Dead Rising is back! The remaster of the original game is out across Xbox, PS5 and PC, letting us once more attempt to live out three days in the company of an awful lot of zombies. But surviving 72 hours in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster’s Willamette Parkview Mall is not an easy task—it’ll force you to properly manage your time and weigh the pros and cons of saving and fighting people. To make your time slightly easier, here are 16 essential tips you’ll be glad to know about surviving in a mall filled with psychopaths and zombies.
No matter what you do in the game, time will always move. So you’ll need to make sure you’re not doing anything entirely pointless. Good time management, even for core main quests, is essential. That said, you can stop time if you pause the game, or any time you open the map.
You can fail the main story if you don’t reach a specific area within the deadline. If this happens, text will appear on the screen letting you know that you can’t play through the main story any more. But don’t worry, because if you want to keep playing, you absolutely can—you’ll just be locked out of certain story beats.
Early on in-game, you’ll notice that certain mall areas are blocked off. The only way to get to them is through the giant park in the middle. But if you keep progressing through the main story, more and more shortcuts will open up for you, and this will make it easier to get across the mall.
If you’re looking for a survivor and can’t find them, you can shout out their name! If they’re close enough, they should respond, which will help you pinpoint where they are.
If you ever find a random weapon that you really like, keep a mental note of where you found it, because you can easily farm it. To do this, you’ll need to leave the area where you are and hit a loading screen. After you do that, go back to the location you just left and return to where you found the weapon. It should be lying in the exact spot as last time. You can do it this much as you want, but for it to work, you need to hit a loading screen.
You’ll likely find some food nearby whenever you visit an area with a kitchen. In addition, you’ll likely see a blender somewhere close by. The blender can be used to merge food items together. If you combine the right items together, you can unlock special abilities such as acid spit, or create something that’ll fully recover your health.
Granted, there aren’t a lot of camera shops in the mall, but there are enough for you to keep an eye out. These shops offer various upgrades that you can use for your camera, and although these won’t give you the upper hand when fighting enemies, they will help you take better photos, which is always nice.
Speaking of cameras, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the letters “PP.” They’ll usually only pop up when you’re looking through your camera lens, but if you take a picture, they will expose areas that offer a lot of XP. So make sure you’re using your camera a lot, because you never know when you’ll run across a PP area. (Snigger—Ed)
Be mindful of where you swing your ridiculous weapons, whenever you’re trying to save or take survivors back to the security room. If you’re not paying attention to their health, you can accidentally kill them and lose XP.
While rescuing survivors in the mall, they’ll often point out areas for you. For instance, if you’re near a PP area, they’ll let you know and an icon will be marked on the map for you. Or if you’re walking near a tree, they might notice a pistol in the bushes for you to use.
Psychos will often drop really useful weapons after killing them. Don’t worry about these disappearing though, because they will always spawn in the exact location where you found them. So, if you want to farm some of the strongest weapons in-game, you can easily do that after you’ve killed them.
Even though rescuing survivors is a key part of the game, it doesn’t mean they can’t be annoying. They’ll often find themselves stuck in a corner, or surrounded by zombies. To help combat this, be sure to give them a decent weapon so they can defend themselves. If you have a gun, give them that, because you won’t have to worry about them running out of ammo. More times than not, a single shot will bounce a zombie back, which will give you enough time to go back and help them. If you see that their health is low, you can heal them by giving them food.
Once you get past the opening scene in the game, Otis will give you a walkie-talkie and often call you. When he does, don’t be rude and ignore his calls. Otis will usually give you clues on where to find psychos and help you locate survivors in the mall. Plus, this is the first time Capcom has given this man a voice.
Once you hit nightfall for the first time, you’ll be greeted by three prisoners in a military car with a machine gun attached to it. How they got it is anyone’s guess. But it’s worth mentioning that these guys will continuously spawn, no matter what. If you happen to kill one, leave the park, and come back, all three will be alive again.
Note, you can remove the machine gun from the car, and it is one of the strongest weapons in-game, but getting it is never easy. You’re better off running away from the prisoners most of the time.
Greg Simpson is a survivor you can rescue on day one. To do so, you’ll need to kill the clown on the roller coaster. After you save him, Greg will show you a shortcut that will take you to the side of the mall, where you can access the security room. This is vital to know because if you’re looking to avoid the prisoners, this is the best way to do so without risking your or any survivors’ lives.
Without giving too much of the plot away, you’ll begin to encounter a cult at a certain point in the game. They’re dressed in yellow raincoats and stay in packs. When you get close enough to one, they’ll throw dust your way; if you’re caught in the blast, you’ll be knocked out. When you wake up, you’ll lose all your items and be in your underwear. So, unless you want to encounter a challenging fight, avoid the dust at all costs.
You’re set for taking on the hordes. Don’t forget you’ve only got three days to get everything done, make sure you hit those major story beats, and you should be good to go.