The Dead Rising series was never a big moneymaker for Capcom, nor was it as culturally significant as the likes of Mega Man, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Ace Attorney. Despite being one of Capcom’s smaller series, Dead Rising (especially from the first two games) still has a dedicated following. The series is unashamed of the influence of B movies on its premise, its caricatures of the United States and Americana from a Japanese perspective, its ridiculously diverse selection of weapons, and the memorable Psychopath boss battles. To this day, Frank West is a must-have for any kind of Capcom-related crossover that will include a large roster of characters.
Unfortunately, Dead Rising is in a sour spot. Throughout the 2010s, the series slowly spiraled into a directionless shadow of its former self, a fate experienced by most of Capcom’s most popular franchises. The fourth game in particular was one of Capcom’s most divisive games, and its poor sales contributed to the demise of a fifth Dead Rising game, and the series’ dormancy. In an era where most recognizable Capcom properties, especially the likes of Monster Hunter, Devil May Cry, and the similarly undead-centric Resident Evil, either had a well-received new title or is getting plenty of love from Capcom, Dead Rising needs to take advantage of this similar opportunity.
How Dead Rising Could Come Back
As recent releases like the Kao the Kangaroo and Klonoa remasters show, no game series is truly dead as long as it has a dedicated fandom to put it on life support. Dead Rising fans are not nearly as numerous as most recognizable game series, especially within Capcom’s library, but they most certainly exist. However, the presence of a fandom is not always a prerequisite for a comeback, nor does it guarantee a return. If Capcom were to greenlight another Dead Rising entry, both the current gaming market and the current gaming culture should warrant such a project.
Dead Rising is, at its core, an open world series about putting as many zombies on screen as possible. Both sandbox environments and the walking dead are common tropes in games nowadays, arguably even more than when the original Dead Rising came out. The oversaturation is enough for a lot of players to dismiss games for looking like a generic zombie or open world game. However, the current gaming culture has normalized the idea of reboots, remakes, and remasters just like other parts of pop culture. The remake phenomenon is probably more noticeable with games because they struggle more than works in other mediums when it comes to aging well.
A remake or reboot of Dead Rising would obviously revolve around the first game. It is the most popular and iconic game in the series. To some, bringing Dead Rising back with a remake might seem redundant since the original game, the sequel, as well as Off the Record, were re-released in 2016. The first game in particular was remastered for PC, but only when it comes to optimization. Most of the game’s major flaws, like the idiotic survivor AI, the awkward shooting mechanics, and Otis’ calls preventing Frank from doing anything else from walking, were left in the port.
Although a hypothetical Dead Rising remake should not water down the difficulty, since said practice is what alienated long-time fans from Dead Rising 3, and especially Dead Rising 4, but simply fix the flaws to make the game fairer and prevent potentially new fans from being alienated themselves.
Dead Rising might belong to common genres, but it stands out for being a colorful romp juxtaposed with a storyline that takes itself surprisingly seriously. The appeal comes from treating an otherwise horrifying situation like a joke with virtually every ordinary item at your disposal. The brightly lit mall contrasts with the rotten living corpses that want to devour Frank West, and with the looming threat of the time limit the gameplay revolves around, there is a genuine sense of danger despite the comedic overtones.
This atmosphere, one that made Dead Rising unique, was also slowly incorporated into cookie cutter sandbox action gameplay, and vanished as a result. If Dead Rising wants to make a successful comeback, it needs to make the zombies an easily killable, but legitimate threat in an environment that would otherwise be comfy.
There is an audience for Dead Rising, no matter how niche it may seem. An ideal way for Capcom to reintroduce the franchise would be retooling the first game by making it more accessible without sacrificing what made it special. Dead Rising 2 features like combo weapons and multiplayer could be part of the experience, but they are not necessary. This is a series that needs to go back to its roots if it wants to keep living, because by the end, it was superficially recognizable at best.