Dead Island 2’s new Neighborhood Watch mode spawned from one simple concept. ‘”We just thought... what would it be like to be stuck in this, just you and one or two of your best buddies. What the hell are you going to do?” says Fishlabs Design Director, PChan.

“You’re not going to go galivanting off on some Camelot quest to find out how the army is involved. What you care about is, how am I going to keep my house from getting overrun? Where am I going to get my guns, or my medical supplies and food”, he added.

This daily battle for survival lies at the heart of Neighborhood Watch. Across the first four days, your Bobcats heads out on missions selected from a semi-random list, dished out by the Bobcat’s leader Hana, or by your NPC neighbours, Sarah and Silent Nick.

In some missions, you’re charged with picking up vital supplies, medicine, or sent to slay a dangerous zombie. In others you’ll help Nick with anti-zombie prepping, or aiding Sarah’s sick child as they get ready to leave Hell-A. Each day you’ll have a mission out of three or four to choose from, each with their own rewards in terms of weapons and XP.

The opposition

Neighborhood Watch uses the main game’s dynamic zombie spawning systems to churn out ever-changing mobs of flesh-eating creatures, and they’ll keep coming until you’re back in Bobcats HQ.

These include some brand-new zombie variants, including the Storm Belcher, an electrified slobber puking shocking bursts of electrified bile and the Pyrocaustic Burster, prone to blowing up in a ball of fire.

 “They’re very explosive and dangerous in packs” says PChan, “but also a lot of fun to kill, because when they explode they can cause a chain reaction.”

You’re going to need some mighty weapons, and you’ll find these spawning in crates at specific map points. What’s more, a bunch of mods unlocks at the start of every session, giving options to maximise the damage, which you can use at the end of each day. You’ll also unlock the mode’s new traps, which harness Dead Island 2’s environmental damage to keep the rotting hordes under control.

Things won’t always go your way, and while you can call on your Bobcat buddies for a quick revive, there’s always a chance that Team-Z will overwhelm you. Don’t worry. If Silent Nick doesn’t come and drag you to safety, some other survivor will. Even a total team wipe won’t end the session. All you’ll lose is your day’s rewards.

Defend the Shelter

Pick missions carefully. Each day you’ll face waves of zombies, each day tougher than the one before. Finally, on day 5, you’ll face the biggest battle yet, as the Bobcats defend the HQ against five waves of zombies. Each comes down a series of lanes, enabling you to slow them with traps, or just blast into oblivion, before you get up close and personal.

“You’ll face a different pool of zombies every time, and they won’t all be your standard shamblers. ‘There are going to be elite zombies that spawn during each wave” warns PChan, “so it’s not just regular fodder that you can take down with a one-shot kill.”

If the zombies break down the door and get inside, the gig is up; but hold them at bay and you’ll end up with fresh rewards.

We’ll be back to cover how progression, skills and abilities work in our next Neighborhood Watch blog.

Stay Tuned and See You In HELL-A