Into the Dead 2 (Nintendo Switch) Review
Release Date: 25 October 2019
Date Played: 3 November 2021
Into the dead is a mobile game through and through. The fact that this game was ported to the Nintendo Switch and given a physical release is shocking to say the least. The microtransactions have all been removed as far as I can tell, but there's still that tedious series of unlockables mixed with repetitive gameplay that is such a hallmark of the mobile game market we all know today. However, even with this off-putting presentation, Into the Dead 2 still manages to eek out a little bit of fun and novel ideas for the gamer that gives it a shot.
The gameplay is pretty unique and I can't remember seeing or playing anything quite like it. It's basically a first-person shooter that has an on-rails auto running mechanic. You begin the each level in a sprint and you can never stop or slow down. This boils down to you having to bob, weave, and dodge your way through the hordes of zombies while picking up ammunition and blasting them when they get in your way. The objective of each level is to reach a certain distance and because you're always on the move and constantly dodging, at times this feels like more of a racing game. And to tell you the truth, it was kind of a welcome change from the same old genres of games that we see released over and over. You begin each stage with the same amount of limited ammunition and have to conserve it until you can collect more by running over supply crates. There are only a handful of enemy types and they all behave pretty much exactly the same and only differ in appearance and how many shots it takes to dispatch them. Mostly they stand still and just wait to meet their maker, but occasionally one will decide to jump in front of your path or chase you a bit. This can lead to some tense sections as you try to navigate your way through the 60 main story missions.
Since you are auto running and can only veer left and right, your choices are limited in terms of navigation. You can chose your path to a certain degree but you're always running in the same direction. It's like being on a highway where you can choose which lane you want to drive in, but you're always heading North. Still, there is some variance in the levels and some cool temporary items to be found like chainsaws, mounted turrets, and weed eaters to help you massacre the zombie horde. Pretty much every level feels exactly the same and after playing through all the main story missions, side missions, and arcade challenges, the game does get very repetitive. Compounding this problem is that many of the areas feel very similar and you'll find yourself traversing the same corn fields, country farms, trainyards, mobile home parks, forests, and country roads over and over.
To help with the tedium, and true to it's mobile phone roots, this game has a bevy of unlockables. These are achieved by completing story missions, side missions, arcade challenges, and earning medals from completing mission specific objectives like killing a certain number of zombies, running through barns, exploding barrels, using special ammunition, and more. Going back through the game and earning these medals is the key focus of the gameplay cycle and even determines which of the 3 endings you'll get for story mode. But, as you can imagine, playing through these same stages over and over only adds to the repetitive nature of the game and wears on your patience even more. At least there are tons of guns to unlock and upgrade. These range from your standard pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and SMGs to more exotic fare like crossbows, grenade launchers, mini-guns, sawblade launchers, and more. These guns feel great and have nice sound design and a heft to them that would be most welcome in any first person shooter. The shotguns, in particular, sound and feel amazing. In addition to this, you also have an animal companion on each stage. These are unlocked much like the guns mentioned earlier. These companions can help out by killing zombies, finding ammunition, calling a pack of wolves, etc.. There are several canine buddies, wolves, tigers, bears, hell-hounds, and more to help you out and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Upgrading them makes them significantly stronger, and you'll find yourself really enjoying watching them run around on screen and wreaking havoc while helping you out.
There are also several side stories that are unlocked by completing story missions. Most of these are just supplemental parts to the main story, but there are 2 special chapters unlocked towards the end of the game. The first of these is a separate story based on Night of the Living Dead and the second is based on Ghostbusters. The fact that the developers of this game got the licenses to make DLC based on these well established franchises kind of blows my mind. They are a welcome addition and really help to add some fresh content into a game that gets pretty stagnant.
As for the story, you play as a father who gets stranded on foot while out on a supply run during the zombie apocalypse. Your sister and young daughter are stuck back at base camp waiting on you to return. Each chapter starts and ends with you radioing your sister to move the story forward. As a father, I was quite moved by the whole dynamic of trying to get home to your little girl. It's a tragic story and was difficult for me to watch the events of the game unfold. Perhaps this touched me more than it would the average gamer and that's why I was more engaged with the experience than the reviewers online seemed to be. Maybe my standards are lower, but I was taken aback to see how poor the critical reception for this game was.
