Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Review: A Version That Lives Up to Its Name

In August 2006, Xbox 360 owners discovered the adventure of photojournalist Frank West in the zombie-infested Willamette Mall in Dead Rising. Capcom's production was clearly not without its flaws, but Its innovative concept, its atmosphere and this large playground serving as a place to let off steam were enough to make an impression.

As we know, some 3D games don't age particularly well. Just look at some gameplay images and videos of Dead Rising on Xbox 360 to realize that the episode is one of those. With Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (DRDR), Capcom wants to give fans a dose of nostalgia and thus make them forget the last few dull episodes while attracting, if possible, a new audience. DRDR Does he have as many ways to (re)dive players as Frank West has weapons in the mall?

A visually convincing remaster

What would a remaster be without a nice graphical facelift? This is obviously the aspect that players' eyes fall on first when a game comes back from the past and Capcom knows it. The Japanese studio used its RE Engine to develop Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. This new version therefore benefits from a nice overhaul, particularly in terms of the characters' faces, much finer than in 2006 and in 2009 in the Wii version. Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop.

Frank West, who seems to have aged a little in the process, seems more human than ever, like the other important characters he meets during his strange epic at the mall. Of course, don't expect facial animations worthy of Capcom's latest productions.

The scenery also appears more detailed: all sorts of things are lying around on the ground, as is the case in a real shopping mall. Your blood and that of the zombies will also litter it. The reworked lighting effects also give DRDR character.

Furthermore, the iconic Willamette location seems more alive than ever thanks to the multitude of zombies roaming the aisles. Their number even seems significantly higher than in the original version. The interface also appears modernized and it is very easy to find your way around the menus.

Note that you have no choice but to play DRDR in 4K at 60 fps and that the title also supports HDR. No framerate drop affected our game on PS5.

A nice French dubbing for Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster

Another notable addition of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster : full dubbing in French. It turns out to be well-made, even if Frank West's voice actor does a better job than the secondary characters. Regardless, it's a great thing to enhance immersion… and intercept walkie-talkie messages in the heat of the action. Non-English speakers who are annoyed at having to read subtitles in the middle of a GTA chase will understand.

You can still opt for the original version, but one detail should tickle your eardrums if you're familiar with the 2006 game. Terence J. Rotolo is no longer the interpreter of Frank West. The role goes to Jas Patrick, voice of Partitio Yellowil in Octopath Traveler II or even Dai Bo in the anime Scissor Seven. Rest assured, the change is not as abrupt as the handover between David Hayter and Kiefer Sutherland for the voice of Snake in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

DRDR more merciful than his elder

The concept and main story of Dead Rising remain unchanged here. Photojournalist Frank West, parachuted into a shopping mall on September 19 (the game's release date serves as a nod), must still investigate the origin of the zombie invasion affecting the city of Willamette. At first, he only has his camera, his gift of the gab, and only 72 hours to complete his investigation. A helicopter is scheduled to pick him up on September 22 at 12:00. Missing the coach will spell the end of his investigation.

It's up to you to manage your time as best you can to accomplish the various main objectives while saving as many survivors as possible. To achieve this, you must explore the shopping center as much as possible in order to find the best weapons, but also take pictures and eliminate undead to gain experience and improve all of Frank's stats.

Find the time constraint absent from the criticized Dead Rising 4 should delight long-time fans. Having to constantly look at your watch (or your list of objectives) still puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders… but still less than it used to be.

Indeed, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster allows you to save manually and have multiple different save files, twenty to be exact. If you are not in the right place at the right time, nothing stops you from loading an old game. Purists will probably think that the new save system undermines the principle of the game. Let's say instead that this new feature makes the adventure more permissive, without making it too easy. Accomplishing everything you want in a single game will remain an immense challenge.

Some flaws from 2006 still there in 2024

This change made by Capcom does not tarnish the experience like the disappearance of the ink ribbon system in Resident Evil 3 Remake. On the other hand, we appreciate the loading times are shorter than back then, although we could have done without them altogether.

If you've ever blasted zombies in the mall on Xbox 360 or Wii, you'll find the same fighting sensations here. At this level, Dead Rising is getting a bit old, especially when using firearms. The lack of impact of these necessarily looks bad in 2024. The imprecise aiming doesn't help either. In addition, Frank still can't duck, which makes gunfights really painful. Granted, this is a remaster and not a remake, but we can only regret have no means of taking cover.

The absence of this mechanic makes some boss fights annoying, even if the game often knows how to make us laugh by staging them. Dead Rising shows its age more than ever during these confrontations during which we spend a crazy amount of time running after the boss to try as best you can to line up the sights or attack him in melee out of spite.

Melee weapons are actually more fun to play with… but you still have to pick up the one you want when several of them overlap. Like back then, you sometimes have to contort yourself to perform an action, since a single key is enough to act on everything near you. Using the arrows to quickly switch from picking up an object to carrying a character would have been more comfortable. As it is, it regularly happens that we do anything in the heat of the moment.

Pathfinding of allies, frequently in great difficulty to avoid the elements of the scenery, should also frustrate you more than once. Capcom claims to have improved it, but it is not really obvious.

🟣 To not miss any news on the Journal du Geek, subscribe to Google News. And if you love us, we have a newsletter every morning.