Season’s Killings: Exploring Dead Rising 4’s Yuletide Nightmare

There’s no denying that Dead Rising is a wildly uneven series, despite being one of my favorites. The first one’s a masterpiece, the second a mixed bag, the second-and-a-half a return to form, and the third an iffy but spirited overhaul. Attempts to revamp the series have felt awkward, while certain restraints in future entries have left it feeling stuck in the past. And while the verdict’s still out on the finished game, Dead Rising 4 is shaping up to finally be the evolution the series needs—ten years later.

My time with the game put me back in the shoes of series stalwart Frank West, as he waded through the familiar streets of Willamette, CO, streets players haven’t actually gotten to explore yet. Back in the first game, we got to see the town from a helicopter, snap a few pictures, and that was that. The entire time was spent in the mall. This time, however, both the mall and the podunk town are ripe for exploring.

This makes all the difference too. Survivors calling for help aren’t just a few stores away now. There are several blocks, and all those blocks are densely populated with the infected. Of course, this will feel like a familiar setup to anyone who played Dead Rising 3. However, what immediately struck me about Willamette is how much more of an intimate and intricate setting it felt. Sure, the open-world zombie gimmick was a nice trick, but Los Perdidos felt like a worn and empty world that had some zombies thrown in. Meanwhile, Willamette’s snowy, claustrophobic streets and numerous building interiors feel more terse and intimidating. Plus, the mall serving as a centerpiece is a nice complement to what already feels like a compelling setting.

It also helps that this is the best Dead Rising has ever controlled. The third entry moved the franchise forward in this department, but it still retained some awkward jank that’s customary with the series. While I can’t speak on the full game, I didn’t run into a single control snag during my time with the game. Frank was able to move seamlessly between snappy, responsive shooting and visceral, satisfying brawler mechanics. Marrying projectile weapons and the franchise’s beat-'em-up core has always seemed to be a challenge, so I was pleased to see a happy balance between the two.

The GameStop Expo demo gave me an idea of what to expect from both the gameplay and the narrative. Story beats are no longer timed, but saving survivors still is. I was able to free a woman who had locked herself in a truck, then gleefully ignored the main story for a few minutes while getting lost in taking out literal dozens of zombies at a time. When I finally paid attention the plot, I explored a firehouse. Sliding down the fire pole, I stumbled upon some mangled corpses, which the game encouraged me to take pictures of. Apparently, there’s some insidious organization who’s both murdering people and turning the rest of the populace into zombies. It’s trite, yeah, but it’s delivered with a witty, irreverent tone that’s in line with the series’ signature macabre humor.

From a performance standpoint, none of the warts from this year’s E3 presentation remain. Within three or four months, reported framerate issues and bugs have all but disappeared. With several months remaining to launch, what I got my hands on already felt like a smooth, polished product that I wanted to keep messing around with. When I stumbled upon the much-touted Exo Suit, or shot fireworks into hordes of the undead, I didn’t experience any framerate chugs, even with several onscreen explosions and zombie viscera flying every which way. The fact that this is a very stylish, pretty game with an arresting aesthetic makes this even more impressive.

I came away from Dead Rising 4 wanting more. As in, several hours more with the game, please. While early reports that the game was awkward, glitchy, and frame-y made me worry that we’d be getting another mixed entry, my experience gave me the total opposite impression. As a fan since 2006, I feel like this is the next step that the series has needed for a long time, and could be well on its way to being the finest outing yet.