I think there's a good story here, but its presentation is severely lacking. If you're going to tell a good story, you need to show and not tell. Unfortunately, the developers decided to present the entire story as dialog over the main character's radio. There are all of these events that happen that you're told about but all you ever get to do as the player is just hear it and run towards it. Then, they use the cheap storytelling device of moving the goalpost right as you get there. First, you're trying to get to the base, so you run that way. Then, over the radio you hear the base is attacked and everyone has to flee. They then tell you where they fled to and you proceed to run that way. Then, you hear something bad happens there and they have to leave again... and you have to run to the new location. Repeat this for every single chapter and you'll have a good idea of how the plot is expressed. It feels cheap and like it's only there to pad the story. As someone who was invested in seeing the main character get home to his daughter, having her constantly moved just out of my reach was a demoralizing and frustrating experience. It really helped me empathize with the main character's plight and I felt a lot of the anxiety he was having to go through. On a positive note, the voice actress who plays Helen, your sister, does a good job and is very believable. If it wasn't for her, a lot of the emotion of the game would be lost and your waning motivation to continue would be absolutely extinguished. Also, the game has 3 endings based on how many medals you've unlocked by completing those supplementary challenges on your journey. The normal (BAD) ending is absolutely tragic and really sapped my energy to keep playing. In order to get the other endings, you basically have to complete every single objective in the game... and that's a lot of grinding in a game that already has too much of that to begin with. It's absolutely not worth it in my opinion and what little investment I had in the story was completely crushed by the developer's choice to lock the good ending behind such a difficult task.
Even with the repetitive gameplay, dull graphics, lack of music, and extremely flawed storytelling, I was having a decent time with Into the Dead 2. I found it to be somewhat addictive to play and unlocking new weapons, stages, and companions kept me motivated... just like a mobile game is supposed to do. I wish the game had some boss fights or something to add a little variance into the game. There is the occasional mounted turret section, but these are always quite short and never even last for the duration of an entire level. However, it's the technical issues of this game that really bring it down from a fairly fun experience to a very mediocre one. Firstly, this game has a lot of overly long load times. Between every stage and every time you die there is a loading screen. These last for maybe half a minute, but that's like 25% of the length of some stages. You'll find yourself reaching for your smartphone to stay entertained during these times because they're just such enjoyment killers. Secondly, the game has a really bad draw distance. You'll come over the crest of a hill and see an open field. Then, 30 zombies will just pop into view all of a sudden. This makes it really difficult to plan your routes and points of attack. Having a good run on a stage ruined by a technical issue like this is unforgivable. I get that there are a lot of zombies on the screen at any given point, but that shouldn't be taxing the Switch's hardware. Dead Rising game out over 15 years ago and it had similar graphics and hundreds of zombies on screen at once. The developers of Into the Dead 2 should have been able to sort out this issue as one of their first tasks.
On the positive side, the Night of the Living Dead bonus chapter is the best part of the game. It's mostly presented in black and white and has a really cool atmosphere and better presented story. It also has a couple of sections that switch up the gameplay from an autorunner to a slow paced walk where you have to aim your flashlight to spot the enemies before they ambush you. These two sections were by far the most tense and fun parts I had with this entire game. I liked the characters in this chapter and was invested in seeing what happened with them. Having them there with you instead of just talking over the radio was a nice change of pace. I think an entire Into the Dead game based on this franchise would have worked a lot better than what we were actually given. Unfortunately, I wish I could say the same for the Ghostbusters chapter. It was a big letdown to say the least. I do have to give the developers kudos for finally giving us different types of enemies and a more fleshed out story, but the humor felt out of place and the proton packs and other weapons felt puny and ineffective. The ghosts just pop out of walls and the ground and a single hit kills you. I had more trouble with the first few stages of this scenario than I did with any other part of the game. Dying several times in a single stage of this extra chapter after slamming through half of the main game without every dying once was very irritating to me. Couple this with having to sit with the same loading screen over and over after I died was the worst experience I had with the game. It was a real disappointment and I'm actually angry that it is the unlock for finishing the overly long and tedious 60 mission main campaign. As a reward, it was a huge letdown and I feel like it should have been unlocked from the beginning so at least my hopes wouldn't have gotten me up too much. Of course, without this special unlockable would people be willing to put in the time to finish the main game? I'm not so sure.
So, my final verdict is that Into the Dead 2 is an extremely flawed and tedious game, but it can be fun in short bursts. It is more designed for a mobile platform where you can knock out a stage or two here and there. As for sitting down and playing through 10 or 20 stages all in a row... it's a lot to ask of a gamer and I would advise you not to attempt it. If you do pick it up, there is some fun to be had here, but you need to space it out to short play sessions. Don't do like I did and plow through the game in several days.
Final Status: Beaten (Plus all side story content)
Final Score: 6/10 (a little fun)
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