Ripping it a new one
Dead Island: Riptide reviews went live in the graveyard hours of the morning, and ours totally didn’t accidentally go up earlier, so don’t go believing it did! I had review honors for Destructoid, and I wasn’t exactly glowing.
What did everybody else think? Well, it’s safe to say Riptide hasn’t had quite the critical reception its predecessor enjoyed. There have been a few positive scores, but many of our fellow reviewers found the experience mediocre, and the ratings generally range between four and seven.
Most criticisms revolve around Techland’s lack of improvements over Dead Island, and tedious mission progression. Game Informer’s the outlier this time around, with a score of 8 and an un-ironic use of the word “visceral.”
As always, we’ve collected some of the stand-out reviews for your reading pleasure. Any of you guys going ahead and getting Riptide anyway?
Gamespot: “Riptide is dumb, and mind-numbingly slow, and somehow manages to make the art of zombie-slaying feel like utter tedium. And if slaying zombies isn’t fun in a game that’s all about slaying zombies, why bother?” [4/10]
IGN: “Rather than fix the graphics and the performance problems that plagued the original two years ago, Techland slightly modified the setting and delivered a new character and more content. It’s a fun time, but there are no surprises or killer new features to make it an impressive package.” [7.2/10]
Eurogamer: “It’s half-fun, but fittingly enough it’s the boring stuff that ultimately kills it.” [6/10]
Game Informer: “Riptide’s flaws are many, but they couldn’t hold me back from having a blast. Few games nail the visceral feel of melee combat and co-op fun like Dead Island. At its worst, an annoying hiccup breaks the immersion of the grizzly trek through a zombie-infested paradise. At its best, Riptide hits the same high notes as the original.” [8/10]
Polygon: “There was a contingent of players that didn’t have the problems I had with the original Dead Island. (Trust me, I heard from them.) They were perfectly content to have some brainless (zing!) fun with a few buddies. And I understand that. But I imagine even the most stalwart defenders of the series are going to be disappointed when they see just how little reason there is to travel from Banoi to Palanai.” [5.5/10]
CVG: “Despite its beautiful skies and deep blue lagoons and bewitching skill trees, you can’t overlook the fact that Palanai stinks.” [5.9/10]
Videogamer: “On the whole however Riptide is yet another missed opportunity, and just too painfully average, wonky and padded out with filler to truly recommend.” [5/10]
EGM: “Veterans of the first Dead Island, on the other hand, will feel cheated, as they’ll recognize the cheap carbon copy that Riptide actually is. Combine this with glitches galore and a plot with more holes in it than the sinking ship the game starts off on, and it’s hard to recommend Riptide to all but the most naïve of zombie enthusiasts.” [6/10]
Metro: “We can fully understand how the idea of Dead Island must sound appealing, especially as a zombie apocalypse fits a Fallout style action role-player to a tee. But everything about how the idea has been implemented is found wanting, from the hollow combat to the simplistic role-playing elements (you can build new weapons out of parts but only according to a Dead Rising 2 style blueprint). The amateur hour presentation just makes it all seem even worse.” [4/10]
