Dead Island Retro Revenge is an on-rails beat ‘em up currently available on PlayStation 4, and there’s only one way of getting it: buying the Dead Island Definitive Collection. It’s more of a bonus free game for your purchase, and who doesn’t like free? Are you ready to learn more about this action release? Then come check out our Dead Island Retro Revenge Review!

 

As I said before, Dead Island Retro Revenge is a beat ‘em up with a twist since you only control two aspects of your character: when he attacks and when he switches lanes. There are three lanes in every level, and you must move between them to destroy the zombies coming at you so that you can increase your multiplier count to score as many points as possible to aim for a five-star rating at the end of the level. Changing lanes is also important because you sometimes must avoid obstacles, make your way to boxes that might give you powerful weapons available for a short window of time, a healing item or some bonus points. On top of that, changing lanes is a must if you want to avoid zombies that can explode or obstacles that will damage you as soon as you hit them. Remember, three strikes and you’re done!

As for the attacks part of the equation, you can use the Triangle button to attack high, the Circle button for a middle attack, the X button for a low attack, and the Square button for an attack towards your back. You’ll also gain access to a super weapon once you have killed enough flashing zombies to add energy to your super weapon – this is great since your combo multiplier instantly doubles while your super weapon is active. The final trick at your disposal is your magic attack that can be triggered with the R1 button, and which it will clear the screen of all enemies.

If you want to score as many points as possible, you must hit each of the zombies with perfect timing to, well, score a perfect point bonus. You have a handy reticle that will help you line up your attack, so you swing at the right time, and if you deactivate and finish a level you will get a trophy for your collection!

 

There’s plenty of different enemies coming at you, and each one of them must be hit with the right attack button, or you’ll be damaged!

The Walker is the classic weak enemy, and you can kill it with any of the attack buttons. The Zombie Dog, as expected, must be attacked with the X button. Riot shield enemies can be hit with any button, but you do have to take into consideration that once their shield is in the air, the button you use to hit it will determine what direction the shield goes flying, so be ready to set up some big combos with it! The Thug can be attacked with any button, but if your final attack is a high attack (with the Triangle button), its head will come off and turn into a projectile that can destroy any enemy in its path. The Hyena is an enemy that takes two hits to be killed unless your first hit lands with a perfect since that will instantly kill it. The Leader can be attacked with any button except the Circle button, so make a note of it. The Stomper is a large opponent and, so you shouldn’t attack it with the Triangle button – if you want to land a perfect, you’ll need to attack it twice with the Circle button and then finish him off with the X button. The Suicider is bad news, and attacking it with any button (or just touching it) will make him explode, so be sure to avoid it or kill it with a projectile before it’s too late.

But zombies aren’t your only problem because you’ll also run into mercenaries that want to kill you good. First up is the Flanker, and enemy you counter his attack to defeat it, so pay attention to see if he’s attacking high or low. The Pistol can be used to your advantage if you land a perfect (X and then Circle) so that you can take his gun and wreak havoc on your own! The rifle will tear you to pieces if you’re not careful, so hit him low twice with the X button before finishing him off with the Triangle button so that you can stay alive. The Grenadier is a very powerful enemy that must quickly be dealt with, so be sure to hit his grenade back for a big boom! And then we have the Trickster which must be defeated before it has a chance to counter attack, so if you spot him, hit him hard. The Machete can avoid projectiles, but you can also disarm him with a perfect combo (Triangle and then Circle). The Pugilist is a tricky one since you have to mix your attacks (just like in boxing!) to be able to get past his fast attacks to defeat him. The Mace comes in two varieties: the one with purple hair can be hit with a perfect with Triangle, X and Triangle, while the one with green hair must be hit with X, Triangle, and X. The Flamethrower can be used in your combos, as long as you make sure to prep him for it by hitting it three times with the X button, followed by the circle button.

If you want to get some extra points during each level, be sure to hit the bodies of the zombies you defeat once they’re lying on the floor. They might not give you that many extra points but every bit counts if you want to hit that five-star rating in each level! Each level has a different flow to it: some might need you to continuously change lanes so that you can continue to make your combo grow, while others might have less overall enemies coming at you but more opportunities for using projectiles to make your combo automatically grow on one lane while you’re busy attacking a bunch of zombie dogs in another one.

Levels are short and to the point, never overstaying their welcome. This also makes it easier to return to previous levels to use all the practice you’ve been getting at the later, harder stages so that you can aim at increasing your total score, total kills and combo streak for the level as you try to win a spot on the game’s leaderboards. The more levels you play, the more tricks you’ll pick up, making it easier to improve your overall ranking. You can even compare your score with the rest of the world or just your friends, proving once and for all who is better.

I’ve already spent several hours playing Dead Island Retro Revenge and plan to continue playing it so that I can improve my worldwide ranking, not to mention that I want to get all trophies the game has to offer. There are thirteen trophies in total (nine Bronze, Three Silver, and one Gold), so you’ll definitely be spending a lot of time with the game if you want to 100%, considering you have to finish the game once to unlock Survivor Mode (an endless mode) and Marathon Mode (where you take on all levels in a single go). It’s been a lot of fun doing this Dead Island Retro Revenge review, and hopefully you have fun as well with the game!

[review
pros=”Fun gameplay.
Good variety of enemies.” cons=”Arcade games definitely not for everyone” score=81]

Disclaimer
This review is based on a PS4 copy of Dead Island Retro Revenge provided by Deep Silver.