The first Dead Rising gets a deluxe remaster ahead of its 20th anniversary

Dead Rising is a real gem that turns an overused cliche – zombies in a mall – into a brilliant, quirky and challenging survival game that fully embraces the madcap fun of mowing down hordes of the undead with anything you can find and then taking photos of them. Truly a proto-Instagram-era Nostradamus. Nearly ten years after the first game hit PC, and worryingly nearly 20 years after its debut, the original Dead Rising is back in a fresh new edition.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is technically a remaster of a remaster, a remaster of the 2016 HD Remaster that took the original 2006 game beyond the confines of its Xbox 360 exclusivity — to PC too. I’m pretty sure Dead Rising was popular enough even back then to be more than a “cult classic,” but it definitely channeled the spirit of overly ambitious and mechanically adventurous cult B-games in a way that’s often sorely missed these days. Also, I don’t want to dwell on whether 2006 is old enough to be defined as a “classic” now, so let’s move on.

Capcom’s teaser for the Deluxe Remaster shows photojournalist and zombie hunter Frank West jumping out of a helicopter and arriving at the Willamette Parkview Mall. Even in the short cutscenes, things look noticeably different than in the HD Remaster, from the sharper textures to Frank’s revamped character model. It also sounds like Frank has a new voice, as the dialogue fragments were re-recorded by original actor TJ Rotolo.

Capcom simply describes the upcoming remaster as “an updated version with a brand new look,” so it’s possible that we’ll see some improvements and additions to the gameplay alongside the snazzy graphics. While we don’t know anything concrete yet, it’s pretty safe to assume that some of the modern hardware power will also be used to put even more zombies on screen.

The teaser lists the remake as “2024,” suggesting it will be released sometime this year, although a possible release window and platforms have yet to be confirmed.