Back in 2011 Deep Silver struck marketing gold with the debut trailer for Dead Island. The incredibly emotional cinematic ended up have nothing to do with the tone of the actual game, but it put the title on the map and was arguably one of the biggest factors in its success.
So, it comes as no surprise that the publisher is attempting to do the same thing with Dead Island Riptide‘s debut trailer, however, this time the emotion falls completely flat.
Instead of delivering the same gut wrenching emotion the original trailer hit upon, this new Dead Island Riptide trailer feels more like an uninspired attempt to copy what was once a winning formula. It uses the same style of music, the same emotional tone, and the overall same themes as the original, but none of it works.
One reason much of the impact is lost is because we now know that the original Dead Island was not the emotional game that the trailer portrayed. That is not to say it was a bad game, because it was most certainly not. It is just not the game that you would expect to play based solely on the debut trailer.
Knowing what kind of game Dead Island Riptide is going to be, makes this “emotional” debut trailer feel a bit misleading.
Riptide may turn out to be a fine game when it launches next year, but this trailer is not doing it any favors.