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I love Dead Rising.
It’s a phenomenal zombie action open world franchise, with a design that was a bit ahead of market norms. Dead Rising is a large-scale single-player-centric open world game. It casts you as a man of action surrounded by the undead. You have just your wits, a pile of weapons made from everyday objects, and your ever-growing skill tree at your disposal.
Most of the games also make wonderful use of time, unlike nearly every other game set in a large world. Time is always ticking along, and the story advances whether you make it to where you’re supposed to be or you don’t. Challenging bosses with weird backstories, a quirky sense of humor, and the thrill of trying new weapons propel you through the multiple playthroughs required to see everything.
Dead Rising 4 mixed things up a little bit. It still features stalwart off-and-on-again protagonist Frank West, a cynical journalist who is really good at killing zombies. He’s older in Dead Rising 4, and snarkier, and now voiced by film and TV actor Ty Olsson. He brings some good energy to the role, even though the change of casting was considered a mistake by some.
