Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Review (PS5) | Push Square

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There’s a certain charm to the Capcom of the PS3 generation; a time when its releases were just as likely to land as they were to heavily miss. For every Devil May Cry 4 or Dragon’s Dogma, there was a Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City to set it back to square one. Nowadays, those extreme gulfs in quality have been reduced to single-point differences between high Metacritic ratings, as the publisher reaches new heights with its Resident Evil and Monster Hunter franchises. Its curiosity to create something a little more “out there” has never quite gone away, though, which is what has allowed it to lovingly restore a fan favourite from that same era where it couldn’t decide if it was hot or not.

Dead Rising helped define the early years of the Xbox 360, and despite three sequels in the 18 years since, it has remained a unique experience to this day. In an attempt to recapture that magic, the Deluxe Remaster works essentially as a one-to-one remake with vastly updated visuals, better controls, and many quality-of-life improvements to make photojournalist Frank West shine once more. The end result is an undead undertaking born out of love for the source text that works purely to make it sing all over again.

It’s faithful in every possible way, restoring the original story, premise, and structure in a PS5 setting on the RE Engine. Main character Frank West is a photojournalist investigating a story that’s brought him to Willamette. Having touched down via helicopter on top of the mall at the centre of town, he quickly discovers a zombie outbreak has taken over the place. Frank then has 72 hours until his rescue helicopter arrives, during which time he needs to piece together the story behind the epidemic.

What made Dead Rising different in 2006 — and still does to this day — is its commitment to that three-day timer. The game is actively counting down towards the rescue helicopter’s arrival at all times, and you can only do so much in the time given. Cases (the main