DLC Review · Purchased January 16, 2024 · $32.92 CAD via PSN
The Setup
The expansion pass covers Dead Island 2’s story-focused post-launch DLC, HAUS and SoLA, each a self-contained side story with new areas rather than extensions of the main campaign itself.
The Review
Both expansions deliver more of what the base game (reviewed separately in this series) does well: weighty, gory melee combat and a strong sense of place, this time in more contained, bespoke environments than the open-world districts of the main game. HAUS in particular leans into a stranger, more surreal art-house setting than the base game ever attempts, which was a genuinely interesting swing even if the actual mission content within it was fairly short. Community and critical reception on both expansions has landed in similar territory: fine, enjoyable extra content, but nothing either expansion does feels essential to the core Dead Island 2 experience.
What I Liked
- Distinct, well-realized bonus environments
- Consistent combat quality with the base game
- HAUS specifically takes an interesting stylistic swing
What I Didn’t
- Neither expansion feels essential
- Each runs shorter than the price might suggest on its own outside the bundle
The Verdict
Rating: 3/5
Only makes sense if you are already committed to playing through both expansions specifically. On their own, this is a modest value add rather than a must-buy, and it makes far more financial sense bundled into the Deluxe Edition than purchased separately after the fact.
The Compulsive Canadian Gamer 