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Dead Island wasn't a masterpiece. It wasn't technically assured, it wasn't particularly well produced and it certainly wasn't that smart. At one infamous point before the game's release, it wasn't even sure what exactly it was. "It was a shock when the marketing guys came in and said here's the trailer, come and look at it," producer Sebastian Reichart says of the CG short that would propel Dead Island into the headlines. "And I was confused. That thing makes me sad. They said yeah, it's awesome. But I don't know: do people who want to play zombie games want to feel sad after seeing our trailer? They said yep - and that's the reason I'm not working in marketing, I guess. We released it, and then overnight it was like, 'Dead Island. You have to know it.'"
Get to know it people did, although if there's one label you can slap on the game, it's divisive. Some found its lo-fi, glitchy combat and edges rougher than a rotting zombie's skin off-putting. Critically, it got a lukewarm response and Reichart admits to having had the broad, generous smile he's been wearing all day wiped off.
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