Dead Island 2: SoLA Review (Azundris)
DLC brings a new zone, a new friendly NPC, two new zombie types, and new weapons.
I loved the vibe of the new area. Much of it feels wide open compared to the main game, and there are corners where you can fight, and quiet corners where you're not constantly harassed. Good times. I was really enjoying this going in.
One thing, though. The final story fight ("Dirge") is garbage. It actually didn't even seem particularly hard, just drawn out and a bit boring -- and then suddenly, I died for no obvious reason. It's one thing to have to up your game if you can tell where you went wrong. And it's one thing to kill the player in a non-obvious way three quarters through a long fight if you get to restart at the beginning of the most recent phase of the fight. But can you be bothered to go all the way back to the start of the fight when you're not even sure you have the information to succeed this time?
I ultimately could, got him on the second attempt, no big, but still don't know what killed me the first time around, still don't think it's an entertaining fight, still think it goes on too long.
Funny enough, I didn't mind the side quest fight with the three clots after that. Sometimes, that's just how it goes. 😹
The DLC does the slightest bit of world-building, but unfortunately, it makes the world stupider. The world-building also refers to that done in Haus, so if that's the the kind of thing you're interested in, you'll arguably need both DLCs.
So, do I recommend it?
Perhaps just about, and on sale. I like the location, and I like the NPC. But it's only one NPC, I'm not particularly excited about the new weapons, and the boss fight is a bit shit. Get this on sale if you liked the base game and are in the mood for a bit more of the same. Don't get it for the weapons, or the world building, or the NPCs. Get it for the location, and perhaps for the two new zombie types (which are cool but that, for better or worse, do not appear outside SoLA).
Worked fine on linux.