Side Quests: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Review

Capcom has been on a re-release spree lately; between Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Collection and Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection, fans of franchises that have either seen games that never made it to Western shores or lay dormant for multiple years finally have something to chew on. Not to be left out, here's Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster – or DRDR, for short – which rehauls Frank West's first foray into zombie-killing history. 

While Dead Rising as a whole has been on the backburner at Capcom for a while – Dead Rising 4 launched in December 2016 – DRDR travels back another decade to 2006, when the world was first introduced to Frank West, the Willamette Parkview Mall, and 53,594 zombies. For the most part, DRDR holds up well thanks to its modern facelift and mechanical upgrades, but a few janky bits prove this remaster could have used a bit more Zombrex*.

*(Yes, the writer is aware Zombrex wasn't introduced until Dead Rising 2. The joke stands.)

The core gameplay loop of Dead Rising – investigate the mall outbreak, save survivors, and defeat the hordes within 72 in-game hours – is still as engaging now as it was back in 2006. There's a ton of backtracking, of course, but every time I leave the safe room and descend the elevator, I spend the first few minutes mapping out routes, figuring out the quickest paths, and strategizing for whichever battle is next. Survivors popping up on my radar will cause me to pivot, but that just means more planning on the fly, and that's what makes this game so good in the first place. 

As for the modernization of this original Dead Rising, there are three ways to properly evaluate the changes made in DRDR: Visuals, mechanics, and story. Right off the bat, you can see that the game looks better than any Dead Rising game to come before it. The characters have noticeable detail, particularly Frank in his silly costumes, and the zombies are downright ugly up close. What's more, the little bar letting you know your