Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster brings a fresh look to the classic zombie franchise. Capcom developed this title to allow new players to experience the first entry in the popular series. The original game was made back for the Xbox 360 generation and much has changed since, so I was looking forward to jumping back in here.
After my time with Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, I can confirm the game feels like it has been brought up to a new standard. Some changes give its aged gameplay a more modern feel. From a fun story to classic zombie-slaying fun, the remaster does offer plenty for players. However, it falls short when it comes to one of its modes, and some ‘enhancements’ feel like regressions. One thing I can promise, it certainly plays better than other entries. Looking at you, Dead Rising 4.
Campy, Fun Narrative
The premise behind Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is simple. Players step into the role of Frank West, an investigative photojournalist looking to find what caused a zombie outbreak in Willamette, Colorado. To do so, he heads to the city’s massive mall to search for clues. However, upon navigating around, he finds everything is not as it seems. Furthermore, a deeper conspiracy is at play and players must complete all of the cases to get to the bottom of this new terror.
As with other Capcom titles like the Resident Evil series, the narrative is campy and fun – filled with various tropes of a zombie-surviving story. Frank feels like the big shot who is aiming to get the big scoop by any means, including tearing through hordes of the undead to do so. The story does build at a very steady rate, rather than overstaying its welcome and dragging on. The ridiculous cast of psychopaths and survivors that players meet only adds to the story. By the end of the campaign, it has players thinking about the outbreak in an interesting way: who are the good guys? But, the strongest aspect of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is its gameplay.
Zombie-Slaying and Survivor-Saving in a Mall Have Their Ups & Downs
The gameplay for Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster focuses on players slaying countless zombies and taking photos to both document the outbreak, and rank Frank up and earn new abilities in the Willamette Mall. Players can use various items from stores around the mall to their desire. Whether CDs from a music store or baseball bats from sporting goods, plenty is up for grabs. The feel of using these items is different for each and it’s great. I went from generally mashing the square button to cleave hordes with a bench (yes, a bench; Frank is strong!) to aiming for headshots to toss CDs like I was in Shaun of the Dead. With the game receiving an engine upgrade, it feels smoother fighting the zombies compared to the original title.
Additionally, players can also escort survivors back to the safe room. Players can move them in different ways, whether they wish to fight back with help, be carried, or hold hands. A new feature that works great is that survivors can call out hints for useful weapons or photo opportunities to earn prestige points to rank Frank up.
However, there is a caveat when it comes to taking down the undead, and that comes in the form of gunplay. While guns are not the primary focus of the game, they are not great. With the upgrade, players can aim and shoot while moving, but it doesn’t change that the guns feel lacking. Furthermore, the behaviour of survivors still feels wonky. I often had to double and triple back to locations because they weren’t following – even after I had pressed the call button for them to move with me.
Different Games Modes, Although Some are Lacking
There are a couple of different game modes in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. The standard 72-Hour Mode, Overtime, and Infinity Modes. Players have to unlock each mode in the corresponding order to be able to experience them. 72-Hour is what the campaign takes place in and sees players needing to solve all of the cases within three days, before catching a helicopter escape from the mall. This mode is great and where the game truly shines, as it puts pressure on players to complete the different side missions and the campaign in that time. There were many times when I was hitting the up button to check Frank’s watch to ensure I was hitting my deadlines before missions expired. It’s a blast and the best way to start the game.
The second mode, Infinity, is exactly as it sounds. Players head back into the mall as Frank, but with no time limit, and slay zombies to their heart’s content. The only catch is that Frank’s health is slowly draining and players must eat food from the mall to regain it and survive as long as possible. For players looking to dive in and just turn off their brain to kill zombies, this mode provides exactly that. It’s another great choice to provide zombie-slaying fun. Unfortunately, players need to complete the following mode to unlock Infinity.
