DaRmaZat 
Delightfully insane, a bit flawed, but not a failure
CAPCOM’s original Dead Rising represents a relic from a time when zombies were everywhere — on TV shows, in movies, and in both single player and multiplayer games: the Undead were inescapable. That might also help explain why the story of Dead Rising approached the genre from a different angle. On one hand, it’s lackluster, riddled with so many plot holes that it could have easily faltered and faded into obscurity. But at the same time, it is over-the-top witty and intended to evoke nothing but pure bloody fun. Just the way gamers like it.
So, in the end, it did not fail. Dead Rising showcased exactly why games were being made during that era in the first place — something the big game companies might have lost along the way — and became a great success for the Xbox 360 in 2006. By March 2008, around 1.8 million copies of the title had been sold, solidifying its status as a commercial hit. In 2016, a remastered version was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC to celebrate the 10th anniversary. And now, we’re graced with Dead Rising Remaster Deluxe, available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nvidia Geforce Now.
Technically imperfect, but sufficient
For those who didn’t have the eligible age, time, or luck to play the original game, Dead Rising’s surrealistic plot takes place in a shopping mall in Colorado, where a sudden and devastating zombie outbreak, known as the Willamette Incident, occurs. Unfortunately, the original voice actors aren’t present in this Dead Rising Remaster Deluxe, but the portraits of the bit-players remain iconic in their own ways. Whether it’s the psychopaths, the badass prisoners in the Humvee in the park, special agent Brad (a convincing Steve Harvey look-alike), the too-sexy-and-clever-at-the-same-time Isabela, and, last but not least, the protagonist Frank West. Our favorite freelance reporter, who still runs like Al Bundy recovering from gallons of booze.
However, the performance of this remaster is a bit more erratic than the zero-to-hero charm and cuddliness Frank might leave lingering in a fanboy’s mind. Frame rate drops happen often when a huge horde of zombies suddenly respawns, after lying dead on the ground for numerous minutes. Yet, one can notice the slightly better lighting and more realistic shadows compared to the original, besides a higher frame rate, and more modern resolution options. For the sake of completeness, the remaster also includes the latest versions of the upscaling technologies AMD FSR, Intel XeSS, and Nvidia DLSS Frame Generation. Still, the RE Engine can’t prevent serious blurriness and texture pop-ins from time to time.
A bit dated, still challenging
Sadly, the A.I. of the survivors of the massacre hasn’t improved much either, as you’ll often lose the poor souls without any valid reason. Despite this, the fun factor remains omnipresent, even with tricky difficulty spikes, especially later in the story. Once again, in this remaster, there’s little choice but to regularly escort your — mostly female — companions to the nearest restroom to … save the game progress manually. That’s because the autosaves overwrite each other too frequently to be reliable in case of a disastrous choice. And yes, the amount of loading screens and backtracking remains absurd and feels inadequate in 2024.
On the bright side, you’ll eventually learn the map by heart, which becomes a highly useful — even vital — asset despite its small size. This is especially important in the 72-hour mode, where you must complete main missions (and optional ones) against the clock, leading to plenty of stressful moments. To be fair, unlocking Overtime Mode, which stretches the story a bit further, doesn’t make things any easier. Infinite Mode rounds out the title menu, offering a mode focused solely on surviving as long as possible — if that might sound appealing.
In conclusion, Dead Rising Remaster Deluxe retains much of the charm of its source material and makes significant technical advancements, although there is still room for improvement. At the same time, this remaster does not shy away from replicating the original flaws, making it feel a bit dated for a 2024 release. However, the most important thing, the fun factor, remains mostly intact.
Reviewed on PC.
Download code provided by the publisher.
