So What Exactly IS Dead Island: Riptide?

Last year, video game developer Deep Silver introduced gamers to a new type of zombie game; a game where the idea was more about providing players with the satisfaction of beating the undead back to their previously dead state than actually scaring them.

Dead Island took the zombie genre in a new direction by taking all sorts of zombie characters and putting them in a sunny tropical setting. You'd think the two elements would clash completely but the result was a game that did pretty well across the board upon its launch.

Only a year later and Deep Silver is set to release the next installment of the franchise. Dead Island: Riptide came as a surprise to a lot of fans whom expected a much bigger gap between the game and its sequel…or prequel?

So far we've learned a fair amount about Dead Island: Riptide; we know the game will star the same four characters from the original, we know a fifth playable characters called John Morgan will be joining the survivors as a chef/martial arts expert, we know there will be some new modes of play outside of the main story, we know weather will play a vital role in adding some more thrills and difficulty to the game. Like I said…a fair amount.

What we don't seem to know yet is whether Dead Island: Riptide will be a sequel or something else all together. Originally, the thought was that it would be a sequel. Dead Island had a semi-cryptic ending and, considering Riptide features the same four characters, it seemed a safe bet to assume a sequel was in the works. It's never really been clarified but rumors have shifted the idea of a sequel on and off more times than a bored kid with a light switch. So what is it?

Deep Silver Creative Producer Anthony Cardahi seems to be clearing the air by stating that ‘Dead Island: Riptide is the next installment in the Dead Island franchise but it is not the sequel to DeadIsland'. He also went on to mention how they really wanted to separate the idea of a ‘full blown sequel' from a ‘new installment'. It seems like everything's been wrapped up in a nice little bow but is it really?

No one's actually said what exactly Dead Island: Riptide will be. If Mr. Cardahi is correct (and it wouldn't be the first time someone in the development cycle wasn't) there's still a lot of unanswered questions as to when Riptide will be taking place. It can't possibly be a prequel and it sounds to me like it IS a sequel and they're just choosing not to call it that…for reasons I can't possibly imagine.