Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • Submit your game clips
  • GDC
Don't miss these
Upcoming PS5 games for 2026 showing Lucia from GTA 6, Wolverine from Marvel's Wolverine, Arjun from Saros, and Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
Adventure Games Upcoming PS5 games: New PS5 games for 2026 and beyond
Ghost of Yotei Legends
Open World Games How to start Ghost of Yotei Legends online co-op
Upcoming Xbox Series Games banner image showing Jason from GTA 6, Marcus from Gears of War E-Day, a steampunk robotic figure in Clockwork Revolution, and Fable's protagonist speaking with a man who has a sword
FPS Games Upcoming Xbox Series X games for 2026 and beyond
Stupid Never Dies
Action RPGs Dragon’s Dogma and Devil May Cry vets show off their pop-punk action RPG
Deep Dish Dungeon FGS
Games Deep Dish Dungeon is giving me Kings Field comedy co-op vibes and I'm here for it
Directive 8020 FGS
Survival Horror Games Directive 8020 shows off its Movie Night couch co-op, letting you and four friends decide who lives and dies in space
Shelf Heroes
FPS Games Upcoming FPS Shelf Heroes just got a new gameplay trailer, with more modular, miniaturised mayhem than you can imagine
Key art for John Carpenter's Toxic Commando showing the squad readying up with weapons against a backdrop of a zombie horde, including themselves blasting them from a truck
FPS Games John Carpenter's Toxic Commando review: "A great horde shooter for the first run through the story"
Peak screenshot showing players climbing an icy cliff
Co-op Games The 25 best co-op games you can play in 2026
Upcoming PC games for 2026 showing Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem, marines in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, Coen in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and a woman's face in Control Resonant
PC Gaming Upcoming PC games: New PC games for 2026 and beyond
A woman in a underwater machine waving during the cinematic teaser for Subnautica 2.
Survival Games Subnautica 2: Everything we know about the new underwater survival game
Ghost of Yotei Legends
Open World Games "Mark my words. You cannot win without 4 players," Ghost of Yotei multiplayer lead warns of Legends' "hardcore content"
Jurassic Park: Survival announcement screenshot with a woman holding a flare and a roaring T-Rex.
Stealth Games Jurassic Park: Survival – Everything we know so far about the new Jurassic Park game
Big Walk screenshot showcasing a couple of characters squatting on the beach in front of a key thing
Co-op Games Big Walk could be your next Peak-like obsession
Dying Light: The Beast
Action Games The 10 best zombie games that will munch your brain
  1. Games
  2. Survival Horror Games
  3. Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2 co-op lets you share the head-stomping

Features
By Justin Towell published 13 August 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Let's get together, murder some zombies...

Let's get together, murder some zombies...

Dead Island 2 is in pre-alpha form (which means still in early development), but already playable in 4-player co-op. That means four players all stamping on zombie heads, turning single zombies into two half-zombies and basically making lots of very dead things even deader, all at the same time. Its a massacre.

Its hard not to draw parallels with Left 4 Dead when youre playing 4-player zombie-smashing co-op, but the action here is different. Its more about the gore than the survival and success is therefore less reliant on teamwork, at least in the 12-minute demo I played. You can run off and do your own thing most of the time, though it certainly helps to stick together.

Two of the missions in the 12-minute-long Gamescom demo require you to upgrade weapons with elemental powers. Heading to the gas station thats on fire at the end of the road allows you to fill up on gasoline direct from the pump, in order to give your weapon a firey slant. Likewise, the electrical store can turn your shots into electrocuting attacks. Lots of fun.

Only problem with draining gasoline in full view of everyone is that it attracts the attention of special zombies. Runner zombies have only recently transformed so they still have decent muscles and are much more mobile. And thugs are hulking great beasts, reminiscent of L4Ds Tanks. Then theres the Suicider, a huge enemy full of explosive pus, which you can kick back into a crowd and watch the whole thing go up. Boom.

There will be more zombie types in the finished game, but also more humans too. Ex-military men and escaped prisoners will be present in the game world to fight. Whether youll be able to slice the humans in half like you can the zombies remains to be seen. But itll be fun finding out. Well, maybe not for you, Germany.

And the best part? The finished article will actually feature 8-player action, split into two teams, allowing you to work together or even play PvP in special events (triggered by helicopter arrivals). With areas like the Santa Monica pier, Venice beach, the LA river and San Franciso to explore (and cover with gore), your bloodlust should be sated for a good while when the game releases on PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2015.

