Game Review: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster

Dead Rising was one of the earliest games I remember playing when I first got the Xbox 360. I recall at the time being incredibly impressed by the technical capability of the console mainly because of what Dead Rising was able to do with the hardware. The fact the game was able to render and animate well over 800 zombie models within one area was unfathomable at the time, so I remember it really leaving an impression on me.  I remember really wanting to enjoy the game at the time despite still being young and a bit timid when it came to horror stuff, however the finnicky controls and time management stuff made it difficult for me to truly love it. It’s a shame really because I truly wanted to experience the game but I let those aspects hold me back from enjoying it.  That wasn’t my only time with the series though, I did end up picking up and loving Dead Rising 2 and while I don’t remember much of it, I still had a moderately fun time with Dead Rising 3.  Despite the time that passed though, I always wanted to return to the original Dead Rising but the dated controls and annoying AI made my time replaying the original game not nearly as fun as I hoped. That’s why when Capcom announced the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster in 2024 I was so happy to give the first game in the series another go with a few modern touch ups.

Like the original Dead Rising, the Deluxe Remaster was developed and published by Capcom themselves albeit with additional support from NeoBards Entertainment. Utilizing the RE Engine, Capcom were able to remake the original game with improved graphics and more responsive gameplay compared to the original version. It’s funny it was titled by Capcom as a “Deluxe Remaster” as I found the game felt more akin to a full-fledged remake with all the new functionality and graphics it touts. Released across PS5, Xbox Series X and PC on September 19^th 2025 the game aggregated a modest 79 on OpenCritic.  I tried to look up sales numbers but nothing seems to be published, Capcom were quoted as saying the game’s sales met their expectations so I can only interpret that as an indication that sales were good.

The story of Dead Rising follows a photojournalist by the name of Frank West. Following an anonymous tip of something big going down in in the small town of Willamette in Colorado, Frank hires a private helicopter pilot to fly him into the town which has been cordoned off by the US military.  As he arrives he soon finds out a zombie outbreak has taken root in the town. Wanting to get a scoop on the story, Frank lands at the local shopping mall and tells the pilot to come back to get him in 3 days by which point he’ll hopefully have learned something about the outbreak.  Upon exploring the mall Frank comes to encounter a bunch of survivors, including a pair of Homeland Security agents by the name of Brad Garrison and Jessica McCarney.  Figuring their presence in the mall can’t be a coincidence, Frank gets to work assisting the pair in their mission to track down a local Dr Barnaby within the mall.  This mission will be anything but easy however as the mall is overrun with a legion of zombies. On top of the horde of undead, Frank will also have to face off against a bunch of survivors who have been driven mad due to the outbreak and turned into psychopaths. As the days progress, Frank soon learns there’s a dark conspiracy behind the origins of the zombie outbreak and he’ll need to survive if he ever wants to blow the lid on it sky high.

The setup behind the game’s narrative is well constructed.  There’s a good sense of intrigue baked into the case system that helps keep the player engaged to slowly discover the truth behind the outbreak. It helps that Capcom put a lot of memorability into the characters too as it makes following their presence in the story easier.  Frank himself is such a fun main character and his role as a photojournalist makes his introduction to the events of the game easy to believe, plus his hammy dialogue and nonchalant approach to his encounters helps give the game a nice bit of levity. The game’s overall tone is a lot less serious than you’d expect it to be, which I do think helps keep the narrative from feeling bogged down.  I do however feel the compelling narrative setup dissipates abruptly near the end of the game as you venture into Overtime mode.  I found the narrative core really loses it’s strong direction by the end of the game as you just meander towards an ultimately underwhelming climax.  One thing I really didn’t like about the Deluxe Remaster is Capcom’s decision not to bring back Terence J. Rotolo as Frank West.  Jas Patrick tries his best to emulate the character but it’s honestly a jarring obstruction for me hearing him flatly deliver some of the most iconic lines Rotolo delivered.

Where the Deluxe Remaster definitely improves upon the original for me is in the gameplay.  As I noted initially, the cumbersome controls and stupid AI of the original game made it hard for me to really get into the experience.  The Deluxe Remaster does a brilliant job in not only bringing all of the core gameplay back but it refines it in such a way that it does away with nearly all of the major blemishes which put me off the original.  As Frank you’ll be tasked with exploring the Willamette shopping mall’s six major districts as you solve the cases tied to the main narrative as well as rescue other survivors and do battle with the main zombie horde and the resident psychopaths.  The explorative side of the gameplay is and always was my favourite part of the identity behind Dead Rising.  The game realises the near limitless potential of having an entire mall to explore with a huge array of shops, restaurants and other unique venues, each offering the player a major array of items and gear to acquire.  You can use nearly any item as a weapon in this game, giving the player a lot of freedom to play how they wish. This also includes customization, with you being able to dress Frank up in a number of different clothing items as well.  The game truly leans into the sandbox style functionality by recognizing the player’s freedom deserves to be respected with so much variety and options to play around with.

With all that freedom of choice then, it’s only right the game gives you some solid content to justify further exploration of the game.  You’ll be provided missions in the form of Scoops, in which you’ll be pinged by the fellow survivor and maintenance man Otis who will alert you to any events occurring in the mall from the security room.  You’ll then have to work your way to these Scoops while keeping an eye on your time as each Scoop will only be available for a certain period of in-game time.  This time management system wasn’t nearly as stressful this time around, likely because I have a lot more patience in my older age. I think making all of the core content timed is a great way to challenge the player to manage their playthrough properly as it asks you to determine what is more important to you as a player and prioritise it respectively. The games psychopath bosses each offer a unique flavour to the overall gameplay too as you’ll be required to adjust your playstyle to accommodate their challenge. The reworked AI really comes out in the survivors too, as they’re capable of following and supporting you way better than they did in the original game.

On the visual end, you can really see the RE Engine in all of its glory.  Ever since it was used in 2017 for Resident Evil 7, this engine has been in a league of its own for showcasing a graphical fidelity leagues above the competition.  In Dead Rising’s case, the graphical overhaul the RE Engine brings really helps push this experience into the modern era.  Environments feels way more detailed, with lighting and raytracing employed to really give each respective plaza a lot of depth.  Character models also showcase the technical ability of this engine, with the zombies in particular getting a lot of nice detail and visualization.  While most of the general NPC models feel faithful to the original designs, I can’t help but take issue with both Frank and Brad’s new looks.  For some reason Capcom made both of these dudes look 20 years older than their original models, with the odd choice to give Frank a major receding hairline.  In the original game Frank was in his early 30’s, so it’s odd to see the remaster make him look like he’s having a mid-life crisis in his 50’s. Hideki Okugawa and Marika Suzuki’s original score is incorporated into the remaster without much change too, which is appropriate as it still helps to give the game a really unique vibe on the musical end. Combine that with a bunch of the licensed tracks the game touts, this game has a great array of music which helps cement the style and tone it relishes in.

Despite my grievances with the new revisions, I can still happily recommend Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster to both returning and newcomer players alike.  Dead Rising is a game which realizes it’s core identity with complete ease and recognizes core objective of providing the player ultimate agency in what they wish to do during their 72 hours stay in Willamette mall.  Despite a poor wrap up, the initial narrative offers a lot of intrigue and combine that with the numerous encounters throughout the game you’ll feel the game’s core intent in delivering a more fun-orientated tone compared to that of its Resident Evil counterpart.  The remaster does an excellent job in capturing most of what made the original title so beloved while bringing a majority of it’s dated elements forward with a plethora of touch ups.  I really hope Dead Rising 2 gets a similar treatment in the future.