Fans of Capcom are well aware of the developer’s pedigree in creating horror-themed IPs. The first Capcom horror series that comes to mind is almost always Resident Evil; however, the developers have another zombie-filled franchise under its belt: Dead Rising.
Capcom is clearly staying busy with the recently announced Resident Evil 4 remake and new content for Resident Evil Village. Still, the Resident Evil franchise is not the only one that could benefit from a reboot, and Dead Rising’s creative and unique take on the zombie genre could come as a nice change of pace.
Dead Rising's Gameplay
The story of Dead Rising is not too far off from other Capcom games, so it did not exactly break the mold, but the setting, characters, and freedom given to the player make this franchise stand out. The series encourages the use of any item as a weapon and features thousands of zombies, but it is the iconic "Psychopaths," deranged humans that attack anything and everything, that stood out and created a real sense of fear.
The main storyline focuses around a 72-hour time limit in which the player must uncover as much about the zombie outbreak as possible before evacuating. The added pressure of having a time limit to complete certain missions or rescue survivors adds an extra element to the otherwise simplistic hack-and-slash style of Dead Rising.
The Lineage of Dead Rising
After the success of Dead Rising, Capcom went on to create multiple sequels and spin-offs. Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 3 aimed to expand the series by introducing the ability to combine different weapons and vehicles to create even deadlier tools while also giving the player a larger sandbox environment to explore.
The original Dead Rising also received a remake exclusively for the Wii, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop. The remake attempted to recreate the first game while utilizing the Wii’s motion controls, however, it was unable to capture the essence of its predecessors and was greatly held back by the Wii’s weaker hardware.
The latest entry in the Dead Rising series was Dead Rising 4, which saw the official return of Dead Rising 1 protagonist Frank West, who was now investigating another zombie outbreak, this time in a large city. Dead Rising 4 tried to add more content and action, but it often felt too bombastic and was clearly straying away from the fun simplicity of the original game while also removing iconic features such as the 72-hour time limit and Psychopaths.
Additionally, Dead Rising 5 was being developed by Capcom Vancouver, but the project was unfortunately canceled when the developer shut down in 2018. This means that Capcom had the intention of continuing the series, but was unable to follow through, leaving a lot of fans unsure about the future of the franchise.
What a Reboot Could Do for Dead Rising
It seems that Dead Rising suffered a similar fate as Resident Evil. Though the series is well revered, it strayed too far from its roots and tried to do more and more with each new title, which eventually led to the series feeling bloated. Resident Evil was able to shake off these issues with Resident Evil 7, which changed the dynamic of the game with a first-person perspective but also made it feel like a true survival-horror again.
Though Dead Rising is not identical to Resident Evil, the series could equally benefit from changing up the gameplay and trying to recapture the magic of the original game. Part of the appeal of Dead Rising was the fact that it did not take itself too seriously, but it was still, at times, a survival horror game that required players to think outside the box and utilize anything around them as a weapon.
In a world full of gritty reboots, Dead Rising could come back in a big way. Capcom has mastered the ability to remake games and retell stories in a different light, and that is exactly what Dead Rising needs. The less serious and creative nature of the game along with the looming horror of zombies and psychopaths makes Dead Rising ripe with potential.