Many zombie killing enthusiasts were disappointed this morning when they found that their copy of Dead Island was less than perfect or even unfinished. Reportedly, Techland had put a developmental build of Dead Island on to Steam for download which was riddled with bugs and developer-only controls. Many websites reviewed the game after a few hours of play, describing it as unplayable with obvious remnants from the Xbox 360 port to PC:  jumpy controls, and clipping characters and objects. This PC version of Dead Island sadly felt like a beta and that's because it was.

Deep Silver has plans to announce something to make it up to their fans who were affected by the day 1 PC issues and Game Rant will be sure to report further details as they become available. The following statement was issued to explain the situation to reviewers and customers alike:

"We deeply regret that an incorrect version of Dead Island was inadvertently made available to players on Steam launch in North America. We are very sorry for any issues you may have experienced while playing the game–the correct, patched version will be made available to North American players ASAP. Other territories are not affected by this situation, the fully patched game will be available on Friday as announced."

It's a shame to see a game with such possibilities face its audience for the first time as an obvious developmental build. First impressions are always important, but the world of gaming has been leaning towards the continuous development mentality for which Google is widely known. Video games are continously patched and fixed to ensure a quality experience for the players. Maybe Deep Silver was planning on taking a play out of Minecraft's book and selling a game as they develop it.

Dead Island Four Player Bundle

After several hours with the fixed version of Dead Island, the game is more polished, allowing the interesting combination of Fallout 3 looting and Left 4 Dead-esque melee battles shine through. The game is much more playable but some graphics and multiplayer glitches are still present in the current version on Steam. Game Rant will be reviewing the updated Dead Island now that the fixes are out so stay tuned for more zombie slaughtering details.

The long and disappointing list of Day 1 Dead Island Patch fixes is below:

Multiplayer and Matchmaking improvements

  • Maps are now correctly synchronized when player joins during map loading
  • Games now filter correctly in lobby
  • After joining a coop game enemies now spawn correctly
  • User guidance improved. (Quest guidance, UI, shop)

Additional Interface polishing

  • Map tracking now works correctly after loading checkpoints
  • Health and stamina bars of enemies now display correctly in coop.
  • Locations of invisible NPCs are no longer shown
  • More than one player can now use the same ladder simultaneously
  • Focus on items in shops is not changing after operation (sell, buy)
  • Additional Interface polishing
  • Fixed displaying gather rings near some door

Player death behavior improved

  • Respawn position now saved when playing in cooperative mode
  • If player dies whilst inside vehicle, menu will now be hidden

Save game mechanics extended

  • Added distinction between quest checkpoints and other saves

Minor animation fixes

  • AI animation now displays correctly after fast travel or travel through portals

AI improvements

  • Improved enemy awareness (zombies)
  • Enemies reaction to fire adapted
  • Enemies are now able to successfully reach player on some arenas
  • Shooting enemies no longer spawn infinitely Balancing changes in difficulty

Balancing changes in difficulty

  • Item level will be calculated correctly when playing in second playthrough
  • Kick interrupting reload now adapted; after clip is inserted reload is treated as successful
  • Health regeneration is now disabled during grab.
  • More HP for all escorted NPCs
  • Removed all instances of Butcher during escorts
  • Purna can gain bonus rage from both “Grim Inspiration” and “Inspiring Kick”
  • Only "Walker" type enemies increase the extra XP of the "Combo" skill from Xian’s Survival skill tree

Pause Option added

  • Added information about players requesting pause (Co-op)

Looting rules improved

  • Thrown items now cannot be picked up by another player for 5 minutes.
  • Items from just-opened containers cannot be picked up by another player for 5 seconds.

Minor graphical glitches fixed.

  • Rectified occasional graphical glitch with NPC's hands bending awkwardly
  • Animations now display correctly when trading
  • Stomper animation now displays correctly when same target is hit by another player

Sound bugs fixed

  • Volume of pickup's engine has been increased

Quest bugs removed

  • All side quests in Laboratory can now be successfully completed
  • Potential walkthrough blocker removed when quest "Knockin' on Heaven’s Door" is completed before talking to Dominik during "On the air" quest

This problematic launch hopefully doesn't detract gamers who were excited to get their hands on with Dead Island. As much as we hate the idea of games being released with so many problems, including an improper version uploading on Steam, gamers shouldn't suffer for sloppy releases.

Dead Island is now available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.