263]

dying light 2 walking simulator

[@LakevusParadice]

I know the game has problems. BUT I LOVE DEAD ISLAND and constantly go back and play it from time to time. There’s just something so special about it especially its story that I find it really enjoyable. Way not enjoyable than dying light 1’s story. I find the character cool and enjoyable and going from the beach to the city to the jungle I think is just and epic zombie adventure that no other game has done yet. And all on a resort island? Amazing. Dead island will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart and proves to me that next gen graphics and cutting edge visuals are not what is important about games.

[@voxfoxclips8684]

I loved this entire review, watching every minute and you did an awesome job. The one thing I’ve always had a problem with the game is that massive plot hole of WHERE THE HELL DID Yerema & Kevin/Charon pop off too??? There’s never an explanation, despite how ‘important’ they seemed to be. I would have figured Yerema just let out a fart and turned the whole ship into zombies and tore her apart and Charon got flung off the boat into a rock, headfirst, unceremoniously, despite his ultimate plan of selling a super virus. Unless there was some sort of lore I missed, both threats we started with and we’re addressed to are just forgotten about before the prologue begins. It’s weird.

[@Dorkaxe]

I agree, Yerema and Charon being there for the first scene was great, but them being completely forgotten about afterwards was crazy. Like, at least show us a zombified charon in the ship, maybe? Otherwise it'll always be "I wonder what happened". I haven't played DI2, you think they did something with those two there maybe?

[@VILEMasterShake]

⁠@@Dorkaxedon’t know if you’ll ever read this but Yerema and Charon are not in DL2

[@Dorkaxe]

@@VILEMasterShake I have read it, thank you Master Shake, go make meatwad pull you in a wagon, now.

[@huckmiller4016]

Dead Island released in septembar 6 2011 dying light released in January 26 2015

[@peterfusion1820]

Incredible video! Really made me look at this title differently, despite the criticisms, I wanna play it again now 😄

[@maxbroberg5586]

I think it's very odd that they removed the ability to use water to drown zombies in the so called "definitive" edition 😂

[@admiralhowdy]

Yeah, the more I see this "definitive" edition, the more glad I am that it is not the version I have.

[@MrAjking808]

Because it makes no sense lol

[@rexaura9574]

I wholeheartedly adore thus game and even though you have a lot of negatives I still adore this review. You go into fantastic detail with your points and criticisms and I love that type of deep dive review. You've got a great voice for these types of videos too and this on sis my personal favourite!

[@yrwestillhere]

Great analysis, deserves more views!

[@QuellAle]

Man, you can't complain about escort quest until you get ganked by allies in the desert at the last pack spawn while escorting a mechanical chicken. Or a sad turtle.

[@angryretrogamer7313]

Good video and commentary. I enjoyed Dead Island alot until i got stuck in the prison and gave up. I picked up riptide, Dying Light and Dead Island 2 but haven't thought about returning to the series. Thanks for the reminder.

[@heartless2147]

1:08:14 Do all human enemies in a zombie apocalypse need an explanation? Some people just want to watch the world burn. That being said, having an enclave system like State of Decay would make the world more immersive. By helping out survivors, you can make mini safe zones throughout the map, allowing you to resupply and perhaps get unique quests for the area.

[@rickd5591]

Dead Island is one of my favorite games that being said 99.9% of things your saying are 100% true I've played this game a dozen times and only finished it twice i get to the jungle im done for me what makes it great is i can turn it on and turn my brain off and just kill zombies.

[@ChuckieGee-nc8jp]

My biggest problem with the game at the time of launch was the total opposite tone it has with the amazing, emotional, commercial it had with that piano theme when everything played out backwards and in slow motion. Lol I still liked it, but that is the only exposure I had to the game, and it got me hyped for a serious, emotional zombie story game. This game was everything but that! LMAO If you haven't seen it, look up that add. It was kind of a big deal at the time, because many were a quite miffed like I was, because nothing in the game even attempts to emulate the emotional feeling that commercial used to hook people in. That isn't necessarily the devs fault. I give the marketing team props, but also the finger, at the same time. Lol Edit: Look up DEAD ISLAND ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER People are still watching it modernly and getting salty about it in the comments section BAHAHAHAHA!!!! The most upvoted comment is: I still come back to this trailer to remind myself that we can't have nice things. LMAO

[@Dorkaxe]

if you haven't yet, skip to the beginning of the story section. I discuss it there.

[@ChuckieGee-nc8jp]

@@Dorkaxe Ok cool. It took me like a month after I found out it wasn't the game I thought it was going to be to come back to it and give it a fair shake. Back then, I was more prone to building things up in my head, and letting that hamper my experience if it wasn't what I wanted it to be. And as soon as that opening cutscene came up, and after about 30 mins of gameplay, I wasn't having any of it and said "F$&I this!" I've learned since then and getting burned quite a few times to practically ignore almost all marketing material. I just need to know the concept and genre, and I usually may watch a trailer, but don't allow my mind to wander and get myself hyped or excited anymore. Though that is kinda sad. The games industry has killed part of the fun of the overall process with how often it has outright lied, deceived, and misled in their marketing, because part of the hobby should be getting excited and looking forward to a game. But I simply can't let myself do that anymore. People would still get excited without hyperbole and outright lies. Hell, I enjoyed Watchdogs for what it was because I had already learned to stay away from watching or reading too much about a game. I didn't learn about the controversy until after I played it and was wondering why so many people were hating it so passionately. But for real, I can't blame people who's only reason for playing Dead Island, and their only knowledge of it, being that ad and getting angry and dropping it completely, not even wanting to try it for what it was. I mean, that ad made no promises, but it does give you the impression that it was going to be a serious, emotional experience that took itself very seriously. And going into it wanting that, probably ruined what otherwise would have been a fun zombie bashing experience for many people, had they not been going soley off that ad. And playing it soley for zombie bashing, it's fun. Played part 2 yet? It's story still sucks. But it is better than this. I found myself slightly more engaged, but the zombie carnage and highly impressive gore and body damage system is the draw there.

