While the story didn't do it for me this time around, everything else from the gorgeous and varied festival grounds and set-pieces to the new weapons and enemies are enough of a reason to return to Hell-A
Look, it's no secret that I absolutely adored Dead Island 2. Punching, bashing, slicing, dropkicking, and exploding virtual monsters has never looked and felt this beautiful, gory, brutal, and satisfying. Plus, the social commentary the main game offered about Hollywood with its satirical depiction of eccentric movie producers, washed-up rockstars and crazy artists is only matched by the GTA franchise. Then the first Dead Island 2 DLC Haus, came out, depicting an even darker and decadent side of Hollywood with the whole disturbing death sex cult... it was so good.
When I first saw that the next expansion titled SoLA would focus around a music festival turned nightmare, I got really excited. So, in my head, I had created this whole idea that SoLA would be Dead Island 2's take on the infamous Fyre Festival, the fraudulent luxury music festival where instead of the gourmet meals and luxury villas for which festival attendees had paid hundreds of dollars, they received packaged sandwiches and were lodged in poorly furnished tents. Again, in my head, this shitshow of a festival would be prime material for Dead Island to take the piss.
However, this is not the direction they went with SoLA, and well, after finishing the DLC, I am kinda sad because I feel like they missed a big opportunity. What we get are spacious lawns, dazzling illuminated stages, giant pools, arrays of food stalls, bars, merchandise shops, and even a stunning nightclub. Every detail screams Coachella. I mean, I do understand why they went this way. Dead Island 2 is a stunning game with gorgeous lighting and photorealistic environments, and this vividly colorful and massive music festival just makes sense.
The developers have clearly pulled out all the stops to bring this festival environment to life. The meticulous setting acts as another character in its own right. Each subsection, from the pool party to the main stages, feels authentic and lends itself to unique combat encounters. As pyrotechnics and special effects complemented my battles against waves of the undead, I was fully invested in the psychedelic chaos unfolding around me.
Unfortunately, though, I cannot say the same about the story, as I found it to be somewhat lackluster. Your Slayer arrives at SoLA and has to figure out what happened. Apparently, a mystical malevolent beat triggered the change in the DNA, transforming all of the festivalgoers into ravenous zombies, and you have to put a stop to all that. It is just meh, you know, doesn't really offer anything new, the two NPCs you interact with are boring and the whole thing lacks that Dead Island 2 humor. My man Ryan had tons of hilarious responses and quips about pretty much everything both in the main game and in Haus, but this time, apart from one or two "holy fucking shitballs," he feels kinda neutered.
While the core Dead Island 2 experience remains unchanged, SoLA adds a couple of new things in terms of enemies, weapons, curveballs, and slayer cards. As you navigate through the ruins of SoLA, you'll encounter two new types of enemies, such as the Whipper, which uses her intestines to whip you from afar, and the Clotter, a big monstrosity that melts and reforms constantly, pursuing you. There are also two new weapons, the Ripper, a deadly amalgamation of a baseball bat and circular saw that the more enemies you hit, the faster the blade spins, turning basically into a chainsaw that cuts zombies in half, and the Sawblade Launcher, which is pretty much self-explanatory.
The combat still feels as good as it has ever been. Obliterating zombies with brass knuckles or massive sledgehammers and exploding, melting, burning, or even killing them with the new "bee bomb" curveball is still satisfying and never gets old. What is not satisfying, but absolutely frustrating, is the final boss fight.
Fuck. This. Boss Fight. The idea behind the final encounter is quite good, as mechanically it feels like a Destiny raid boss, but if you play solo, it is borderline impossible to overcome. The amount of bullshit you have to deal with during this fight is absolutely insane, and it's clearly not balanced for solo players, as you can see me struggle in the full playthrough attached here in this review. So, unless they patch it, invite a friend during this final fight, unless you want to suffer.
Is SoLA what I was expecting? No, but that's on me. Is SoLA good? Well, the story didn't do it for me this time around, but everything else, from the gorgeous and varied festival grounds, set-pieces, the new weapons and enemies (minus the final fight, fuck that), are *chef's kiss and enough of a reason to make another trip back to Hell-A. Thanks for reading!
The DLC was reviewed on a PS5 using a review copy provided by PR. Dead Island 2 SoLA is out now on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
