Goat Simulator 3's announcement trolls us all with a riff on Dead Island 2
We thought it was zombies, instead, we got goats
Coffee Stain North teamed up with Geoff Keighley at Summer Game Fest to troll the audience into thinking that Dead Island 2 was coming back – before swerving everyone with Goat Simulator 3.
In a cheeky bait and switch, Geoff Keighley promised the return of a long dormant game franchise, which then lead to a trailer very reminiscent of the long MIA game, Dead Island 2. The Summer Game Fest 2022 trailer starts with a runner on a California Boulevard who runs forward while chaos crashes around him.
Instead of zombies, however we got goats, which are seen running around, crashing into every available object, with some strapped to jet packs too. You can check out the trailer here:
This was a clever little ruse from Coffee Stain Studios which is parodying a 2014 E3 reveal trailer for Dead Island. It's a really memorable trailer and a shame that the game never quite found its way to release. Here's a reminder:
While Dead Island even made some conference appearances in a playable state, the game has long been stuck in development hell. It was initially being developed by Yager Development, but has since changed hands through Sumo Digital and is currently being taken on by Dambuster Studios last we heard.
As for Goat Simulator 3, while this troll might be annoying for Dead Island fans, it is entirely on brand for the silly franchise, which has often spoofed other games. It was confirmed in the trailer that the game will be coming in Fall 2022.
It'd be great to see more evolution from the series, as while it has had a break in recent years, it had become quite a tired concept by the time of Goat Simulator 2. However, it'd be great to see the title find the magic that made it such a viral sensation to begin with.
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Patrick Dane is TechRadar Gaming's Guides Editor. With nearly a decade in the games press, he's been a consistent voice in the industry. He's written for a plethora of major publications and travelled the world doing it. He also has a deep passion for games as a service and their potential to tell evolving stories. To wit, he has over 2000 hours in Destiny 2, over 1000 in Overwatch and is now deeply into Valorant.