Back in 2006, Capcom released the game Dead Rising, a sandbox zombie survival game that took place within a mall in Willamette Colorado. The game was given high praise and given up to three sequels and some remasters in 2016, but after the failure of its fourth installment in 2019, the question on the minds of its fan bases was whether or not another installment would be possible. Cut to now in 2024 and the first game has once again received a remaster this time with a graphical overhaul, some quality-of-life features/improvements, and some cut content that wasn’t able to make it into the first installment, are these changes necessary however and are they capable of reviving this franchise let’s find out. 

The main premise of Dead Rising centers around photojournalist Frank West as he investigates an Anonymous tip about something big happening in the small town of Willamette Colorado. This investigation leads Frank to the local shopping mall where he discovers that Zombies have overrun the town and that the military is keeping it a secret from the rest of the world. Now with him being trapped inside the mall for three days until his helicopter comes to pick him up, Frank must spend the next three days; surviving zombies, rescuing survivors, fighting psychopaths, and discovering the truth regarding who or what started the outbreak. Will Frank discover the truth or will his investigation disappear into the undead horde? 

At its core Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (DRDR) is still a sandbox zombie survival game, but this time it comes with a few new additions and changes, one of the most talked about changes is the character designs And new voices especially for Frank West. The topic of Frank’s design and voice has been a subject of discourse amongst the Dead Rising community, especially the fact that the original voice actor T.J Rotolo didn’t return to voice the character, however, Frank is not the only character to have their voice actor replaced as every character was replaced with a different voice actor. Some voice actors do a good job while others either sound like they aren’t putting in their all or don’t give off the same presence as their original actors. As for Frank himself, the actor does a great job of mirroring the original actor’s tones and mannerisms, however, he still sounds and looks more like a guy whose name would be Frank, but not Frank West. This isn’t meant to say that he or the other cast members don’t do a good job, after all, it is difficult for new voice actors to try and live up to many cult classics in the same way as they did originally, especially in the modern day. 

The game’s graphics and character designs are improved from the original with character models now able to express their emotions a lot better with their improved face designs that do more than just give off blank stares. The lighting has also been improved with the addition of many shadows, textures, and surfaces that help reflect the time of day and locations Frank finds himself in. Every area’s design within the mall has been tweaked, especially Paradise Plaza which now sports an ocean theme. 

As stated earlier along with the many graphical changes there have also been a few quality-of-life improvements which include; moving while aiming, autosave’s, the ability to fast forward the time at save Points, improved survivor AI, new sections in the pause menu that show challenges and PP sticker locations, the ability to place map markers for easier navigation, new weapons that were originally cut, five new skill books, Camera upgrades, and many other quality life improvements that make this game more accessible and fun for newcomers in the modern day.   

That isn’t to say that the game is perfect after all the voice acting is still hit or miss and there have been times when zombies would pop in out of thin air, especially in the outside area of the mall. Players have also had issues with some of the censorship changes to dialogue and the removal of Erotica points; however, these changes might affect more of the long-time fans of the original game than possible newcomers. 

Overall, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster at its core is still the sandbox zombie survival game everyone remembers with a fresh coat of paint and a few much-needed quality-of-life improvements. The game is still a blast to play and one of the best zombie survival games to date. 

Overall Score: 8 out of 10

Reviewed On: PlayStation 5