Weapon durability and its application in games have long been hot topics among gamers. Some love it, some like it and some hate it. And those feelings vary depending on who you’re talking to about this topic. I think of games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when someone mentions weapon durability, as that was a hotly debated aspect of its release (I personally didn’t mind at all).
Love it or hate it, weapon durability is a feature that will likely never go away in games, and that’s okay because when done right, it can be a helpful way to nudge players into something new . In 2011’s Dead Island, weapon durability was a big part of the experience, and that feature will return in Dead Island 2 when it releases on April 28th on PlayStation and Xbox consoles and PC. Why is because developer Dambuster Studios has found it to be a useful tool in guiding players.
“We’re not particularly strict about durability,” says game director David Stenton during my journey into Dead Island 2’s cover story. “We’re not trying to be a survivor simulator or a survivor horror game. It’s there as a tool so we can encourage players to go back to a workbench and instead of repairing your weapon or leveling up your weapon, maybe I’m level 10, and this favorite weapon that…a few ago Hours ago my favorite weapon is still level 5. Do I really want to pay the cost of level-matching this weapon, or maybe I’ll actually spend the money at a merchant? and buy a new premade weapon. Or maybe I’ll spend the money to apply this new mod and some of the ingredients I have.
“It’s about giving players options and encouraging them to go back to a workbench and try something new.”
As someone who has played Dead Island 2 for about 8 hours, you can read my full thoughts on the experience in the latest game informant Cover story here – I agree with Stenton’s assessment of what weapon durability does in game. To be honest, there wasn’t really a moment when I even thought too hard about a gun’s durability. Combat is frantic, fast-paced, and chaotic. If I was killing a horde of zombies and a weapon broke, I’d switch to another via my rather large weapon wheel without giving much thought to the fact that one was no longer usable due to its durability.
Sure, there were moments when one of my favorites was basically useless because its shelf life was over, but I almost always had a close second favorite ready. I imagine it will be easy to bond to weapons in Dead Island 2 – I particularly loved my Slaughtering Cremator Cleaver and the Enhanced Impactor Improvised Hammer – but in just eight hours with the game I’m probably up to 100+ encountered others. If one of your weapons breaks, a new favorite is probably not too far away.
To learn more about the game, read my Dead Island cover story here, then head over to game informants Exclusive Dead Island 2 coverage center for stories you can’t find anywhere else e.g. B. why the game is set in a city that is not an island, or detailed breakdowns of two survivors of Dead Island 2, Dani and Ryan. You’ll also find exclusive gameplay in videos like this one on how Dambuster Studios captures the sounds of zombie guts in Dead Island 2, and new details about our hands-on time in the Dead Island 2 cover story discussion episode The Game Informer Show.
What are your thoughts on weapon durability in games? Let us know in the comments below!
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