Overtime is the weakest of the three game modes. It takes place right after the main campaign after players complete all eight cases. Players need to survive against special forces soldiers littered around the mall as they try to escape, with almost all of the zombies being slain. However, the gameplay in this mode greatly falters. The soldiers stun-lock you with assault rifles and deal major damage. As previously said, the gunplay in the game is not great, and this mode is full of it. There were many instances of me dying due to the soldiers spotting me and taking me down, returning me to a beginning checkpoint. It felt like a hassle to finish the true ending of the campaign and put a serious damper on the great experience I had in the main mode.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Looks Great But Sounds Off
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster does what it sets out to do visually; it looks great. Players both new to the game as well as veterans will notice the graphical changes right away. All of the character models are redone, giving them a fresh look. The game doesn’t go true to life with the visuals, but it is a major improvement from the original game. Each area has seen graphical updates and the game does well at showing it. With the title focusing on slaying zombies, the gore has been ramped up. Players will see all of the goriness when taking down the undead. However, the same cannot be said when it comes to the sounds of Dead Rising.
Sure, the voice work for the game sounds good; the cast did great at creating a much smoother and updated performance. But much of the audio needs fixing. Much of the ambience, the music (most importantly, the Mall Music that you can change) and the sound effects are all quiet. I had the volume for everything cranked up to the maximum and I was struggling to hear various sounds in the game. Even when traversing the mall, the zombies themselves are relatively quiet. I had many moments where I started to wonder if I even had the audio for both the mall music and zombies turned on, as I couldn’t hear them.
Whether it is in an update coming sooner or later, Capcom needs to polish up the audio. Some of the most important parts of the game rely on it. The ambiance of being in the mall and hearing the zombies and music fighting over my attention should be present. However, it isn’t and that’s a great shame that needs to improve to reflect the scenario for players.
Killing Zombies Can Be Accessible to Many
When it comes to the accessibility in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Capcom does much better in that regard. One of the most notable instances comes from the Tutorial section. Players can navigate to it in the menu at any time and there are various explanations for game mechanics. I found myself going back to it a lot to see how to do something I may have missed or forgotten how to do. Whether it is learning how to skip time or escort survivors, Capcom gives plenty of tutorials to assist players in different aspects of the game, which is great.
Furthermore, players can change the repeated input type for scenarios such as being grabbed by a zombie. Rather than being a button mash, players can simply hold the button. This is a big feature I always like to see in games, as it alleviates stress from players who might not be able to input fast and also saves wear-and-tear on the controller. Players can also change the control scheme between the modern style, where aiming and shooting can be done on the move, and stick inputs are also capable of being swapped to the classic style, allowing players to experience how the game was played originally with no modern enhancements. However, players should experience the modern way first, to have a better experience for their first playthrough.
Players can also toggle subtitles on or off, with speaker names to help differentiate who is talking. Also, players from around the world can experience the game in over 13 text languages and nine voice languages, with more coming in future updates. There are a variety of options for accessibility in the game, something that Capcom has always been on top of in their titles.
A Game That Has Its Good and Bad
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a mixed bag overall. The gameplay and graphics improvements are big changes in good ways. Players who are looking for a fresh set of eyes on the game or have never played the first game will enjoy the offerings. The story is intriguing, filled with characters both good and ill-mannered and it makes for a great time. The gameplay feels good and slaying zombies is a blast in all corners of the Willamette Mall as Frank. Additionally, the variety of modes gives players a change in what they get to experience when playing. The game offers some enjoyable fun. However, not without its caveats.
The bad sound design and tedious Overtime mode can harm some players’ experience when jumping into the game. Moreover, the game has a big part in escorting survivors, and their behaviour still feels empty can be incredibly frustrating. Even more so when the whole goal is to keep them alive in a zombie-infested mall.
Overall, the game is fun in many ways. Players looking to kill countless zombies with great freedom as to what weapons they want to use, the Willamette Mall in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is your oyster. The game has good to it. But, it shares the same through its flaws and something that needs fixes to provide a full-fledged remastered experience of Frank West.
