There's rarely a reprieve from the onslaught of the undead's guttural moans and shrieks, which are constant reminders that every inch of Palanai is inhabited by something whose sole interest involves eating you alive. Though its story falls flat, Riptide still manages to build and maintain an immense amount of tension. The immersive atmosphere here is impressive environmental clues and chilling audio diaries provide plenty of context regarding the fate of Palanai's unlucky inhabitants, and these subtle details tell a far more interesting story than the comparatively dull (and overly familiar) main quest arc. But it doesn't take long before white sands give way to the blood-soaked beaches and gruesome carnage left behind in the wake of a nasty zombie outbreak. It's home to flowing waterfalls, sandy beaches, and several flooded inland villages, all of which are gorgeous to behold, especially on a decent gaming PC. Like Dead Island's Banoi, Palanai is a seemingly beautiful place at first. There's a ton of zombies to kill, plenty of flooded areas to explore (because flooding is apparently Riptide's thing), and lots of cash and weapons to find. But once you start digging into the quests on Palanai, Riptide becomes considerably more enjoyable. The prologue is boring and uninteresting, serving as a clumsy attempt to bridge the story to that of its predecessor, and its waypoint system tends to work only when it feels like it. Riptide doesn't make a great first impression, though. It picks up right where Dead Island left off, with the four original protagonists (as well as a new playable fifth) finding themselves shipwrecked on the island of Palanai.

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