dead island 2The zombie-filled underworld of is much easier to survive with friends, so it helps that the game prioritizes multiplayer as much as it does the original dead island did. Still, this bloodbath of a sequel handles co-op differently in a few key ways.
Read on and you will find answers to all your co-op questions.
Continue reading: 10 important things to know before playing dead island 2
Does dead island 2 have crossplay?
No. While players cannot join games across platforms, they can may Join games across generations of the same platform, allowing a PS4 player to join a PS5 player’s game and an Xbox Series X/S owner to play with someone who owns an Xbox One.
But while cross-gen is possible, currently only owners of newer console models, the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, can host multiplayer sessions for cross-gen games.
How many people can play dead island 2 at once?
Although the original dead island allows up to four players, dead island 2 controversial limits the number of players to three.
I know many long-time fans are disappointed, but from personal experience I can tell you that even as a duo, the game feels ridiculously challenging, like you’re tying friendship bracelets rather than bashing your way through an endless zombie parade. It’s still really fun, like playing Whac-A-Mole.
How works dead island 2 multiplayer work?
So you’ve got your consoles in order and broke the news to your potential fourth player. You’re ready to begin the simple process of actually enabling multiplayer.
To enable multiplayer in a new game, play for about 30 minutes until you complete chapter three, Call the Cavalry. A prompt will appear, asking you to choose between “Online Options,” which connects you to a random game, and “Social,” which connects you to a friend’s game.
If you decline to enable multiplayer at this point, it will still be available to you later as an option in your main menu, and you can switch between single and multiplayer games at will.
To act as a host, click Next from your main menu and select either Public, Invitation Only, or Friends Only, which is limited to the users you host on your console or for the Added PC as Friends players on your Epic Games account. To join an existing game, select “Join Game” and then either use a friend’s name or “Quick Join” to play online with a random player.
In any case, multiplayer only works when the players are either in the exact same section of the game, or when one player invites another to a section that the hosting player has already completed. In other words, you can never use co-op to skip ahead, you can only revisit previous chapters or advance together from a common point.
Are there any advantages of playing multiplayer over single player?
The obvious answer is, yes, multiplayer makes difficult enemies and quests more manageable, and it does dead island 2 a more social experience. But there are also some hidden benefits.
Although multiplayer works best (in my opinion) when everyone’s story progression is the same, a high-level player can still help a lower-level player with a game chapter they’ve already completed. dead island 2 will automatically adjust the senior player’s level to that of the novice player, but it allows weapons to keep their higher level status. This is bad news for early-game enemies, but it offers a fun option for helping friends squirm out of spots they were struggling to navigate alone.
And even if you’re playing chapters you’ve already completed in single player, your game will save all of your item finds, side quest progress, and XP earned when playing with someone else. This makes multiplayer a painless way to level up and earn special quest rewards as well.
What about disadvantages?
I noticed this while playing on my PS5 dead island 2 looks a little more choppy in co-op than single player, but not distracting. That being said, the only real downside I’ve found with multiplayer is that the game can feel too airy, at least when you’re playing with friends who are significantly lower than me.
With only two players, we managed to beat the second boss in – no kidding – under two minutes, which was embarrassing considering it took me a few tries and a lot of whining to win in single player. If you want to feel challenged, I’d recommend avoiding multiplayer for big story moments like this, or at least avoiding playing with someone whose weapons are much more powerful than your own.
What do you think of dead island 2‘s multiplayer so far?
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