Dead Island 2

In my 15 years of gaming, there hasn't been a single other game where I’ve wondered so often when it would be over.

never have i played a game that so aggresively felt like i wasn't the target audience. the narrative is written for the aesthetic sensibilities of a very specific, financial secure demographic who lives in petrodollar palaces (or at least those who aspire and dream to) there is no writing. what there is, is a stack of stereotypes and slapstick narrative tropes. dead island 2 is a game about nothing, no matter how much the NPCs wave their arms and make faces to convince you otherwise. the dialogue doesn't really mean anything. what kept me coming back to it is this bizarre contrast between the narrative and art direction. while the story is structured like a seinfeld episode with insufferable spiritually israeli millenial writing, the actual gameplay is nothing but that the visual fidelity is pretty, real pretty. even though you are mostly walking through sterile modern mcmansions, you can really see the artistic direction in every room you enter through the lighting setups to the props and assets. the design of the weapons is also surprisingly cool, specially in contrast to how braindead this game is narratively what stands out the most is the gore and dismemberment system. it's almost fetishistic, to a point where you're not sure if you're supposed to be looking at your screen. the way the blood and other liquids are rendered might be the most visually striking thing I've seen in a game to date. i can't really cathegorize this game. its a bizarre mix of diverging directions that is entertaining enough to keep you coming back.