Quick Links
Capcom’sDead Rising Deluxe Remasteredshould serve as a template for how to remaster classic titles moving forward. Re-releasing games is a practice Capcom has always been interested in, from the seven different versions ofStreet Fighter IIto the past few years of theResident Evilfranchise, currently culminating in a somewhat unnecessaryremake ofResident Evil 4that saw classic gameplay sections removed in their entirety. That is not the case inDead Rising Deluxe Remastered.
A few things have been lost to time and changing tastes within Capcom as a company, but it’s nothing that any new players would look for and nothing returning players should miss. A quick splash screen at the beginning of the game states that apart from a few select situations,Dead Rising’s story will be presented as-is. All the ridiculous bosses, in-your-face satire, plot twists, and basically every line of dialog from the original game remains. As far as I can tell, the only thing missing is that (much like how Capcomchanged one interaction with Ashely inRE4) taking candid upskirt photographs of women no longer grants an “Erotic!” PP bonus.
That’s not to sayDead Rising’soriginal brand of satirical American culture has been sterilized in the least. The thematic elements that tie consumerism, gluttony, government overreach, and xenophobia to the overarching zombie outbreak still work just as well (if not even more so) in the present day, and there are a lot of small gameplay adjustments which culminate in a much less frustrating gameplay experience. When compared to both the original and the 2016 re-release, it’s no contest: this isthe best-feelingDead Risinggame yetand the definitive version of a classic.
Fleshing Out Your Memories
There’s an art to making early PC, PS2, and Xbox 360 environments look the way players remember them. You don’t want to drastically change too much unless you are going for an all-outremake likeSilent Hill 2, and you don’t want to change too little (or too wrongly) and end up like the odd-lookingGrand Theft Auto: Definitive Edition.Dead Rising Deluxe Remasteredsits somewhere between the non-Xen portions of theHalf-LiferemakeBlack Mesaand the slavishly loyalMetal Gear Solid Delta, with the level design and structure remaining mostly unchanged but containing a number of quality-of-life (QoL) improvements and detailed, beautiful environments.
It’s the areas behind the counters that stood out the most inDead Rising’sremastered world, apart from the most obvious graphical improvements in character models and facial/finger animations. What was once just an empty rectangle with a cardboard box for flavor now looks like a counter where someone would actually work, sometimes even complete with cubical-style desks, chairs, computers, and random debris. What was once a small fountain housing a submachine gun and a dumbell (you know which one I mean) is now a large water feature.
…Undeniably the best way to play Dead Rising.
Catching the morning sun peek through the glass windows of the dusty, dimly lit Willamette Mall Dining Area was a gorgeous sight to behold. I was worried about how a more realistic Frank West would look (and sound, now that someone other than Terence Rotolo was voicing him) when the original version is so burned into my memory, but those fears were quickly put to rest. Frank and the rest of the cast ofDead Rising Deluxe Remasterare just as unique, ridiculous, dramatic, and camp as they always have been, and the new voice actor fits Frank’s personality well.
An Act Of Photographical Mutilation
The originalDead Risingalmost felt like it reveled in punishing players with its design choices, specifically its save system andcountdown timer mechanic. Saves had to be made manually at specific points inside the mall, and it was very easy to make meaningful progress but then lose it instantly because you got overwhelmed. Many people (including myself at the time) found this kind of tension enjoyable, but I have multiple friends who gave up on the game because they got tired of doing the same thing over and over while forgetting to stop and save.
InDead Rising Deluxe Remaster, saves can still be done manually, but the game also provides a separate auto-save slot which saves when traveling between areas of the mall and before boss fights. The first time I died and was able to utilize this feature, the fact that I didn’t have to restart my game over and do that whole helicopter intro again was glorious. There is a new (and remappable) control style more in line with modern games, along with the classic control scheme, and lots of completely optional HUD elements to make the game more accessible to different playstyles
A brief list of my favoriteDead Rising Deluxe Remasteradditions:
Crucially, the floating arrow waypoint marker which could get so confused in theoriginalDead Risinghas been replaced with a Bethesda-style line at the top of the screen, with objective icons moving left and right on the line depending on where they are in relation to the player. Objective markers even have distance indicators on them; if you are, for example, trying to knock out three survivor rescues before the next case starts, you can plan your route to minimize the amount of backtracking you’ll need to do. Again,all of this is completely optional, and can be turned off for a more pure experience.
Final Thoughts & Review Score
While it’s hard to call theDead Rising Deluxe Remasterentirely necessary considering the 2016 re-release is available on modern consoles and still holds up well, this new version isundeniably the best way to playDead Rising. Nothing of value has been lost, and so many nice touches have been added. The core experience remains so similar that one could, theoretically, use the same Bradygames strategy guide they purchased in 2006 and follow it to ensure they achieved the best ending possible.
Dead Risingisn’t a game for everyone. It’s violent, occasionally vulgar, and parts of it are supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Unlikelater entries in theDead Risingseries, however, the originalhas something to say. Like Romero’s best movies,Dead Risinguses its zombies to tell a compelling story about society (in this case, American society) at large, and this is filtered through the outside perspective of the game’s original developers and writers. If you’ve never played it, or if your only experience with the franchise relates to the other titles,Dead Rising Deluxe Remasteris the best place to start.
A PlayStation 5 code was provided toScreen Rantfor the purposes of this review.
