Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster review - Stumbling impatiently through the undead horde

After a seven-year hiatus, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster revives Capcom's "other" beloved zombie series once again. As a brand-new remaster of the 2006 original title that started it all, fans will be delighted to revisit the game started the trend of massive zombie hordes on screen that can be mowed down using everyday objects and items.

This enhanced version is as faithful as it gets, minus some changes that have been controversial in the community thus far. That said, should fans pick it up? What about newcomers? All these questions and more will be answered in our full review of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster brings the classic comedic horror to a modern audience

Welcome to Willamette Mall (Image via Capcom)

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Although I enjoyed later entries in the series, such as Dead Rising 3, I never really got around to experiencing the original game, which also received an HD port on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. As such, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is my first foray into photojournalist Frank West's three-day escapade in Willamette Mall.

That is more or less the premise of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. The protagonist must act fast and find the greatest scoop of the century before the helicopter that landed him on the mall's roof returns in 3 days. He soon discovers that he's trapped in the mall with a seemingly endless wave of shambling corpses.

Frank is not the only living person within the humungous complex's confines. There are other survivors in the mall, many of whom await being rescued. After encountering helpful NPCs such as Otis, Brad, and Jessie, Frank must try to find out what caused the zombie outbreak while bringing back any survivors to their safe zone of the mall's Security Room.

It is nowhere as easy as it sounds though. The mall isn't just flooded with zombies, but bosses called Psychopaths have also taken over key locations. These are humans who have mentally buckled under the pressure of the zombie outbreak, and either attack anyone on sight or hold hostages.

This is one of the many times where Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster leans into its comedic influence as these bosses are outlandish caricatures of American capitalism and culture as a whole. More on that later, as we tackle the gameplay aspects first.

In a race against time

Who doesnt like some freebies? (Image via Capcom)

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster's Willamette Mall is massive, with different floors, each home to a bunch of stores, points of interest and more. From a theme park to a movie theater and even a massive outdoors area, there is something to find nearly everywhere no matter how zombie-laden it is. From unlocking new outfits from clothing stores to finding makeshift weapons in hardware shops, exploration is best left done blind so I will not speak more on that regard.

That said, the first key element of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster that is bound to be a turn-off for many gamers is the fact that there is a timer ticking down for the entire in-game 72-hour duration. Story beats are handled in "Cases" while side quests are called "Scoops" and players will have a limited amount of time to complete both before failing.

This introduces a layer of urgency to gameplay that keeps the pacing uptight and speedy, though for many (including me) this will be at the expense of exploration. That said, failing to accomplish these objectives does not result in a traditional game over as Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster simply continues the story. In such a scenario, the Cases will go unsolved, while Scoops disappear, leaving players wondering as to what they missed out on.

Meet odd and bizarre NPCs as you explore the mall (Image via Capcom)

This could be a trapped survivor who needs to be shepherded to the safe house, or an optional Psychopath boss who needs to be defeated. Given how big the mall is, and the sea of zombies as far as the eye can see, it is impossible for a newcomer to see everything Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster has to offer. That would be a bad thing if there weren't measures in place to ensure replayability - but developer Capcom has thought of it as well.

Depending on how players progress through Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, they will get different endings. If Frank dies during his to-and-fro expeditions (which he undoubtedly will during a first playthrough), players can choose to restart the game while keeping Frank's character progression intact, in a roguelite-esque fashion. Speaking of progression...

Make do with what you've got

Photograph zombies, survivors and objects of interest to earn PP (Image via Capcom)

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster has lite RPG elements as Frank West can level up using the PP (Prestige Points) system. Performing a variety of tasks, including saving suriviors, defeating zombies, beating Psychopaths and yes, photographing things, will earn PP. The latter especially plays a big role in netting PP, as players can take photos of zombie and other denizens of the mall in different themes which can be standard, humorous, horrifying, emotional or violent.

Filling the PP gauge will cause Frank to level up, enhancing stats such as extra health, movement speed, inventory space and more, including learning new moves which will be paramount in dealing with zombies - like the ability to spin around to knock away zombies or walk on the heads of a swarm of undead. The level caps out at 50 and the stronger the protagonist is, the easier it is to face challenges.

Although Capcom has made great efforts (and succeeded at them) to ensure Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is the most user-friendly rendition of the classic title, this is still a fairly challenging game. It will not be uncommon for a survivor you didn't even know existed to die because you did not get to them in time - and you will be notified of their death by a popup.

