Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster has a chance to introduce a classic to a new generation and be the latest in a long line of successful revivals in the video gaming industry.

Capcom's Dead Rising was initially released in 2006 and got the remastered treatment a decade later, with this "deluxe" edition bringing Frank West's hilarious zombie thriller to next-generation consoles.

Promising an engine overhaul and modernizations to some of the aging gameplay aspects found in the original release, it will be interesting to see if DRDR can retain the charm in the process.

If so, Dead Rising's unexpected re-release, given how good the original stands out as unique even now, won't have an issue making Game of the Year shortlists.

Graphics and Gameplay

It takes a single glance to see how much Dead Rising benefits from being overhauled using RE Engine.

The original was a stunning feat at the time of its release, with the sheer number of zombies on screen pretty much unrivaled and the layers of depth to the many, many shopping mall locales unheard of for the era, too.

The overhaul amplifies that in modern terms that is downright staggering. Improved dynamic lighting adds immersive depth and shadow work to the environments and facial animation clearly got a pass, with emotions and expressions more lifelike. Notably, this makes the funny stuff even better and somehow, some of the creepy stuff downright cringe-inducing.

A modern infusion to this classic means important updates for the user interface (UI) too. Chief among those is a simpler meter on every item that does a good job of illustrating its remaining durability. Similar theme for new map markers, which makes navigation easier.

The goofy hilarity of gameplay returns, whether it's skateboarding around the mall, hitting zombies with kickflips, or heading to a kitchen area to heat up a frying pan, then running around and sizzling it on the undead's faces. Those are two very small examples, not to mention the endless stream of hilarious outfits Frank can don while doing so.

Moving while aiming is one of the biggest—and by far most important—modernizations. It's so seamless that one would think it appeared in the base game and isn't a new feature here, either.

Making this all the more important is the feeling that firearms have actually been buffed. They're more lethal to zombies (as much as anything can be lethal to the undead, anyway) than in the past, which feels good given how sparse ammo and firearms can be.

Grappling with the undead gets a positive change, too, with a simple button prompt now working to free Frank from their clutches. Other unlockable counterattacks require different buttons, but it's much better than the original's clunky freeing attempts.

Perhaps one of the bigger concerns about breathing new life into Dead Rising was the fact that a good chunk of the gameplay loop came down to the highly polarizing escort missions that have a pretty bad reputation across video gaming.

Clearly anticipating this, though, this offering has gone to great lengths to beef up the A.I., meaning far less step-by-step babysitting of characters Frank attempts to save during his exploration of the mall. Players (Frank) can also find food items and weapons that these NPCs have an affinity for, which lets them heal even more and fend for themselves better as bonuses.

Another concern was the camera aspect of the original, given Frank's career as a photographer. Frankly (get it?), it was clunky in 2006, too. But now, he can actually move while taking pictures, adjust the tilt and even upgrade the camera itself, greatly easing the concerns in this area.

DRDR will take some time for the unaccustomed to get used to in 2024, both in the presentation and gameplay department. The latter can feel clunky with some unorthodox controls, but not for long—and it's part of the charm. This strikes a nice balance of bringing the experience forward, while also retaining the proper feel.

Story and More

Dead Rising's tale is pretty straightforward, at least from the onset.

Frank, a photojournalist, has three days to uncover the truth of a zombie outbreak at Willamette Parkview Mall in Colorado. Along the way, he meets all sorts of interesting characters, clashing with some and helping others.

The tale withstands the test of time, no doubt. The mall itself is a character in its own right and was in 2006 far before "locales as characters" started to become more of a thing. The areas are varied, dynamic and each has little fun things to find, whether it's items, worldbuilding or a combination of the two.

And the cast of characters are memorable. Some are realistically dynamic in how they react to the happenings at the mall. Others are downright wacky in ways that flirt close to the terrifying or hilarious border in unforgettable ways.

That three days comment is literal in a sense, too, as the game's story unfolds on a timer. It gives the tale a nice sense of tension atop, you know, the whole zombie apocalypse thing, while also giving players agency over how and what they do.

Notably, players who just want to see how the story plays out while ignoring side content or who want to get to a specific spot in the timeline faster can now fast forward at save spots. There seems to be a better auto-save feature in place that removes some past frustrations, too.

Popular Overtime and Infinity modes return too, with some must-have modernization in the latter, including the ability to save progress.

Progression remains handled through Prestige Points (PP), which Frank earns from combat, snapping pictures and a variety of other things. Leveling up does feel slightly faster than in the original and along those same lines, the game simply feels easier. Some of the clunkiness that led to the original's difficultly level was part of the charm, too. But these aren't overwhelming negatives and to be fair, players themselves have improved at video games a staggering amount since 2006, really.

To top it all off DRDR features an impressive array of options. For those who really want to get nostalgic, players can even turn on classic controls that use the same old-feeling layout of the original from nearly 20 years ago. The game also runs well on current tech, as expected, despite some of the feats it pulls off in scale.

Conclusion

Classics, whether it's in the Resident Evil series or something like Metroid Prime, just keep coming back better than ever.

Dead Rising is both the latest and one of the most impressive of the bunch, though. If one had to think of technically impressive feats of gaming's past that deserved another go with more horsepower, well, this is it.

It's a testament to the original's design that this game is so fun, quirky, and addictive all these years later. There are some minor character and otherwise changes here to suit modern sensibilities better, but this is by and large the same great classic that dropped all those years ago—just better than ever.

Given what's accomplished here, this could be the launching point or proof of concept that there is a huge desire for more releases in the series that follow the original's concept. Until then, DRDR has more than enough to keep players happy.