Dead Island 2was the final announcement ofGamescom Opening Night Live, and it made a solid first impression with itscinematic and gameplay revealthat highlighted a zombified Los Angeles. But did you knowDead Island 2also features Amazon Alexa voice controls?
Shortly afterDead Island 2’sannouncement, Amazon unveiled Alexa Game Controlvia a developer blog. With Alexa Game Control, players can say specific phrases to trigger in-game interactions. Supported phrases forDead Island 2span weapon swapping (“Swap to my best weapon.”), navigating (“Where is the nearest workbench?”), and gaining the attention of enemies (“Hey, zombie!”). Alexa Game Control will work for North American players who speak English when it launches alongsideDead Island 2.
Interestingly,Alexa Game Controlwon’t require players to own an Echo device or say “Hey, Alexa” beforehand. Players can just say these phrases right into the headset they are using to play the game. Two caveats exist:The Vergeconfirmed that players will have to be connected to the internet, andAlexa Game Control’s websitesays that players will have to connect their Amazon account to the game they’re playing first.Dead Island 2is the only game to support the technology, but Amazon has aform for interested developers to fill out.
I can’t help but think back to the Kinect days and how developers poorly added voice functionality to games likeThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I then recalled my playthrough ofRyse: Son of Romea couple of years back, where the Kinect voice-driven sections stood out like a sore thumb and could be circumvented with a button press. Voice-driven video game controls haven’t worked out thus far, but Alexa Game Control is attempting to bring it back into fashion. I’m curious to see whether it will enhanceDead Island 2or add nothing substantial to the experience.
We’ll be able to see if Alexa Game Control lives up to its promises soon, asDead Island 2will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on August 12, 2025.
