Dead Island Special Edition

The zombie apocalypse came to Banoi, and the Special Edition made sure you were ready for it. The Dead Island Special Edition on Playstation 3 ships with exclusive cover art packaging and a bundle of content designed to make the undead experience bloodier from the very first session.

The Ripper is the star here, an exclusive in-game weapon that combines a baseball bat with a buzz saw in exactly the way you're imagining. It's the kind of gloriously unhinged crafted weapon that defined Dead Island's identity, and having it from the start changes the tone of those early hours completely. The Bloodbath Arena DLC adds four trap-laden arenas with endless zombie waves playable solo or in co-op, plus XP and loot that carries back into the main campaign. A Sonic Pulse Grenade rounds out the extras.

As a GAME UK exclusive, this Special Edition had limited retail presence even at launch. Dead Island's reputation has grown considerably since 2011, evolving from a divisive launch into a cult favorite that zombie game fans keep returning to. That trajectory has been kind to its special editions, particularly ones with physical packaging differences like the exclusive cover art on this release.

The PS3 era was the golden age of retailer-exclusive special editions, and Dead Island's Special Edition is a prime example of how a focused set of extras and distinctive packaging can elevate a release into something worth hunting for years later.