Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Tips and Tricks From a Veteran Mall Survivor

Dead Rising is a peculiar blend of survival horror and slapstick wrestling sandbox, which can make fresh attempts to enjoy the zombie-filled mall staple a bit tough. But for old-heads who spent weeks in the Willamette Parkview Mall (I genuinely have a save on my Xbox 360 in Infinity Mode that went over 15 days) it's still exactly the good time we remember.

What Chris thought...

Recommended

"Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster has reminded me of all the things I loved about the original – the constantly ticking clock, the playground of the mall, a love-hate relationship with shepherding survivors – while prettying up some of its scuffed edges. Its unique tone might not be for everyone, but it is definitely one worth experiencing for fans of other zombie-based dark comedies."

Read the review

And it can be a good time for you too, if you just know what to do in there. So if Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is your first foray with Frank West, then first, good luck, and second: you'll be needing some tips to make your 72-hour survival a little more survivable.

So how about we furnish you with some bespoke advice for making your time in Willamette somewhere between shopping spree and killing spree. After all, a trip to the mall shouldn't have to be murder on the ol' gray matter, even when the other shoppers are trying to eat yours. Here are some tricks from a veteran survival expert to keep you on your feet so you don't drop while you shop.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Tips and Tricks

Easy Uzi

One very quick way you can up your chances of survival early on is to grab a submachine gun within the first 60 seconds of being let loose in the mall. We've got a quick video that shows you exactly where, but in case you like just reading your tips, we also have you covered:

As soon as you leave the warehouse into Paradise Plaza, head right towards the steps that go up to the Colombian Roastmasters. Halfway up those stairs you can see a blue ledge to the right. You can jump up onto that (as long as the zombies hanging around there don't grab you) and run all the way along the blue ledge to find an SMG at the end. Now just jump off the ledge to earn the Freefall achievement, bonus!

Honorable Combat

If you prefer to get up close and personal with your foes, the Colombian Roastmasters in Paradise Plaza hides another secret. Go into the restaurant and head to the opening that looks out over the plaza, by the refrigerator stocked with OJ (remember this for our next tip). Look out the windowless opening and down at an orange awning below, there's a katana just sat there waiting for you. This is one of the best melee weapons on account of it slicing zombies in half with one swing, very satisfyingly.

Also, once you start unlocking them, don't sleep on Frank's hand-to-hand moves. Often, they can be more powerful than any weapon you can find. There's a disembowel move you unlock later on that can take out literally any non-boss foe with a single, disgusting strike. But early on, one of the best is the jump kick. Zombies can't grab you in mid-air either, so if you are trying to sneak through a gap in a crowd then either dodge roll or jump.

Stay Hydrated

You may notice a couple of blenders dotted around in cafes and restaurants, in the Food Court and Colombian Roastmasters in Paradise Plaza (this place is genuinely the nexus of all good things in this game, we love you fictional coffee company). You can experiment with them, but the best cocktails you can make are Fleetfoot (makes you run comically fast for a little bit) and Nectar (attracts more Zombie Queens to you).

They also heal you significantly more than any single health item can, so they're very item slot efficient, which, as you may have realized, is important. To make Nectar, just chuck two OJs into a blender (that unlimited OJ fridge is now your best friend). To make Fleetfoot, two wines, or two milks. Wines are easily found by Chris' Fine Foods in the Food Court, where there is also a blender in a nameless coffee stall up at the back there. If you're ever in a pinch, wine is the best single item health recovery, so don't skimp on the day drinking!

Just Die

Look, it really is a pretty tough game if you're only just starting out. While Frank is below about level 15, you're basically playing on hard mode. Luckily, you can choose to restart the game with your current stats whenever you die. If you do die early on, just take the hit and start again. The helicopter ride in is an easy way to rack up PP experience once you know the events that are about to unfold and can zoom in on the Action Moments. But that's not the only time you should be taking pictures.

PP Pointers

The experience you get from photos is frankly absurd at lower levels. You can get 20,000 for some hot photo ops, which is enough for a couple of levels. Keep an eye out for the yellow PP sticker and huge groups of zombies for a photo that'll really rack up the score. A real easy one to grab before you even get into the mall proper is when saving your first survivors, Jeff and Natalie.

On the rooftop by the elevator is Jeff, but around the other side of the rooftop is his wife (how they did not manage to find each other without you is impressive). When you reunite them, they'll hug and you'll see big PP stickers on their faces. Prep your camera for the moment and stand close enough that they fill the entire camera frame and you'll net an easy 10,000. In general, whenever you reunite two survivors, they'll hug, so prepare for the photo and you'll be rolling in the PP.

Survivor Strats

As evidenced by Jeff and Natalie failing to find each other on a barren rooftop, survivors in Dead Rising are very dumb. The Deluxe Remaster stays faithful to the original in this regard, and you only really have one good tool against their errant AI: waypointing.

If you aim with left trigger and press R3 to call survivors, you'll mark a waypoint for any you have following you to head for. The best way of getting a group through the zombie-ridden halls of the mall is to tell them to go somewhere and then just sort of clear the way for them.

Giving a couple of them weapons is always a good idea too, though if you give them your precious guns, remember to get them back off them before reporting to the security room. An easy way to do this is to break the mannequin next to the elevator in the warehouse and give them limbs off that instead. When you do, they'll drop your weapon and you can reclaim it. Survivors also don't use up any ammo or durability, so feel free to give them that pistol with a single bullet left in it.

The King of Saws

Weapon durability can be a bit of a pain, so instead of carrying around three different weapons, how about you devote those slots to something that will basically never break? Once you beat a very clowny boss in Wonderland Plaza near the end of your first day, he'll drop some Mini Chainsaws. These always respawn here after a couple of hours now, but if you head to the nearby Sir Book-A-Lot and pick up the Criminal Biography book, they'll last a lot longer. Three times longer, in fact.

Then, head to Bachman's Bookporium in Paradise Plaza and pick up the Engineering book. You can also pick up the Entertainment book here, too. Both of these also increase the Mini Chainsaw's durability by another 300%, each. Your new chainsaws will now last through thousands of hits and do significant damage (though not quite as much as in the original). The smaller version of the chainsaw is key for this because you can put them away in your inventory, and they also technically count as an Entertainment item, thanks to your clowny friend's innovative use of them.

All of these tips should mean the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster mall is now your personal playground and you basically have nothing to fear. Why not stay for longer than three days? You will never regret staying in the Willamette Parkview Mall for longer than three days.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (Physical)

Release Date: November 8, 2024

• PlayStation 5Buy
• Xbox SeriesBuy