The original Dead Island was trapped in development hell, and the sequel found itself in the exact same boat. Dead Island 2 has had a notoriously rough development cycle, with the project changing hands between multiple developers and ultimately taking nine years from its initial announcement to actually hit store shelves. Dead Island fans are used to waiting extended periods of time for games in the series, but the question is if Dead Island 2 was worth the wait.

Dead Island 2 is set sometime after the events of the original Dead Island game, starring a mostly new cast of characters who find themselves stuck in a zombie-ridden Los Angeles. The playable characters in Dead Island 2 aren't particularly important and while they have their own distinct backstories, they don't have unique character arcs. Instead, the real story comes from the interactions players have with the other survivors in Los Angeles, as they all work together to try to get out alive.

Dead Island 2's story isn't particularly engaging, and the ending is extremely underwhelming, but there are still plenty of fun, surprising moments in the cutscenes. Fans of the original Dead Island will get a kick out of seeing Sam B again and some of the dialogue can be funny in a schlocky B-movie sort of way.

Players will experience Dead Island 2's story as they complete the game's 20+ main story quests and over 30 side quests. Players are able to progress the main story as they'd like or set it aside to focus on side content if they'd rather do that instead. There's surprising variety with the objectives players are tasked to complete over the course of the main story, though the side quests often have them going back through previously-covered ground, making them far less engaging. Unfortunately, backtracking is far from Dead Island 2's biggest problem.

There is some serious jank in Dead Island 2. In one incident, an attempted zombie execution resulted in our character phasing through a nearby object and being trapped there. In another instance, an NPC sank through the floor during a cutscene, but the crossbow they had strapped on their back stayed in the correct spot. This created a hilarious situation where it looked like the other characters in the scene were talking to the crossbow.

Most of the bugs in Dead Island 2 are of the harmless, goofy variety and are easily fixed. Even the game-breaking ones can typically be done away with by reloading a save and losing little to no progress. On the other hand, there are bugs that grind the game's momentum to a halt and are a serious inconvenience because players may not even realize at first that the game is bugged. Multiple times throughout Dead Island 2, objectives simply would not complete after their requirements were met. This leaves players thinking that there is something they're missing and so a lot of time is wasted trying to figure out how to progress.

Reloading a save isn't the only way to circumvent these technical issues in Dead Island 2. If one player happens to get glitched into a wall, co-op partners can proceed to the next objective and, assuming everything is progressing as it should, cause the other player to teleport to them with a "huddle up," which usually fixes any issues. Co-op can be a lifesaver in Dead Island 2, and it's also the ideal way to experience the game.

Despite the game's serious technical shortcomings, Dead Island 2 co-op can be incredibly fun, to the point where it's easy to ignore most of its problems. Mowing down zombies with a friend and exploring Dead Island 2's take on LA never gets old. That being said, there is one bizarre problem with co-op where the co-op partner can become de-synced from the host. When this happens, it may look like the co-op partner is right alongside the host, but on their screen, they're miles away. This isn't a big deal most of the time and is easily fixed by huddling up at the next objective.

The only time this is really inconvenient is when the co-op partner is unable to use any of their weapons. When this happened in our playthrough, the co-op partner was in the middle of zombie hordes and left completely defenseless on their end, but on the host's screen, they were in the safe room. As an experiment, we tried to see if we could coach them through the safe room door. On their screen, they were running into walls and making movements that didn't make sense, but on the host's screen, they were heading for the exit. After they exited the safe room on the host's screen, they were once again able to access their arsenal. From there, it was a matter of making it to the next objective to force the game to sync back up and get things working properly again.

Players will have to wrestle with issues like this from time to time, but for gamers looking for mindless co-op zombie killing, it's worth the occasional headache. Combat in Dead Island 2 starts off dull and slow, but it becomes a lot more fun as players grow their arsenal and unlock new skill cards. Dead Island 2 skill cards are in place of a traditional skill tree, with players able to easily swap between different cards to match the situation or complement their co-op partners.

As players prowl through the streets of Los Angeles, they will be putting their weapons and skills to good use. Dead Island 2 goes all-out with its violence and gore, so zombies get absolutely torn to shreds. Zombies get dismembered and disemboweled in a horrifically realistic fashion, and if players look close enough, they can even see liquids coursing through the organs of the undead. The game's gore system really shines in more confined areas, as blowing up a group of zombies in a hallway leaves the place looking like the inside of a microwave when someone tries to reheat chili for too long.

Most of the zombies players encounter in Dead Island 2 are the run-of-the-mill shamblers and runners, but in typical zombie game fashion, some special types are thrown into the mix. Some Dead Island 2 players may find the special zombies to be a little too tanky at first, but this becomes a nonissue thanks to the Zompedia, which is like a morbid Pokedex. Killing enough special zombies unlocks information about them that reveals their weaknesses, allowing players to outfit their loadout accordingly to make short work of the game's more powerful enemies.

Zombies are absolutely everywhere in Dead Island 2, ensuring players have plenty of undead to kill whenever they venture outside the safe zones. But zombie killing is far from the only activity Dead Island 2 has on offer. While Dead Island 2 is not a true open world game, each main area is a huge zone that players are free to explore, filled with optional places to loot, side quests to complete, and more.

Dead Island 2's loot system is rewarding and unlike other looter games, rarely ever sticks players with lackluster gear. If anything it has the opposite problem; we often found our inventory and storage completely full, forcing us to sell or scrap high-quality weapons to make room for new stuff. Dead Island 2 weapons can be modded to dish out status effects and can be upgraded to match the player's current level if one has enough cash to spare, so while players will certainly get their hands on better weapons later in the game, they can also stick with an early-game weapon if they so desire.

Dead Island 2 is primarily focused on up-close melee combat, with players able to outfit themselves with everything from electrified Wolverine claws to acidic golf clubs that can make the skin literally melt off zombies' bones. Dead Island 2 has its fair share of guns as well, but they aren't nearly as effective as melee weapons. Guns in Dead Island 2 usually don't do enough damage, even when upgraded, and what's worse is that the gun controls are sometimes delayed or outright unresponsive. If players pull the triggers too fast, they can find themselves in a situation where their character shoots, pauses, aims down the sights, does nothing, and shoots again, in a manner in which it seems like the game is struggling to keep up with the player's input. Guns in Dead Island 2 can be useful in specific situations, but they are not recommended.

It is certainly not without its issues, but Dead Island 2 is a fun co-op game that lets players dropkick zombies, and there's something to say for mindless fun like that. It suffers from some major jank and needs a few patches to iron out its more serious issues, but those that enjoy looter games and are looking for a fun co-op game to sink their teeth into should consider giving it a look when it's on sale.

Dead Island 2 launches April 21 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided with an Xbox Series X code for this review.