Dead Island 2 Was Always Going To Be Set In Los Angeles, Even After Three Developers

Useless Island 2 was introduced just some years after the discharge of the primary Useless Island and just a little over a yr after Useless Island Riptide – the forgettable and repetitive sequel that did, at the very least, proceed the story of the primary recreation’s survivors. Writer Deep Silver launched some spinoffs after Riptide, like Escape Useless Island, Useless Island: Epidemic, and the 16-bit beat ‘em up Useless Island Retro Revenge, however a full-scale, numbered sequel hasn’t but occurred, regardless of being introduced practically a decade in the past. 

The primary iteration of Useless Island 2 was helmed by Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager, as Useless Island developer Techland had parted methods with the property and labored on Dying Mild. Deep Silver then handed over improvement of the sport to LittleBigPlanet 3 developer Sumo Digital in 2016, however then, in 2019, Deep Silver introduced that Homefront: The Revolution developer Dambuster Studios can be dealing with Useless Island 2. And that studio has been engaged on this recreation since 2018. In my cowl story journey to Dambuster’s Nottingham, England studio, numerous members on the crew instructed me it began with a contemporary, clear slate for Useless Island 2. However curiously, Useless Island 2, due out in April, remains to be set in Los Angeles, California, the setting revealed within the recreation’s first reveal trailer in 2014. 

Regardless of seemingly having the chance to make Useless Island 2 exactly what it wished it to be in each method, Dambuster caught with LA, lovingly referred to in-game and by the studio as Hell-A. I requested recreation director David Stenton about this determination and apparently, a distinct setting was by no means actually on the desk. 

“I don’t keep in mind there being numerous debate about doing something aside from LA,” Stenton tells me. “I believe for us, we wished to use actual focus to the sport… to the fight and that additionally extends to the setting as nicely. LA is such a improbable iconic location, we didn’t actually really feel like we would have liked to herald some other areas.” 

Stenton is probably going alluding to the sport’s authentic brand when it was first revealed in 2014. The D in “Useless” options the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’s iconic landmark. Dambuster tells me that Useless Island 2 will happen in Los Angeles solely, so don’t plan on making your approach to San Francisco or some other California areas in the principle marketing campaign. 

“It simply provides us a lot alternative… for the sport that we wished to make, so it wasn’t actually an enormous debate,” Stenton says. 

It’s vital to notice, nevertheless, that regardless of what the crew says about sticking with LA, utilizing the identical location from the unique reveal – the situation followers have assumed Useless Island 2 takes place in for practically a decade – doesn’t harm the advertising of this recreation. Whereas the crew feels assured LA is the place for its zombie recreation, it may also simply have made the choice to stay with the situation followers have presumed as this sequel’s setting for therefore lengthy. 

“We began with a clear slate, completely, with our personal imaginative and prescient,” Stenton says. “We’re not trying an excessive amount of at form of what occurred prior to now or taking a look at too many different video games on the market. We’re simply actually targeted on, ‘How will we need to make Useless Island 2 completely phenomenal?’ and produce it updated and ship a recreation that we expect followers will actually get pleasure from.” 

For extra, learn our function about why Dambuster Studios thinks Los Angeles makes for an awesome Useless Island expertise, even when the town isn’t an precise island.

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