Deep Silver and Dambuster have released the second story DLC, "SoLA," for the zombie slasher "Dead Island 2." Packed with beats, new zombie enemies, and legendary weapons, the DLC delivers a thunderous finale to the story, bringing it to a climax. Our review tells you whether the "SoLA" DLC is worth it.
Although Hell-A was "saved," the zombie virus has spread to a nearby festival grounds, infecting or already killing all the attendees. To attract new victims, a deafening beat blares all the way to Hell-A, which we can't ignore, prompting us to search for its source.
Here, one would like to throw a party oneself.
The festival grounds in the northwest of Hell-A are every clubber's dream. A vast area, divided into smaller event zones like the Eco Village, the Eclipse Club, the Main Stage, and SoLa Flair. In the middle of it all is a safe zone where a survivor named Grace is hiding. She tells us about sinister plans, how the beat steals her consciousness, makes her hear voices everywhere, and drives her to the brink of madness. It's easy to understand why, when the bass is pounding in your ears all day and you can barely hear yourself think. The mission is clear: find the source of the beat on this huge site, pull the plug, and rescue Grace.
Across several quests, we follow the beat, hacking and slashing our way through zombies in typical Dead Island fashion and turning off the deafening noise. Each zone offers a unique quest, which usually involves destroying speakers, tampering with DJ equipment, and facing nasty new enemies who are also drawn to the beat. The game features two new enemy types. AloneThe DLC includes the Whipper, a new Apex variant that has nothing better to do than rip out its own guts and use them as a whip against us, and the Clotter, which forms from the remains of zombies and can spawn anywhere. This makes it all the more unpredictable.
Every fight a boss fight?
Every encounter in the “SoLA” DLC is like a boss fight, unfolding over several phases and requiring a well-thought-out strategy. On the Main Stage, you can use pyrotechnics to roast the zombies, while in the Eclipse Club, you can throw golden orbs from the speakers at the Clotter to overload it and then attack. One the highlights of the SoLa-DLC However, there's a broken fan into which you can shove zombies en masse, creating a bloodbath typical of Dead Island. In total, this offers around 2 to 3 hours of gameplay, which is definitely worth the price of €14,99. The final boss fight, in particular, is quite something, unleashing everything the zombie gallery has to offer. As a reward, the final skill cards can be revealed, and three legendary weapons can be earned, including the Return of the Ripper, a deadly combination of baseball bat and circular saw. Those who... SoLaAnyone playing the DLC will already have reached a high level, where the real fun only begins when grenades, Molotov cocktails and modified weapons can unleash their full potential.
Overall, the "SoLa" DLC offers plenty of entertainment, but in my opinion, it doesn't quite live up to its potential. The festival grounds are huge, but only about half of them are explored during the quests. The rest is up to you. And since so many people have died here, it feels a bit too empty. Dambuster could have used the same approach as at the military base on the beach, where thousands of zombies were visible behind a fence. This could easily have been adapted for the festival grounds, creating a much more immersive atmosphere.
The festival theme is still well done, even if the final boss fight is rather unspectacular. Story-wise, the "HAUS" DLC (our reviewA more satisfying conclusion would have been welcome, rather than simply reaching the end, a bit of small talk, and that's it. The legendary weapon "The Ripper" is only obtained at the very end, but for me personally, it's practically useless since all the story and side missions are completed, and there's no New Game+ mode. Apparently, players can start with a new Slayer, but I'm not sure if the weapons carry over.
Conclusion
