Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster: Death still suits him so well
Can an old zombie game survive in an era where the figure of the undead is a little too omnipresent? The Dead Rising remake proves that yes, strangely enough.
In 2006, there were the lucky owners of an Xbox 360 and the others. The former threw themselves on Dead Risinga zombie game that arrived at a time when the genre was experiencing a very prosperous period in cinema (Shaun of the Dead, Army of the Dead, Resident Evil, 28 Days Later…). In this bloody and fairground video game blockbuster, which considered the figure of the undead above all as a giant outlet, we played a photojournalist reporting in the Willamette shopping center: the only refuge for the survivors of a small town invaded by tens of thousands of lovers of fresh flesh. It was up to the player to wander freely through the aisles and stores of this mall – a tribute to the seminal and unshakeable Zombie by George Romero – and relentlessly exterminating walking corpses with anything from baseball bats to shower heads. Back then, the fun was at its peak.
Over the past eighteen years, however, the infected zombie has found time to become an omnipresent pop totem, which never takes us far from the feeling of overdose… In this context, the remake of Dead Rising had every chance of looking like a non-event, an anachronism just there to grab the money. Controller in hand, the opposite happens: the cartoonish dimension of Capcom’s title still has a beefy effect (try to shoot the undead with a lawnmower, you won’t believe how good it feels) and its mechanics have a delicious vintage patina.
The improved graphics and slightly updated gameplay (you can finally shoot while moving) allow you to rediscover a feeling of enjoyment that you thought was lost forever. Unfortunately, we don’t make many games like this anymore, designed as pure fun shooters. The zombies thank you.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, available September 19 on PS5, Xbox Series and Steam. 49.99 euros.
