Dead Island Definitive Collection Review

Deep Silver and Polish developers Techland have upped their game with the release of Dead Island Definitive Collection bundle which includes three games, a remastered Dead Island and Dead Island Riptide and a bonus arcade game Dead Island Retro Revenge. You’re able to purchase the games separately for £12 (£4 for Retro Revenge) or if you own the original games get a sizeable discount where both games can be purchased for just £1.80 each. The question to be asked is, if you have played the two original games to death, is it worth jumping in and starting over again – because your save files from the originals won’t carry over.

In a nutshell, the core games remain largely the same although there are some tweaks under the surface and you’ll get all the downloadable content extras thrown in. Starting over might seem rather harsh depending on how invested you were in the original back in 2011, but time has been quite favourable with updated visuals for both games. Whilst it’s certainly not a new experience, the new lighting and texture details are aesthetically pleasing. What has to be said is between the two games you are able to import characters into each game, so effectively you’ve got the choice to build solid characters levels across both experiences which is handy.

In terms of the actual game, the original shows its age quite a bit especially when compared to Riptide which offers a more community based approach to survival. In Dead Island Definitive Edition, whilst your character does follow a story, you’re tasked with untold fetch quests and investigations which after so many hours can begin to grate. However, bathed in the island’s new looks and you’ve got some pleasant surrounds to drop kick zombies, slice their heads off with various craftable/upgradable weapons or run them over using the odd 4×4 vehicle. The controls are still a bit clunky at times though which is a shame these weren’t fixed, but at the very least it’s a minor gripe. For those well familiar with the originals there’s a neat One Punch mode available which sadly disables any progression and achievements but is rather fun and means your character can decimate the opposition with just one or two punches or kicks, often leaving foes limbless. It’s a neat distraction to mess around with especially if you’re looking for something new to sink your teeth into.

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Dead Island Riptide Definitive Edition offers a more comprehensive game with generally better visuals and more gameplay elements that detract from the numerous fetch quests, although those are still here in abundance. Here you’ll build bases and with AI compatriots fend off waves of incoming infected. This is a neat addition to the gameplay and certainly keeps on the pressure adding a bit more diversity all round.

Both games have much improved visuals over their originals which is great, although experiencing these at 2K/ 4K is a must if that’s an option. Whilst in some instances the game’s looks are improved, in other areas it’s perhaps a matter of personal preference whether the new look is better. For example some scenes are darker in the original game which provided a better, more chilling atmosphere compared to brighter locations of the remaster. Techland has really overhauled the lighting and shadow effects not only on the environments but the characters as well making for a wonderful looking experience overall though. The performance is also pretty good too, although if you’re running top end hardware then both games aren’t likely to push limits in any way at max settings.

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In terms of playtime you’ll certainly get your monies worth with the £25 investment for the two main games (and more if you go for the side scrolling Retro Revenge for an extra couple of quid) especially if you take advantage of the DLC extra characters campaigns alongside the original cast. Even if you stick with just one character, the open world sandbox nature of both games means you can spend as much time fending off the infected hordes as you please. If you do simply follow the stories in both games then there’s still plenty of hours playtime on offer here.

The Dead Island Definitive Collection is a solid remastering of the original games and becomes exceptional value if you have never experienced them before now. The game obviously shines best on PC but considering the original’s multi-platform release, the console versions are great investments too stepping beyond the PS3 and Xbox 360 offerings if you’re jumping in on PS4 or Xbox One.

Dead island riptide definitive edition

If you like open world gaming, lots of survival, armed or unarmed combat and an Australian cast, then Dead Island Collection is well worth checking out. Even if you played the original games way back when, the lick of new paint and extras give the games a new lease of life. The only real negatives to ponder here is the repetitive nature of the gameplay – especially across two main games that are largely the same – and some clunky movement still being present, but these are perhaps subjective. The only real spanner in the works is the fact that Techland’s other game Dying light feels much more like a proper, more polished zombie survival experience both in looks and gameplay which again shows how aged these two older games really are in comparison.

Score 8.5/10

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.