Dead Island 2 replaces the skill tree with deck for collectable skills

Dead Island 2 is on the horizon, and it’s still a bit hard to believe. But the developer is clearly excited to show off what’s been in the works. In fact, Dead Island 2‘s creative director and lead narrative designer spoke with Game Informer about the game. And it looks like there are plenty of surprises in Dead Island 2, along with a new style of skill maintenance — the skill deck.

The interview asks plenty of questions that vary in lots of ways. One question asks about the game’s Los Angeles setting. Creative Director James Worrall says it’s because of “the amazing eccentrics and self-confidence of the city.” Unfortunately, Dead Island 2‘s lead narrative designer, Ayesha Khan, confirmed that there would be no zombie surfers. But don’t worry: there’s still plenty of wackiness to come. Remember, Dead Island 2 can be controlled with voice commands via Alexa. This is still very strange.

Dead Island 2 has a ‘skill deck’

Both Worrall and Khan agree that Dead Island 2‘s skill deck is its most “exciting” addition. Worrall explains that the skill deck is a “collection of slots that represent all kinds of different abilities.” The cards are easy to swap “on the fly,” he adds. This new skill system seemingly allows you to be pretty creative with your skill set. And Worrall even says that “it sometimes pays off, it sometimes goes horribly wrong.” Unfortunately, the pair don’t go into too much detail about these skill cards. But even with what they’ve said, it seems to be a pretty big jump from the first game.

Dead Island starred four distinct characters who each had their own play style and skill tree. This made the characters interesting, but didn’t give players much freedom. But Dead Island 2 seems to be changing this with its new take on the skill tree. Khan says that this makes the “game different for each player. It really is about what you’re equipping, and what you’re doing with it.” Hopefully, this is able to make Dead Island 2‘s character progression a bit more unique.

We’ve seen plenty of zombie games over the years, and unfortunately, a lot of them blend together. So it’s nice to see that Dead Island 2 is trying something different with its skill tree. But that’s something we can judge for ourselves in just a few months’ time when the game launches on April 28.