As someone who is no stranger to Capcom’s works, I’ve covered zombie games, you know? The Dead Rising franchise always stood out to me for being a comedic parody of the typical zombie apocalypse. It was an interesting new IP from Capcom that never took itself too seriously and focused on the fun side of what you can do when everyone has joined the ranks of the undead.
The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is what every game that calls itself a “remaster” ought to be. It’s not just a re-release of an existing game with some tweaks to make it look more appealing. No, instead Capcom fully opted to use the RE Engine to bring the original Dead Rising into the modern era. You get new character models, new voice actors for the existing cast, and some tweaks in gameplay.
That being said, is that really a good reason to buy the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster? With the original game still available for sale, what do you really get out of the remastered edition? Is it worth your money? Let’s find out!
Dead Rising follows the story of Frank West, a freelance photojournalist, who arrives in a small town called Willamette only to find it overrun by zombies. He takes shelter in the town’s mall to uncover the truth of what’s going on. Frank has 72 hours to do everything he needs to before his ride out of the place arrives.
If you’ve ever played the original, you’re going to notice something significant right off the bat. Taking photos now gives you a lot of PP (Prestige Points), in fact it gives you a little too much which allows to quickly level up in such a short amount of time. I don’t think this is a bad thing considering the fast paced nature of the game, meaning you’re constantly in the move and doing something.
Another notable change is that they did remove some questionable content from the game. As a photographer, you can and should take photos with Frank’s camera which will be placed into different categories such as Horror, Outtake, and Drama. However Capcom did remove the Erotica category and you no longer get PP from taking risqué photos. Whether you think that’s a dealbreaker is up to you.
The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster still maintains its controversial time mechanic. However this time, the remaster has included a way for you to skip time back in save rooms if you ever decide to just want to tackle the story without having to wait. A generous auto-save feature has also been implemented just before the start of a boss fight or before you enter a new area so dying isn’t as frustrating as it was before.
The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is what I would appropriately describe as a zombie parody. Despite the serious opening scene, it can be deceiving. The tone of the game is mostly comedic with its dark humor. And that also translates to its gameplay.
Zombie hordes in a video game should be scary but they’re your playground here. Mow through crowds with a chainsaw, run them down with a shopping cart, or put a bucket on their head and take a photo for the fun of it. You’re doing all of this while juggling it with saving survivors, fighting psychopaths, and most importantly finding the truth of the case.
Here’s where the controversial time management mechanic of Dead Rising comes into play. While you can just have fun and ignore the main story, they won’t wait for you forever. If you pass the allotted time to get to the necessary location, you will miss out on side-quests, or a “scoop” as the game calls it. You can even completely miss out the main story if you’re not in the right place at the right time.
Missing out on the main story isn’t an immediate game over, and you can still keep playing until the 72 hours are over. However you’ll never solve the truth of the case. I particularly found this a bit annoying as even with the time killing mechanic, I have to wait in a room for the exact same time the mission starts doing nothing until a cutscene happens.
This could’ve been done better by allowing Frank to fast forward time by looking at his watch, provided that there’s no zombies near him. Or to get an option to skip time to the next case when you’re in the right area. It feels a bit inconvenient to look for a save location to fast forward time.
While the gameplay of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster focuses on the fun side of a zombie apocalypse, the story does manage to be engaging. Frank’s search of the truth about what happened in Willamette is taken seriously with the effects of the zombie apocalypse taking a toll on those who survived.
Upon completing the 72 hour mode with the best ending, you’ll also unlock Overtime Mode which is a continuation of the events. So if you ever felt like the 72 hours was a bit too short to enjoy the game, you’ll at least know that it’s only half of the story.
Throughout your time in the mall, you’ll also encounter psychopaths which function as the game’s boss fights. Many of them are optional but offer cool rewards like unique weapons. However they’re a bit of a hit-and-miss.
Most of these boss fights feel more quirky than fun to fight against. None of them really had any interesting mechanics that pushes you to innovate the way you play. It didn’t help that I unlocked the gun store early in my gameplay that I didn’t really have any other reason to change my fighting style than just shooting them until their health bars go down. Melee fights with these bosses are always an easy way to get a game over.
That’s being said these bosses are so quirky that they’re honestly just fun to watch. And the gimmicks of their fights are usually entertaining enough that I didn’t really mind encountering them at any time.
Despite the RE Engine giving the game a lot of polish, there are some notable bugs that seem to be present by the time of my review. Boss fights that I’ve already beaten somehow came back to life for a rematch, survivors that wouldn’t talk to me despite not being hostile, and companions not really following me properly and getting left behind.
I also wished that the remaster included a few other convenient features such as a way to store useful items we found around the mall. Much like the item box in Resident Evil which would’ve been a useful way to store up on some health restoration items.
This is also the first Dead Rising game so don’t expect any combo weapons. The Deluxe Remaster retains the mechanics of the original game without the innovation of its successors.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is something I can recommend for those who haven’t yet played the original and for those who really loved it and want to experience it again with the RE Engine. There’s no question that it’s fun but with its most notable feature being the updated visuals it really is just the old game with a fresh coat of paint.
