History VideoGame / DeadIsland

** [[DropTheHammer Blunt]] weapons. May not have the range of guns, or the raw damage and dismembering capacity of blades, but blunt weapons are more durable, more common, cheaper to repair, and still deal decent damage, especially in Sam B's hands.

* RepeatableQuest: There are several fetch quests for [=NPCs=] that can be done ad infinitum for some XP, money, or in one case, [[ThatOneComponent diamonds]].

* ObviousBeta: The initial Steam release turned out to be a ''late development debug build'', complete with built-in noclip key. The patch was released and -Hey Presto!- In-game load times got cranked up, the pre-order DLC isn't working, and savegames from the initial release don't work.
** And that's not even including the numerous bugs that plagued the release version, ''especially'' the save corrupting GameBreakingBug that, as of October 2011, ''still'' hasn't been fully fixed on all systems.

The game was released in September 2011 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows; it was later released for [[UsefulNotes/MacOS OS X]] in April 2014, for UsefulNotes/{{Linux}} in October 2014, and for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne in May 2016. A single-player DLC campaign was released in February 2012 starring Ryder White, and it sheds an entirely new light on the events of the main game.

So [[VacationEpisode you're on vacation]], trying to get away from your hectic life back home and have some fun time with your family, when all of a sudden [[ZombieApocalypse zombies show up]]. Don't you hate it when that happens?

''Dead Island'' is a WideOpenSandbox [[FirstPersonShooter first-person]] {{survival horror}} game by Techland, makers of the ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarez'' series, with action RPG elements (such as skill trees, random weapon drops, and heavy emphasis on 4-player co-op gameplay) very reminescent of ''{{VideoGame/Diablo}}'' or ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. It is set at the Royal Palms Resort on Banoi, a ({{fictional|country}}) tropical island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. For reasons unknown (a mutated strain of Kuru is hinted), the dead have risen from the grave to consume the living, and the surviving tourists, staff and locals are fighting for survival. Melee combat is the name of the game; since you can't really expect to find that many guns in a luxurious beach resort, you have to make do with the assortment of close-range weapons that you have around you. This is reflected in the game's physics system, which places emphasis on [[{{Gorn}} detailed gore]], including limbs that may be broken or chopped off and heavy damage that may gib.

The game was first announced way back in 2007, with [[http://www.ign.com/videos/2007/08/22/dead-island-pc-games-trailer-teaser-gc-2007?objectid=100157 a teaser]] debuting at GC 2007 and promising a release date the following year. [[{{Vaporware}} Nothing was heard from the developers on the subject for years]], until [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell the release]] of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZqrG1bdGtg a new trailer]] in early 2011, and... [[NightmareFuel holy]] [[TearJerker crap]]. From the very second of its release that trailer became a viral phenomenon, ''Dead Island'' went from a presumed-dead zombie game to the talk of the entire gaming world, even getting the attention of the non-gaming press in a way that few smaller games ever do. This despite the acknowledgement from Techland stating that trailer would [[NeverTrustATrailer not be indicative of actual tone]] or gameplay.

Gamesradar.com did a sponsored movie/miniseries entitled ''Dead Island: Origins'' to advertise for the game on their website.

A single-player DLC campaign was released in February of 2012 starring Ryder White, and it sheds an entirely new light on the events of the main game.

A sequel, ''[[VideoGame/DeadIslandRiptide Dead Island: Riptide]]'', was released in April 2013. Techland has also trademarked the title ''Dead World''. A tie-in short film [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbrKIDv9wZ4 "No Retreat"]] was also released. On August 7th, 2013, Creator/DeepSilver announced ''Dead Island: Epidemic'', a {{MOBA}} with heavy emphasis on action and killing AI-controlled zombies. It was closed in October 2015 due to the lack of interest combined with very low playerbase.

The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N48LNo07UIs trailer]] for the next sequel ''[[VideoGame/DeadIsland2 Dead Island 2]]'' premiered at E3 2014 with a planned 2015 release. However, the game would end up falling into DevelopmentHell, changing developers twice, before finally getting a new 2023 release.


''VideoGame/EscapeDeadIsland'' is a third-person action-adventure game serving as a side quest where you work with Xian Mei to uncover the truth and promises a beta copy of the second game. Trailer can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WErgekxJv0k here.]] ''VideoGame/DyingLight'' [[SpiritualAdaptation was the sequel Techland wanted to make, despite the change in names.]]

''Dead Island Retro Revenge'' was released on May 31, 2016 as a spin-off title and is a 2D Sidescrolling Runner in the vein of ''Videogame/{{Canabalt}}'' starring a guy named Max (presumably the looter in the ''Dead Island 2'' trailer) fighting through hordes of zombies to get his cat back.

''Dead Island: Survivors'' was released on July 3, 2018 with TowerDefense gameplay and a more cartoony aesthetic.

* DaylightHorror: Most of the clips and scenes take place during the daytime, which makes it scarier as it makes the player a more visible target.

