The year is 2006, and the landscape of gaming is about to change forever. I had never seen anything quite like the original Dead Rising. It’s a game that has stuck with me, and Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster reminds me exactly why I fell in love with the franchise.
Just Clowning Around With Frank and Company
The Xbox 360 was the first console to blow my mind, and the original Dead Rising played a major part in that. Not only did the mall at that time feel massive and expansive, but the sheer number of enemies on screen was nothing to scoff at, and I could grab nearly anything inside to turn it into a weapon. It was a game that I could play over and over, forgoing the story in my pursuit of achievements and Psycho-hunting. The amount of Red Bull I drank during that time likely altered my young heart forever, and it was a game that cemented itself within the halls of my memories forever.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster does an impeccable job of bringing the dated 2006 original to the ninth generation of consoles and PC and looks phenomenal while doing it. Powered by the RE Engine, Frank West and the crew look fantastic. While the original game still has a specific charm to it, the Remaster just pushes things to new levels that I could have never imagined. There are some parts that I do miss about the original game; specific animations, like Frank laying down on the mattress to save the game, are gone, and it’s a little less colorful overall. However, I’m glad to have a few tradeoffs to have a version of Dead Rising that looks as phenomenal as this does.
Pushing more into the “Remake” category than a simple remaster, every square inch of the Willamette Mall has been polished to a shine. Stepping back into the Mall for the first time in nearly two decades sent my heart aflutter, but after making a beeline to the toy store to get my Servbot Head, I was back and ready for business. One of the most impressive parts, however, had to be the fact that there were even more zombies than ever, and the game consistently performed great. There were a few moments of slowdown, particularly during the second fight with Carlito, but beyond that, it was smooth sailing.
It’s not only a new coat of paint that helps make Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster the definitive way to play the game. A variety of quality-of-life upgrades help bring it into the newest generation a little more gracefully. The ability to speed up time to get to the next mission is a great addition, especially for those who don’t want to chop til they drop during the nighttime. Autosave is also another great addition, but it does take away some of the tense moments of trying to find the closest restroom while you’re running low on health to save your game.
The addition of new voice acting for characters like Otis helps bring Willamette Mall to life, making Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster feel more “real,” in a way. Survivors chatter while you walk with them, their AI improved dramatically to make it less like babysitting and more like someone trying to… you know, survive. The general gameplay feel is improved just enough while still having that original Dead Rising jank that we know and love.
Otherwise, this is the same Dead Rising we’ve grown to know and love. Combat is still a bit stiff, but satisfying in a variety of different ways. Hunting down Psychos while also trying to find out The Truth about what is going on is exhilarating, and it’s still a game in a class of its own. It’s unapologetically itself, and I still love that more than anything about Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.
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A Few Small Changes to the Original Don’t Alter the Game Too Much
While Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is an extremely faithful recreation, some folks may be upset to see that a few things have been changed overall with this package. During preview sessions, “The Hatchet Man” Cliff Hudson has his dialogue changed, and Larry, the final mainline Psychopath of the game, has been completely redesigned.
While the Larry redesign honestly falls more in line with Carlito’s mission overall, the Cliff lines were a little more offputting. However, neither of these changes fundamentally changed how I felt about the game, especially since nearly every other portion of the game felt the same, if not better. I can forgive a few little line changes in exchange for a fundamentally improved game overall.
Frank levels up much faster this time around. You’ll still start as a goofy idiot, but by the time you’ve started mowing down zombies with anything you find around the mall, you’ll become a killing machine. The improved control scheme is one of the best parts of the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster package, with the dodge roll having a dedicated button, rather than a double tap of the control stick.
If you loved the original Dead Rising, you should just stop what you’re doing and pick this one up. If you’ve been on the fence about the franchise before, this may be the first to fully draw you in. There’s a reason why people still to this day praise the original Dead Rising, and this remaster proves that it’s still the best of the bunch. Sorry Chuck, I still love Frank West.
Speaking about Frank West, the new voice cast does a great job of bringing Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster to life, and while I do miss some of the extreme over-the-top goofiness that the original dub brought, the new cast does a great job. By the end of the game, I had grown incredibly fond of the new look and sound for Frank, even if I’m still confused as to why he’s so wide in the shoulders.
It would be nice, even as DLC, to see the option for the original voice dub to return. It may sound a little out of place with the revamped visuals, but seeing as the original Frank West is available as a DLC costume, I would love to see the option for this to be available.
Modernizing a classic is always difficult, and I feel that Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster hits the perfect line like Metroid Prime: Remastered did before it. It’s a great way to experience a classic, bringing in a new generation of people to fall in love with what makes it so beloved while giving fans of the original plenty of reasons to be excited about the return to their favorite place.
Coming back to Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster reminded me of why I loved the original game so much. There’s just something so satisfying about slicing and dicing my way through hordes of the undead while being on a timer to discover the truth of the story ahead of me. A memorable cast of characters, a fantastic soundtrack, and plenty of surprises kept me grinning throughout my time playing, even if I may not have been on a Red Bull-fueled bender this time around. If you loved the original Dead Rising, there should be nothing stopping you from picking this one up, barring your local mall being overrun by zombies. But you’ll know what to do in that situation, won’t you?
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will be available September 19, 2024, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Xbox Series X.
Published: Sep 18, 2024 12:43 pm