I’ve played all versions of Dead Island, and honestly, I think this one is the best of them.

I know, I know—for some reason, some people really don’t like the changes. I usually play franchise games from the oldest to the newest, but I felt this one wouldn’t be very connected to the first game anyway. I picked it up on promotion and decided to just go for it.

And to be fair… this game is great.

It might not be fully open world like the first one, but it offers plenty of locations, and they’re all distinct. The story is engaging, and progression feels well balanced. As someone who collects everything, I was never overpowered mid-game. Some things simply won’t unlock until you advance the story—so it actually encourages you to go with the flow.

The number of ways you can kill zombies is amazing, and there’s real room for different builds on a second playthrough. The DLC was… clearly written by a lunatic—but in a very entertaining way.