Dead Island 2 – FLESH System and Procedural Gore Showcased in New Gameplay

Dead Island 2 was set to release this week but faced a delay to April 28th with development in the “final straight.” Dambuster Studios has been releasing regular updates and recently sat with Game Informer to talk about the FLESH System. The footage is from a November 2022 work-in-progress build, so there may be bugs.

Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids or FLESH is a procedural gore system. Depending on where the player hits, the damage occurs realistically, whether it’s bladed weapons tearing through layers or blunt weapons crushing bones. Senior render programmer Aaron Ridge and technical art director Dan Evans-Lawes also discussed how this changes depending on the types of zombies fought.

For example: While the regular zombies may break apart like any decaying undead human, the larger Crushers may spill more guts. It’s more visceral but still retains the over-the-top, campy nature of the combat.

Dead Island 2 is coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Head here to learn more about the game’s Skill Deck and how it enables player flexibility. You can also check out three of the playable Slayers here.