Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is perhaps the most appropriate title for this updated version of the 2006 classic. It’s not a wholesale re-imagining as we’ve seen from the recent Resident Evil remakes. Nor is it a quick ‘n’ dirty remaster developed solely to make a quick buck. What we have in actuality is something of a halfway house; a faithful remake carefully built from the ground up in Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine. And so far, it’s pretty glorious.
I recently went hands-on with a preview build of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, which featured the introductory chapters of the game’s main ‘72 Hour Mode.’ During my time with it, I was reminded exactly why the original game made such a strong impression all those years ago; even 18 years later there's still nothing quite like this game. Plus, I found that many of its rougher edges (though admittedly, not all) have been sanded down for a more polished overall experience.
I'll be Frank
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster puts you in the shoes of freelance photojournalist Frank West. Frank heads to the American town of Willamette via helicopter upon receiving an anonymous tip that something isn’t quite right about the place. Sure enough, upon arrival, the town is completely cut off by the military in the wake of a zombie outbreak. The plot begins at pace when Frank, after being spotted by the military, is forced to make an emergency landing at Willamette’s shopping mall, where the entirety of the game takes place.
The remaster features entirely redone animations and voice acting. Frank’s personality, especially, has been recaptured perfectly here. He’s initially willing to roll with the absurdity of the situation in order to get his big scoop. As such, he often comes across as a slick-talking sleazeball.
But while Dead Rising 4 infamously transformed him into a bit of a sociopath, he’s much more nuanced in this original outing. He’s on the hunt for a story, yes, but he isn’t inherently selfish - willing to go out of his way to rescue survivors trapped in the mall while simultaneously working to unravel the real truth behind the incident. Frank’s an extremely likable character, and the way in which he interacts with people and objects around the mall dials his charm up to eleven.
Shoplifters’ paradise
Unlike more modern zombie survival games like DayZ or Project Zomboid, Dead Rising eschews realism almost entirely in order to craft an unpredictably bonkers sandbox. As a civilian, Frank must rely on anything that isn’t bolted down to fight back against the undead hordes. That can be as mundane as baseball bats, steel pipes, hunting knives and cash registers - or something far more cartoonish like scalding hot frying pans, teeing up golf balls with a club, and even mowing down crowds of zombies with a shopping cart. All items have limited durability and break after extended use, so you’re encouraged to constantly keep your tight inventory stocked with fresh gear on the regular.
The first Dead Rising, especially, really nails that feeling of ‘use what you see,’ and the Willamette shopping mall is perhaps one of the most smartly designed sandboxes in gaming history. As much as I love Dead Rising 2, it started to feel a little too shark-jumpy with its weapon combination system which let you craft frankly impossible tools of destruction. I appreciate the more grounded approach in the first game; by (mostly) relying on everyday items, you're constantly given the feeling that Frank is fighting for his life by any means.
The most important thing is that the mall feels exactly like what it’s supposed to be. Every store in the game can be entered and all feature appropriate items. For example, a hardware store might stock sledgehammers and sawblades, while restaurants in the food court are excellent for stocking up on snacks and drinks for healing. Frank can even blend certain food items together to make stat-boosting concoctions.
Now, Frank is a photojournalist, so that camera around his neck isn’t just for show. Snapping photographs will earn Frank a score based on the quality and context of the picture. Pictures can also be assigned Horror, Drama, or Comedy categories based on their content. That score is then converted into Prestige Points (PP for short) which allow Frank to level up.
PP can also be earned by simply defeating zombies, killing a certain number of them, as well as rescuing survivors and ticking off optional quests. You’ll want to level up Frank as much as possible, as this will improve his stats (such as health, item stock capacity and run speed) and unlock new moves. Some of my favorites here include an enhanced jump that lets Frank bounce along a crowd of zombies, and a shoulder check that can knock down zombies blocking your path.
A matter of time
It’d be one thing if Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster was simply a mall-shaped sandbox for slaying the undead to your heart’s content. And while there’s certainly room to muck about, the strict time limit is there for a reason. It's what ties the whole experience together, and adds a layer of tension that only exacerbates the more time passes.
All of Dead Rising’s objectives, including the main quest and the window in which survivors can be found and rescued, are all governed by this universal time limit. Thankfully, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster has introduced a swathe of quality-of-life features that make navigating the mall and rescuing survivors much more manageable.
For one, survivor AI has been improved. They’ll now do a better job at following your lead, are quite handy in combat when given their preferred weapons, and you can directly command them to follow closely or head to a direction you point them toward. There is also an autosave feature, allowing you to reload the last location you entered should things go awry.
Unfortunately, survivors still have a tendency to sometimes act against their own best interests. They can get hung up fighting zombies and they won’t follow you into new areas if they’re too far away. This can lead to a lot of hopping between loading screens just to get them to catch up.
I can see this growing quite frustrating in the full release, especially as survivor deaths are permanent unless you load a previous save or start completely fresh. But even then, this isn’t quite the deal breaker it might sound like. Dead Rising is a game all about replay value, and you’re not expected to save everyone on your first run. It’s also a game that prizes knowledge; it’s on you to remember where survivors show up and at what time. Being able to bring this information into fresh playthroughs is part of what makes the game's exploration aspect so rewarding.
I had a ton of fun re-experiencing Dead Rising via this limited preview, and it bodes well for the quality of the rest of the game. Whether you’re familiar with the original or not, this is absolutely one to keep an eye on next month. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will launch on September 19 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.
