Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster reinvigorates a classic

I paid a visit to the Willamette Mall to check out an early build of Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster prior to its release next month. Essentially a remake of the 2006 zombie game, Capcom has enhanced Dead Rising with new visuals and quality-of-life changes that improve the overall experience without compromising the essence of this apocalyptic adventure.

Once again stepping into the shoes of photojournalist Frank West, Dead Rising tasks players with getting to the bottom of the zombie outbreak in Willamette, Colorado before an escape helicopter arrives in 72 hours. In DRDR, Frank has a new character model and voice actor. The voice will take some getting used to for fans of the original, but I found the new model to be a solid modern upgrade.

Speaking of modern upgrades, Capcom has made a concerted effort to put Dead Rising’s story and characters in line with modern cultural standards. This means dialing back creepy voice lines from Frank and other NPCs, as well as redesigns to move away from offensive stereotypes. DRDR completely scraps the Erotica photo challenges, which rewarded players for taking pictures of womens’ legs and breasts.

A core feature of Dead Rising’s gameplay is grabbing miscellaneous items from around the mall to use as weapons against the waves of undead. In the original game, players would know an item’s durability was getting low when it would begin to flash red. In DRDR, items have a full durability bar that players can use to get a better idea of a weapon’s status from the moment they pick it up until it breaks.

Like in the original game, Frank can lead NPCs to safety and recruit them to battle alongside him in the mall. This feature returns in DRDR, with a new feature that adds a level of personalization to each character. Now, every NPC has preferred items. This could be a weapon, food, or beverage. If you give an NPC an item they prefer, they’re more likely to use it and will be more efficient when doing so.

With the improved survivor AI, escorting NPCs around the mall was less of a chore. I still had to constantly bark commands at them, but it wasn’t as frustrating as in the original game, where I practically felt like I was babysitting other characters.

The overhaul that Capcom has given to graphics in DRDR makes it feel more like a remaster than a remake. Weapons, zombies, and characters, all look much better, even in comparison to the 2016 re-release. Capcom has also added additional voice lines for characters who previously only spoke using text boxes.

Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster is shaping up to be a real treat for fans of the original zombie game. Quality-of-life changes reduce some of the pain points from the 2006 version, and the graphical overhaul makes it feel like a brand new game, rather than a remaster.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_