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0 Some gamers who are reading this will have played the original Dead Rising back when it was released in 2016. Some of you may be checking this out for the first time. Well, the latter are in luck! With the release of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, you get all the great bits about the original. Along with a splattering of added zhuzh! Releasing on Steam, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 we get to see Frank West in stunning detail thanks to a new Re-Engine.
Busier than Black Friday
If you are a fan of zombies with or without their heads, why not stick around and let us know whether you played the original?
Gameplay
This first bit of my review is going to be more for newcomers to the series, so feel free to skip ahead little veterans! So, a little bit about Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and what actually is going on. You play as Frank West, a journalist who due to the US Army putting the small town of Willamette under quarantine, smells a story. Starting the game on a helicopter taking pictures of the goings on down below. You see some horrific scenes, exploding petrol stations, zombies eating people, zombies jumping from roofs. Oh sorry, did I forget to mention this is a zombie game? Oops.
Eventually, you ask your pilot to set you down on top of a mall, a shopping centre for the British audience. Once you’ve landed you have 72 in-game hours to find out what happened, find the truth, and also to have a little fun for good measure. Heading into the mall you meet a few other uninfected (for now) people and the limited interactions you can have are alright. Let’s be honest though you only want to play this game for the zombies.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster gets good as soon as a little old lady opens the door to go and rescue her dog. Yeah, definitely not a typical zombie movie trope there. :eyeroll: You effectively can play the game any way you please. If you want to go and rescue as many people trapped around the mall, you can. If you want to just kill zombies using some incredibly original weapons, you can. Want to find hats for all the zombies and create your own morbid fashion shoot? Guess what, you can.
Pickup Please
Throughout your gameplay, you will venture into the plethora of stores, a lot that you would expect in a shopping mall. From toy shops to music shops, a whole host of options are there. I found myself picking up frisbees and just throwing them at the zombies. You do eventually get some guns, but these just draw attention to you. It’s much better to use that electric guitar, right?
With so much that you can pick up and use against the zombie hordes, you might forget to check out some of the more ‘boring’ stores. Head to the bookshop and inside are some books to pick up. These books give your character a bonus, be it increased melee damage, or even increased movement speed.
If you are getting a bit hungry, or you may have just taken some damage. Head to any of the eateries in the shopping mall and grab a little snack. There are even drink juicers dotted around where you can combine ingredients for even more impressive bonuses.
Wow What A PP
While you are playing through Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster you might notice these little PP icons. This is effectively your experience level. The higher the PP the more skills that you can gain. Things like being able to run over the tops of zombies, not unlike Mick Dundee (ask your parents). To just becoming tougher and having increased stats.
To gain PP you can do several things, taking pictures is one way. By taking pictures of zombies performing at their best, to special dioramas, just look out for the Yellow PP icon and go snap happy. If you are unsure of where these are, you can check in your settings to give a greyed-out image of where you need to look. If you want some PP boost early on, head to the cinema, there are quite a few locations there.
Radio Ga-Ga
Early into your experience, you are given a radio, this is so that certain characters can get in touch with you. It also helps to let you know where survivors are situated in the shopping mall. So keep your ears peeled because some of these are timed rescues. Just head to the area and help bring those people to safety.
Don’t forget though that you only have 72 hours.
Graphics & Audio
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster has had a glow-up, there is no doubt about that. With a new RE Engine implemented, all the graphics have been improved. With more facial expressions, more textures, more blood. It really does look great, whilst at the same time keeping the fun feel of the original. It’s always funny to pop a shmego head onto a zombie.
The game has also been fully voiced to allow that immersion level to ramp up. Otherwise, the sound effects and elements are exactly what you’d expect in a shopping mall. The quiet eeriness was interrupted by the moans and groans of the zombie hordes. All waiting for you to come and ruin their day with a golf club, or even a cactus. I mean whatever floats your boat after all.
Longevity
With a play-through just concentrating on the story elements taking around 10 hours, there is plenty of time to be put into the game. However, if you are a completionist you could be looking towards the 30-hour mark. I always enjoyed just exploring the mall when playing Dead Rising originally and it was nice to be able to do the same in this game. Although I’d do the majority of your exploring during daylight. Those zombies get pretty rowdy at night time.
Final Thoughts
Capcom has taken one of the most iconic games of previous generations. Then put it in a mixing bowl with hi-res graphics, beautiful textures and impressive voice acting. Then they have baked that in the oven for around 8 years. What we are left with is a great renewal of life to the old classic. The beautiful Re Engine creates some great visuals, increasing immersion and making Frank look incredible! Thankfully with all the fancying up of the game, it hasn’t lost its fun factor. Fighting zombies with a kid’s foam sword has never been so much fun!
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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