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
"Give us a kiss"

"Give us a kiss"

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
"Seriously, just one kiss"

"Seriously, just one kiss"

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
This guy just wants a cuddle

This guy just wants a cuddle

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
"Got any jump leads? My car won't start. Because of all the blood. Plus, I'm dead. So I can't drive."

"Got any jump leads? My car won't start. Because of all the blood. Plus, I'm dead. So I can't drive."

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
CATEGORIES
PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms
Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Social Links Navigation
Freelance Writer

Justin was a GamesRadar+ staffer for 10 years but is now a freelance writer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Read more
Directive 8020 FGS
Survival Horror Games Directive 8020 shows off its Movie Night couch co-op, letting you and four friends decide who lives and dies in space
 
 
Peak screenshot showing players climbing an icy cliff
Co-op Games The 25 best co-op games you can play in 2026
 
 
Two people play Subnautica 2 on portable gaming handhelds
Survival Games Subnautica 2's "optional co-op" looks like exactly what I want – not the live-service mess I was afraid of
 
 
Horizon Hunters Gathering screenshot showing the team of hunters assembling together
Co-op Games Horizon Hunters Gathering: Everything you need to know about Guerrilla's new co-op action game
 
 
Reanimal review
Horror Games Grab a pal and play REANIMAL in co-op because it's so much scarier when there are two of you
 
 
A screenshot of the upcoming PS5 game, Directive 8020.
Horror Games Until Dawn studio looks to recover from layoffs, 7-month delay in May with co-op game set to receive online multiplayer
 
 
Latest in Survival Horror Games
Leon exits his Porsche into streets at night in Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem's Leon actor doesn't know who he's married to either
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem hits 6 million sales, "the fastest that a title in the series has reached this milestone"
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem Leon Kennedy
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem fans are imagining all the quips Leon would say in other games: "'Guess that's The Last of Him'"
 
 
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Survival Horror Games "They're not good enough," joke devs behind "self-feeding" horror giant stuck in the Steam Top 50 while others rot
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem's unintentional Half-Life YouTuber ad website will be handed back to Capcom "for free" if it wants
 
 
Alyssa Ashcroft leads the way to escape in Resident Evil Requiem's Grace flashback
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem gets kawaii makeover to appease RE2 director, who's been begging for a scare-free game since 1998
 
 
Latest in Features
Future Games Show
Games Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2026
 
 
Artwork showing Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, with protagonist Edward Kenway looking out from the side of ship
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced – Everything you need to know about the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake
 
 
The Talking Flower toy sitting next to its box.
Toys & Collectibles The Super Mario Talking Flower told me the "ocean tastes like tears" but I like this Nintendo toy
 
 
Resident Evil accessories and merch on a forest background
Toys & Collectibles It's been 30 years since we first entered the Spencer Mansion, so I'm building the ultimate Resident Evil starter kit
 
 
A still from Kiki's Delivery Service featuring Kiki and her feline familiar Jiji flying on a broom with some seagulls, with a Big Screen Spotlight logo ini the corner
Anime Movies Kiki's Delivery Service's return to theaters proves we need hand-drawn animation now more than ever
 
 
In Collector's Cove, the collector protagonist who has short brown hair and wears a jumper with cherries on it hugs the Fable Fin companion who wears a witch hat. GamesRadar+'s Indie Spotlight series logo can be seen in the top right-hand corner
Adventure Games If you're feeling Pokemon Pokopia FOMO, this farming adventure lets you explore on the back of a Lapras-like companion
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Nvidia DLSS 5 version of Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
    1
    Bethesda says Nvidia's controversial new DLSS 5 AI filter "will all be under our artists' control, and totally optional for players"
  2. 2
    Daredevil: Born Again season 2 star Matthew Lillard says there's "Cheshire Cat" energy to his new villain, but he doesn't have any scenes with Daredevil
  3. 3
    GTA Wiki editors cite "a reportedly pro-AI CEO," "terrible" ads, and restrictive censorship as they go independent from Fandom
  4. 4
    Bethesda fans are petitioning for The Elder Scrolls 6 to add a tribute to a late TES lore legend: "He helped countless gamers delve deeper into the world of Tamriel"
  5. 5
    The Last of Us season 3 adds Lanterns and The Conjuring stars to cast, including your favorite exorcist Patrick Wilson in a crucial role

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...