‘Dead Rising’ Deluxe Remaster (2024): A Review

Similar to Hollywood and its influx of reboots, the gaming industry has seen a meteoric rise in remakes and remasters of beloved games from past generations. It seems as though for every original idea, there are at least three or four remakes/remasters. As a quick refresher for anyone unfamiliar with the difference between the two, remasters are typically rereleases of a game with a slight touchup on textures and perhaps even localization. These games are usually 1:1 with the originals and typically won’t involve too much change. Just think “The Uncharted Collection” on PS4, Bioshock, and the recent Red Dead Redemption remaster. On the other hand, remakes will typically involve more changes with aspects like graphics receiving a major overhaul and even mechanics being prone to change. Think of games like Yakuza Kiwami, System Shock (2023), and Dead Space (2023). One certain company that has quickly proven its ability to deliver high quality remakes is Capcom. Home to the highly influential Resident Evil series, this juggernaut has certainly shown a high understanding in terms of what it takes to make a remake (as long as Resident Evil 3 isn’t involved). It was only a matter of time before Dead Rising received the same treatment as the underappreciated sibling of the company. (Note:The PC version was used for this review)

New Voice, Same Story

Right off the bat, the story is exactly the same. Each mission is split into a case and each case reveals more about the central plot which follows Frank West. An experienced photo journalist who has “covered wars, you know”, players will guide Frank through the giant mall of fictional city Williamette, Colorado. Returning players familiar with the story can expect the same exact story. The difference aside from modernized visuals? The addition of voice work for the many survivors of this zombie outbreak. While the original featured voice audio for cutscenes. A majority of characters outside of those cutscenes didn’t actually talk. However, every single character has their own voice. 

That’s right — even Otis the security guard now has the ability to actually talk Frank’s ear off. There is a caveat, however, as many of the original voice cast have been entirely replaced with new actors. While this may not even register for newcomers, old fans may be severely displeased especially considering the replacement of Frank West’s original actor, TJ Rotolo. That isn’t to say Frank’s new voice, Jas Patrick, isn’t up to the task. Patrick and the rest of the new voices certainly do the game justice but for any dedicated fan of the original, this change will likely be too noticeable. Think back to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and its switching of voice actors. Instead of having David Haytor, the iconic voice of Snake lending his guttural vocals, fans instead had to listen to Kiefer Sutherland. While not outright abysmal, the absence of Haytor left a major gap in the game the entire time played (it doesn’t help that Sutherland barely speaks throughout the entire game). Oddly enough, despite the voice work being different, the original soundtrack makes a return with many of the original game’s incredible playlist making a return. That especially includes Lifeseeker’s “Gone Guru.”

Change for the Better? 

With the original game having been released two generations ago for the Xbox 360 in 2006, Dead Rising holds up well, but not completely. In terms of controls, the game has always been considered janky with certain moves and abilities being obtuse to use. Doing certain moves felt like playing Dance Dance Revolution on a controller. Even assuming players could put in the correct input, sometimes Frank just wouldn’t register them. This feels frustrating regardless of how much time spent playing the original. The deluxe remaster does a solid job of streamlining the janky controls so it doesn’t feel like players are fighting their own controller in addition to the zombies blanketing the screen.

Another major improvement comes in the form of AI. Considering the original game was released in 2006, it should be of no surprise that the AI from that game is extremely outdated and is one of the biggest reasons why some find it so difficult just to get into the original remastered version (an odd concept that shouldn’t exist). In the original, the AI was so bad that time (an important component of the game) would be wasted just trying to save survivors from walking into a wall while also desperately avoiding death yourself.  Thankfully, the deluxe remaster improves survivor AI to such a degree that roaming around with them feels fun. There’s even an addition of a mood system for survivors. Certain foods and weapons will be favored by specific survivors allowing for their mood to either rise or decline over time. Depending on their mood, survivors will either be more or less competent. Unfortunately, the developers seem to have been too scared to rely too deeply on this mechanic as it never really led to anything crazy or outright memorable. There many more quality of life changes made that mostly improve the game.