Even when Resident Evil was resurrected, Capcom Other The Dead Rising zombie game series has been in a state of decay since 2016. However, a modern version of the original The Dead Uprising promises to breathe modern life into the series — and could indicate Capcom is ready to take its goofy zombie brand seriously again.
New version, Dead Rising Deluxe Remasteris sharper in some ways and softer in others, based on a few hours spent with the preview. The original’s quirky bones are still mighty, but Capcom and developer NeoBards Entertainment have used the remaster to address a long list of complaints The Dead Uprisingfrom the restrictive save system and gritty visuals to the incompetence of the AI-controlled zombie apocalypse survivors.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster sends the player, as rookie photojournalist Frank West, to the city of Willamette, Colorado to investigate a mysterious military quarantine. After witnessing numerous violent incidents during a helicopter flight into the city, Frank and pilot Ed DeLuca land on the helipad at Willamette Parkview Mall, which serves as an open-world playground filled with survivors of the mass infection, zombies, and hundreds of weapons and tools with which to fight the undead. Frank has 72 hours to uncover the mystery of Willamette and survive the zombie invasion.
The key to Frank’s survival is the huge amount of stuff strewn throughout the house. The Dead Uprising‘s mall: food, weapons, vehicles, clothes and more. Frank can apply almost anything he finds as a weapon, from store signs to gas-powered chainsaws and motorcycles. Lots of fun — and The Dead Uprisingslapstick survival horror comedy — comes from the game’s weapon experiments, which range from deadly to hilariously useless. The game also has some great visual gags, such as how Frank can put toy helmets on zombies’ heads, effectively blinding them and rendering them harmless.
One of the biggest changes in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is its complete visual overhaul of the game. Powered by Capcom’s RE Engine, the remaster runs at 4K resolution and up to 60 frames per second, and comes close to matching the graphical brilliance of the publisher’s recent Resident Evil games. The modern Dead Rising doesn’t try to match the near-photorealism Resident Evil 2 remake, but everything looks much more detailed than in the original, from the character facial animations to the beautifully redesigned Willamette Mall.
With these different upgrades, the characters you meet and interact with become more powerful. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster feel much more alive than their counterparts in the 2006 game. Characters like janitor Otis are now fully voiced, and NPCs who need to be rescued throughout the mall more realistically follow Frank and overcome obstacles in their rescue attempts. During the first few hours of play, I felt much less frustrated trying to guide survivors through hordes of flesh-eating zombies.
Image: Capcom
It didn’t work Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster too basic in every way; I lost my fair share of survivors, but mostly through carelessness. Which made playing The Dead Uprising technically easier to make real changes to gameplay, including the ability to move while shooting — Dead Rising 2 added this much-needed feature to the series — and the ability to apply in-game objects as shields. Capcom also addressed some annoying elements with the original game’s transceiver, which Frank used to communicate with Otis but also interrupted gameplay. Frank can now move freely and fight zombies while receiving radio calls from Otis.
There are other welcome quality-of-life features, including a more streamlined (and now lively) user interface with a clearer compass-style directional indicator to point to your destinations, and the option to quickly scroll through the time by glancing at Frank’s watch. All of these improvements serve to polish the original The Dead Uprisingits shortcomings, mostly in ways that enhance the game’s experience and don’t distract from its unique features.
Capcom has made more subtle changes elsewhere, removing the “Erotica” photo scoring system that would have rewarded players for taking lewd photos of female characters. The company has also changed the name of the “Frank the Pimp” achievement, awarded for escorting a certain number of female survivors at once, to remove the trophy’s unsavory implications. Psychopath — yes, the human boss characters are still called that — Larry Chiang has also received a makeover that stops him being an offensive stereotype.
Image: Capcom
Much of what makes The Dead Uprising so captivating, unique and often bizarre, is still intact in Capcom games Deluxe Remaster. The game has simply become more player-friendly, integrating nearly two decades of gameplay refinements and contemporary expectations into a game that now feels old. The Dead Uprising Deluxe Remaster It feels like a diminutive step forward for the series and hopefully a sign of more Dead Rising games to come.
Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster will be released on September 19 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was shown on Windows PC using a pre-order code provided by Capcom. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commission for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find more information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