** There's also the Banoi Butcher, [[spoiler: [[AnticlimaxBoss but he doesn't live up to it very well]]]].

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler: [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]]]]. He's fast (due to being a human rather than a zombie), is armed with a machete, does heavy damage (enough to kill most players in one hit), has a massive amount of health (even more than a GiantMook), and has high damage resistance similar to an enemy wearing body armor.
** He's significantly {{Nerf}}ed by the recent major patch, as he no longer does heavy damage and has less than half as much health as he used to.
** ''Dead Island: Definitive Edition'' once again makes him an incredibly challenging bonus boss. His ability to kill you in one hit has been restored, and now he can only be damaged with critical hits.

%%** The mayor in Act 2. Let's just say he deserves what happens to him after refusing to help your group out.

* InterfaceSpoiler: When you enter the town hall for the first time, it reads "Loading City Hall Part 1". [[spoiler: This is the first sign that something is off about the town hall. As soon as you visit the supermarket and return to the hall, it reads "Loading City Hall Part 2", and the entire town hall is overrun by the zombies, there's no survivors.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In Act 2, [[spoiler: when you turn off the sewer water, the previously impenetrable mansion where the mayor and some survivors are cooped up are taken out by the zombies who use the now waterless sewer way connected to the mansion.]]

* InterfaceSpoiler: When you enter the town hall for the first time, it saids "Loading City Hall Part 1". [[spoiler: This is the first sign that something is off about the town hall. As soon as you visited the supermarket and return to the hall. It saids "Loading City Hall Part 2", and the entire town hall is overrun by the zombies, there's no survivor.]]

** ''Dead Island Epidemic'' is downright ''comical'' in comparison: picture the difference between ''Film/SnakesOnAPlane'' and...say, ''Anime/PerfectBlue.'' And the proper sequel makes ''Series/SaintsRow'' look like ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies.''

* RightForTheWrongReasons: The more cynical of the Heroes are suspicious of The Voice[=/=]"Ryder White", despite all that help he provided earlier, because they suspect he may be a convict impersonating an officer. [[spoiler: Turns out they were right about that.]] Also, Ope believes his westernized daughter Yerema is an evil spirit and tries to kill her... Purna kills him believing he's a primitive sexist who's obviously out of his gourd ([[KickTheSonOfABitch which, admittedly, he is]]). [[spoiler: Yeah, turns out Yerema is the source of the zombie virus and Ope was right she was a threat, albeit seemingly for the entirely wrong reasons.]]

** You meet a Russian helicopter pilot named [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Nikolai]]. Another Russian named Nikolai [[SpellMyNameWithAnS or rather Nicholai]] survived [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3 another zombie outbreak]] by helicopter.

* ShownTheirWork: The vehicles of which are mostly utes and four wheel drives have the drivers seat to the right and the road signs and markings are Australian, with the Definitive Edition upping the ante by using classic WA license plates. The ute is kind of a symbol in Australia and ideal for the resort and city streets as well as the more rugged terrain of the jungle. There's even the old Australian Broadcasting Commission image on some televisions (for when ABC1 would show when the station was closed, before it began running 24 hours.)

* AnachronicOrder: The trailer does this with the family's doomed fight against the zombies breaking into their hotel room, basically rewinding through the entire sequence.
** Not quite, it goes backwards at some points, everything (chronologically) after the girl was "rescued" by her dad), and forwards at before he reaches her, and they meet in the middle.

** Among humans, Warlord Afran's mercenaries, the prison guards, and [[spoiler: Colonel White's BIDF soldiers]] are much stronger and better armed than the typical raiders/banbits.

** Your spring-loaded neck boot, or 'mighty foot.' The amount of damage it does is pretty low but it can't be interrupted, and it has a pretty decent knockback. You will use it a lot to make the most common opponents fall before killing them, saving your real weapons for truly dangerous monsters. You need to watch your stamina when using it though, or you really can leave yourself truly defenseless.

* EliteMooks: Warlord Afran's mercenaries, the prison guards, and [[spoiler: Colonel White's BIDF soldiers.]]

* IntroOnlyPointofView: The intro to the first game features the point of view of a random, drunken vacationer (who seems to be a bit of a perverted asshole [[ThanksForTheMammary thanks to his behavior]]) who interacts with all of the protagonists, but he's never heard from again.

* ItsUpToYou / TheMainCharactersDoEverything: A justified example. The 4 player characters do pretty much everything for everybody still alive on the island the entire game because they are immune to the virus, thus they are the only ones who can leave a shelter and not end up zombies.

* AnAxeToGrind: Used by the dad in the trailer. Also one of the rarer (and usually more powerful) bladed weapon varieties.

** [[DropTheHammer Blunt]] weapons. May not have the range of guns, or the raw damage and dismembering capacity of blades, but blunt weapons are more durable, more common, cheaper to repair, and still deal decent damage, [[WeaponOfChoice especially in Sam B's hands]].

* MacheteMayhem: Machetes are one of the most commonly used melee weapons in the game. They are the rewards for a lot of quests, especially in the main quest line. They deal a lot of damage, have decent handling, and have good force and durability for an edged weapon, making them the WeaponOfChoice of a lot of players. The [[AntiClimaxBoss Butcher]] [[ImAHumanitarian of Banoi]] also wields a machete.