Key takeaways
- Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster features updated graphics, improved facial expressions, and more terrifying zombies.
- The survivor AI has been improved to be more capable, making rescuing survivors easier and less frustrating.
- New features include full voice acting, hands-free calling with Otis, durability bars for weapons, and the ability to speed up time.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is here. While it leaves the story and its characters almost completely untouched, there are some major changes that not only make the game more fun to play, but finally address the issues in the original game. So, while the game may seem very familiar to those returning, it also feels like a completely new game.
Some of these changes will feel like a breath of fresh air while others make items you never thought of using suddenly more accessible. Here are the biggest differences between the original Dead Rising and the deluxe remaster.
10 Overhauled graphics
Mall is rebuilt
The most prominent change you'll notice right away is the updated graphics. Dead Rising looks great in RE Engine. Areas of the mall, such as Paradise Plaza, have a familiar layout but have been revamped for a new look. Meanwhile, the park area looks completely atmospheric with fog and murk at night.
Facial expressions have also been updated, allowing some characters to have an additional layer to their personality. In addition, the zombies look scarier than ever with gore effects rivaling the original.
9 Saving survivors is easy
Survivors have survival instincts
One of the biggest gameplay changes is the overhaul of the survivor AI. The original game features bumbling survivors who get stuck around every corner and are grabbed by zombies left and right. It frustrated every single survivor to the security room.
The ultimate challenge, though, has always been getting them into the side and rooftop vents. So, not only are the survivors in this game able to handle themselves, but they finally have steps they can walk on instead of trampling each other.
8 It has full voice acting
Otis finally speaks
One thing you might notice after you dig your first scoop is that the game now features full voice acting. This means that each survivor will now speak instead of requiring you to read every piece of text from their dialogue.
It's a nice little feature that doesn't necessarily enhance the gameplay but helps immerse you in the world of Dead Rising. It's nice to hear what each survivor has to say, but finally giving Otis a voice actor considering he has the most dialogue in the game is even better.
7 Hands-free calling
Don't be interrupted by Zombies
Speaking of Otis, there is an issue that every player will run into when playing the original Dead Rising. It's that Otis's calls will come at the most inconvenient times. You don't want to miss these scoops so you answer, only to have zombies interrupt you mid-call.
Zombies can no longer interrupt your calls with Otis. That means you don't have to hear Otis say rude things to hang up on him before starting the message all over again.
6 Psychological changes
Upgrade or downgrade?
While most psychopaths remain completely untouched in terms of dialogue and design, there are a few that try to play it a little safe for a modern audience. Larry is more American than ever, which technically adds to the irony of Carlito's fate. Meanwhile, Cliff's dialogue about communists and the Vietnam War is replaced with moles and animals.
These are the more notable changes in these sequences, but aside from being cosmetic, the actual boss fights haven't been changed. No boss will be removed from the game. Indeed, Thomas Hall, the reluctant sniper of the Hall family, no longer has to meet a terrible fate.
5 Weapons now have durability
Check your Zombie Slaying tool
The weapons in the original Dead Rising always showed you when they were about to break. This can be seen when the weapon icon starts flashing meaning any moment now, your weapon will shatter.
In Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, you can now see the full health of your weapon via the durability bar. Every time you swing at an undead, this bar goes down allowing you to always keep your arsenal fresh instead of going off guard at the last moment.
4 The ability to speed up time
No need to wait around
A brand-new mechanic that has been added to the game is the ability to speed through time. In the original game, you can kill time by killing zombies or chasing survivors. However, there will always be some time between main story missions that you need to fill.
Sometimes, you want to be able to play the next story mission right away. Now you can leave the time by dragging your watch to a safe place like a safe room or bathroom.
3 There are new items
New books and cut weapons
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster not only improves on everything that was present in the original but also adds a few things. This includes weapons that never saw the light of day in 2006, downloadable costumes, as well as brand-new books.
Some examples of this include the rocket launcher, which can blast hordes of the undead. Meanwhile, the new books now give you the ability to make thrown objects explode on impact. You can use these books to mix non-food items into more juices instead of just food items.
2 There are new savings features
Don't lose your progress
One of the biggest hurdles for new players is the time limit and save game features. If you want to save, you always have to run to the bathroom to do so. While the time limit still exists, there are a few more ways in which the game is forgiving.
For starters, the game features auto-save at key moments of the game. This means you don't have to go to the bathroom every time you finish something important. You can now save in infinite mode, making one of the hardest achievements in the game much easier.
1 You can move while aiming
Your legs are no longer locked
One of the best quality of life changes comes from being able to move while aiming. This feature was originally added in Dead Rising 2 and later, but the original always locked you in place when trying to fire your guns.
Now, you can walk in any direction while placing your crosshairs on enemies. This doesn't allow you to get out of the way during fights but prevents Cletus from getting into a shotgun lock during your boss fight, which was generally unfair.
