Dead Island 2 features a new massive world. The game takes place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and an undisclosed third location in California, unlike the first game which was set on a fictional island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The game's combat has different mechanics than Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide, being much more brutal and featuring deadlier, but more fragile zombies. Dead Island 2 also includes several features from its predecessors, such as the Rage system, which gives the player a temporary boost, and the weapon combining system.