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Dead Rising 4's real ending appears to be locked behind paid DLC [Update]

There's a reason the base game ends so abruptly.

David Craddock

December 6, 2016 1:51 PM

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Dead Rising 4 offers multiple endings, but the canonical one ends on a cliffhanger you can only resolve by purchasing the "Frank Rising" DLC expansion.

The DLC's official description indicates that it picks up where the base game leaves off.

Be warned: spoilers follow.

Dead Rising 4: Frank Rising: In this DLC, Frank West is freshly infected and needs to find a cure before he becomes a zombie and is lost forever. While searching for a cure, Frank discovers that everything is not the same as it was; zombies are getting smarter, people cannot be trusted and paramilitary forces are plotting to wipe out Willamette. Frank has a limited time before he reverts to the full zombie state and the city is wiped out. Frank will have to get to the truth first… or die trying.

Ubisoft's 2008 reboot of Prince of Persia is another, semi-recent example of a game that saved its denouement for a paid DLC.

Dead Rising 4 released today for Xbox One and Windows 10 via Microsoft's Play Anywhere initiative. Shacknews editor-in-chief Steve Watts found the game an uneven mix of the franchise's trademark creative weapons and witty writing, juxtaposed against tedium and glitches.

"Dead Rising 4 is uneven and less polished than many other games this fall," he concluded. "It's the kind of light, airy game I would have expected earlier in the year, when it wouldn't risk being swallowed up by the holiday season. At its core it's a pulp adventure, with winking witticisms and bloody messes strewn throughout. That makes it, if not entirely memorable, at least a bloody good time that understands the ephemeral nature of camp."

Update

After some deliberation among the Shacknews team, we decided to hedge our bets and adjust the headline to illustrate that the Frank Rising DLC might be the canonical continuation of the core game's story. Steve Watts' explained that his experience with the game serves as evidence that cliffhanger ending is the "real" ending. However, Frank Rising isn't available to play just yet. Until a Shack editor can play through the DLC to verify whether it is canon or a standalone experience, our headline reflects that as a possibility rather than a certainty.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.