Dead Island: Riptide gets killer underwater stealth zombies

Floating mines made out of the lurking undead, anyone? Dead Island's undead undesirables are getting a tad more devious in the upcoming sequel, Dead Island Riptide, by way of some subaquatic sneaking skills.

The first game's line-up of charging, spitting, exploding undead is to be joined by the new Drowner zombie type in the monsoon-drenched sequel; a submerged shambler with the inconvenient habit of hiding below the surface in order to drag the unwary to a watery (and bloody) grave.

Fear not though, as the player's combat abilities look to be getting a serious overhaul too. Aside from the previously announced defense hub mechanics (Imagine small pockets of CoD Zombies' seige gameplay dotted throughout the open world), there are also new death-from-above drop attacks with which to split zombie skulls. Apparently gunplay has also been greatly upgraded. Where the first game was a predominantly melee-based affair, we're told that this time round firearms will be a much more viable option.

Dead Island Riptide is due out in late April. All being well we should have a hands-on ready for you next week.

David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.
Latest in Survival
Palworld
"We hit this disgusting number that makes me feel sick": Palworld devs don't know why their survival game was so successful - "If we knew how to do it, we'd do it again"
Palworld
Nintendo's Palworld lawsuit "came as a shock" to Pocketpair because patent infringement was "something that no one even considered"
Palworld screenshot showing a young woman with tied-back red hair petting her Pal, a large white and purple Xenogard
Palworld dev reckons "very few companies could survive" a launch like theirs: "A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure, under the negativity"
Palworld
Palworld is finally getting crossplay across PC, Xbox and PS5 this month as Pocketpair teases "some little surprises" to come to the survival game
Palworld
As Palworld studio's publishing branch teases new reveals, its head is "nervous" that "people will just expect more" games like its survival hit
Atomfall
Atomfall devs don't mind Fallout comparisons "because it's got that post-apocalyptic quarantine zone atmosphere," just like Bethesda's RPGs do
Latest in News
The Mandalorian
Bo-Katan's actor may have accidentally answered whether she is appearing in The Mandalorian and Grogu movie with this cryptic response
Angela holds a knife in Silent Hill 2 remake
Silent Hill 2 remake dev says he was "afraid there might be no good way" to rebuild the classic game without "archaic solutions and mechanics"
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
As the new Looney Tunes movie that Warner Bros passed on makes a strong start, one of its artists urges fans to "buy a ticket it and support it" saying "word of mouth and hype works"
Captain America: Brave New World
Giancarlo Esposito confirms he was originally set to play Marvel's King Cobra in Captain America: Brave New World: "It was a bit of a whirlwind"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
Baldur's Gate 3 and Larian Studios lead Swen Vincke declares that single-player games are, in fact, not "dead" at all – "they just have to be good"
Star Wars Visions anime
First look at Star Wars anime Visions season 3 is a "psychedelic battle" exploring the "tormented psyche" of a stormtrooper