[@calebboersma4717]

The Definitive Edition swaps the pause/menu music with the Main Menu theme for some reason. Its a much more calm and consistent guitar strum in the original's pause menu.

[@isaiaslafon9329]

Those DI 1 bugs are in Definitive edition and console? I play original with DLC on PC and never got that Rammer.

[@CoffeeCrowgasm]

If you thought the kick was op you should've played before the first patch. The kick drained no stamina at all 😂 jumping then kicking was the main strategy lol

[@daniellively1128]

I just started a new game last week and I remember why this game was so much fun

[@gangstalkerofgangstalkers]

Yes, the games are slop but somehow I still love them. It might be because I played the games a lot growing up. Do you have any plans to talk about Dead Island 2?

[@fulltimeslackerii8229]

Dead island is like a comfort food of mine. I played it repeatedly for the character leveling and the combat and didn’t care for much else. Didn’t want much else. And I actually remember hating dying light for trying to be something different but ultimately feeling like a lateral move with a bland story and a less fun weapon crafting system (seriously my weapons can break permanently? Screw that)

[@thesultanofsloppyseconds647]

You used to be able to drown the zombies, on some sequences where they rise from the water they would just drown most the time, so I wonder if they just “fixed” it. I didn’t even notice it though on my current playthrough. There are a few key differences with the remasters and originals. They took a lot of the originals.

[@Bonked_YT]

A cruise ship as a place that could be one of those quarantine zones would be sick, hecc if it's big enough a small dlc could be made for it detailing the first week of lockdown then super ship that saves people or something then the downfall

[@disbot3482]

Y'know I agree. Techland's dlc stories are like much much better than their main games which is like cool but also wish that effort was much much put into the main game.

[@aldico4067]

The quest at 2:03:36 was almost impossible when the game came out. I still have the 1.0 version on my xbox since I never had internet to update it. In short, you come to a village and there are like 7 walkers, 2 Thugs and 1 Butcher and later after you kill them 4 more infected rush you down. It was almost impossible to kill a single zombie before Ope was overrun and killed. Oh and a final fuck you durabilty and throwables you used didn't reset after you or Ope died making it harder everytime you tried. And you couldn't just leave and come back you were locked in that quest and couldn't leave Op. I was stuck on this quest for like a month until I managed to do it out of pure luck. Mainly cuz I'm stuborn and always try to find glitches so I somehow managed to escape the quest and return to the world and repair my weapons and make DIY bombs and lures. In later versions they fixed it and removed Butchers from escort missions and gave escorted people 50% more hp. There are videos from 2011 that complain about this quest if you are intreasted.

[@michaelcreech8957]

i remember i loved Dead Island when i was younger i thought they were fantastic games i replayed them like a month before dead island 2 came out and while 1 didnt age too well i still enjoyed it Riptide however i hated the flooded areas mixed with the drowned zombies, and horrible jumping climbing/mechanics made this game unfun to explore i literally ended up doing no side missions and played the main story then immediately dropped the game

[@ntsakomathebula4840]

Dorkaxe and zombie games have a symbiotic relationship. You should make a video on a zombie flash-game just for emphasis

[@SarcasticPossum]

I enjoyed it at the time for what it was.

[@pablitorogel14]

Also; the box just does infinitely spawn runners for no reason and you can glitch your way into the box and just see them spawn. Nothing worthwhile in there. Idk why

[@mixoops2212]

Are you gonna be taking a look at Dead Island 2 at all? I just found your channel. I just finished your L4D vids, grrat vids so far, man. Hope you're having as much fun making them as we are watching them.

[@centurion2396]

This analysis is actually well on point for what it is intended to do, compare a 14/11 years old games to current mechanic. I feel this is less of a game overview and more of a comparison of what one of the best first person zombie survival had to offer in the early 2010s and what is expected of one today. I remember well my first playthru of dead island riptide back in 2013, it was genuinely one of the best zombie survival on the market with only a specific mod to fallout new vegas (and skyrim) rivaling it. The crafting, the zombies, the looting, the weapons even the tech tree was a novelty in the zombie genre back then since the other competitor was Dayz which was a mod to an already triple AAA game that had nothing to do with zombies. The only criticism i have of the video is weirdly that you played it on console, dead island had alotttt of problems on console from shaders not loading to skins being weird to the problems you had with auto aim and melee weapons reach, of course didnt expect you to buy it on PC if you already had it on console but the PC version is superior in every aspect and alot of the bugs, audios and visuals as well as mechanics that you criticized i never truly experienced on the PC version.