Some items are more useful than others (Image via Capcom)

To be ready for whatever the game throws at him, Frank must be prepared at all times. Since the mall is not really a place teeming with lethal weapons (minus a key location), Frank can use nearly anything in his environment to deal with the undead horde. Golf clubs, soccer balls, teddy bears, shopping carts, wooden benches, mannequins - you name it.

In a nutshell, if it can be picked up, it can be a weapon regardless of how useful it is at repelling the zombies. Each object functions differently when it comes to attacking, making each interaction feel unique. All in all this is one of the biggest selling points of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. That said, it is best to stock up on items as they can break after some use and also food supplies as zombies can grab Frank easily and take a chunk out of his health.

Overall, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster's gameplay progression is free-form as players can tackle quests and objectives in any order for the most part. They may choose to beeline through the story first, or explore to their heart's content and level up as much as they can before the credits roll, then re-roll the campaign from the start for an easier playthrough.

Two steps forward, one step back

Hobbling survivors need to be carried or lent a hand to make them move faster (Image via Capcom)

This brings us to the things that Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster changes as well as those that have remained intact. With a gap of nearly two decades between the launch of the original and this remaster, the first game is undoubtedly dated in many ways. Capcom fixed many frustrating aspects the original was known for by introducing some neat quality of life additions.

The biggest inclusion in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is auto-saving and multiple save slots, which saves a lot of time in case Frank finds himself trapped in a sticky situation or dies. The visible durability of an item via a meter also saves much guesswork from the players' end. The new modern control scheme also ensures Frank feels much less clunky to manuvere on top of being able to shoot while moving.

Despite these changes, a lot of the jank is retained, much to the detriment of the experience. Remember, this is still the same 2006 game under the shiny hood of the modern graphics featureset, so this is unavoidable to an extent. Combat is still pretty stiff, and the tedious Psychopaths only make the matters worse. As discussed before, much of these villains are caricatures based on American stereotypes.

Hiding behind a stand to avoid fast-firing, lock-on shotgun pellets is one of th eleast fun things in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (Image via Capcom)

This includes a large female police officer who captures civilians for her own power-trip or a machete-wielding Vietnam vetera, and many more. While these fights in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster are unique in themes and execution, it still comes down to defeating a fast-moving bullet-spongy foe. The worst example of this is the Cletus boss fight in the gun shop, as the Psychopath can duck to avoid Frank's attacks, but Frank cannot, leading to an exercise in tedium.

The Convict Psychopaths in Leisure Park and zombies in the Security Room hall/elevators keep respawning periodically as well, which also makes things harder than they should be. Then there are the NPC survivors; while their AI has been improved, they are still prone to lagging behind and babying them all the way back to the safehouse amidst the waves of zombies can be tiresome.

As far as miscellaneous stuff goes, Capcom has chosen to "censor" Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster by removing Erotica genre from the photograph system so players will no longer be awarded for taking lewd photos of zombies or female survivors. Furthermore, the character designs of most characters have been changed, especially one Psychopath boss to make him appear less of a racist caricature.

Graphics, performance and sound

The visuals are denser and more detailed than ever before (Image via Capcom)

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is built atop Capcom's in-house RE Engine, which also powers the Japanese devs' other popular games like Resident Evil Village. The visuals are stellar and detailed, whether it is the character models or environments. The game is fairly performant, even when tons of zombies are on the screen, though this still varies from scenario to scenario.

Not all non-gameplay tweaks have been welcome. The Dead Rising community is also up in arms about the changes to voice actors, though newcomers will likely be nonplussed about this aspect of the game. On the flip side, licensed music from the original game is still here including, Lifeseeker's "Gone Guru" and Lockjaw's "Bored Again".

In conclusion

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a home run for the most part, successfully updating a beloved classic while improving it in many areas. Enhanced visuals, controls and quality-of-life additions make this the best way to relive Frank West's original adventure for longtime fans. Willamette Mall is fun to explore and zombie slaying doesn't get old even hours into the game.

That said, Capcom has not updated everything. So, aspects of the core design such as a timer as well as remnants of jank in the form of goofy AI and tedious bosses will undoubtedly frustrate newcomers to no end. Still, those who manage to sift through the piling corpses of the dead and rubble will find a game like any other here.