Dead Island 2 does not feature a dynamic time of day or ray tracing effects. However, Dambuster has managed to provide some of the best environments we’ve seen. This is mostly due to the game’s incredible pre-baked lighting. Dambuster has managed to exceed what even Naughty Dog has achieved with The Last of Us and the UNCHARTED series. Dead Island 2 features the best pre-baked lighting I’ve seen.
Just take a look at the following screenshots. In numerous cases, I was genuinely stunned by the game’s graphics. I mean, I haven’t captured this many screenshots in any other game. And contrary to other games that use a real-time dynamic TOD, Dead Island 2 looks consistently amazing. That’s the beauty of pre-baked lighting. And frankly, this game will age as well as Assassin’s Creed Unity did. It’s THAT good (graphics-wise).
Furthermore, the game’s GORE system is spectacular. Dead Island 2 features one of the best dismemberment systems we’ve seen. Players can burn the flesh of zombies or use toxic weapons to decompose them. Seriously, this GORE system puts to shame every other zombie game, including the latest Resident Evil games.
All in all, I’m really impressed with what Dambuster has created. Let’s also not forget that Dead Island 2 has been in development hell for a long time. The fact that this game is out, and looks as good as it does, is a miracle by itself.