Dead Rising 4 Reviews
Though much too easy, Dead Rising 4 is sandboxy zombie-killing adventure that recaptures the series' fun.
Dead Rising 4 marks the return of the fan-favorite protagonist Frank West and the setting in which he debuted, but there are shortcomings scattered about the chaotic landscape.
Dead Rising 4 has the best core gameplay the series has ever seen. Its inventive and humorous ways to put down the dead are something I still haven’t tired of, and its surprisingly interesting plot is more than just a zombie-killing delivery system. Despite the technical blemishes that come with the series, its lack of co-op story mode play, and the fun-yet-unreliable multiplayer, Frank West’s return brings the series some fresh ideas, a ton of bloody mayhem, and a whole lot of cracking wise. Here’s hoping he sticks around for a while.
A brainless, buggy open-world game that's forgotten the second you put down the pad.
Not always thrilling, but Dead Rising 4 feels like the series getting its sense of fun back. And that's a great thing.
This is the Dead Rising game that fans of freeform exploration and mayhem wanted from the original. Clock-watchers need not apply
Dead Rising 4 isn't always smart, but it's rarely boring
Dead Rising's core combat remains simplistic, but the expanded open world, compelling central mystery, and added combo weapons refresh the formula enough for some light, bloody fun.
Fans can rest assured, Dead Rising 4 is still a Dead Rising game despite some controversial decisions.
Dead Rising 4 is filled with over-the-top, creative zombie killing, but the story is formulaic and the open world doesn’t invite exploration.
You’ll have a good time with Dead Rising 4. But you won’t feel as though you earned it.
Dead Rising 4 is a mind-numbing slog despite its near-endless array of weapons
Dead Rising 4 is a lot of fun, but the challenge and tension that made the first few games so unique are dead and buried.
We wanted to love Dead Rising 4 but it has plenty of little fails all over the game that made us love it less than we were desiring.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I persevered through the issues on PC because I genuinely found things to like in Dead Rising 4. The silly, if somewhat hackneyed plot was light-hearted in tone and Frank is just as likeable as ever. Investigations are a nice way to break up the action, which is just as insane as it ever has been. However, it’s a ridiculously easy game thanks to a liberal slathering of healing items, and the diabolically bad PC port is frankly embarrassing to see in 2016. A reasonably solid game that sadly on PC is just out of frame.
While the return of Frank West and the added exploration potential are good, and will likely keep you interested for the game's full duration, it's not enough to make Dead Rising 4 a satisfying experience. The real issue is that, even if you've never played a Dead Rising game, you've seen this all before.
It's fitting, somehow, that a game series so lovingly modeled after a famous B-movie would itself result in a B-tier game. Dead Rising 4 is uneven and less polished than many other games this fall. It's the kind of light, airy game I would have expected earlier in the year, when it wouldn't risk being swallowed up by the holiday season. At its core it's a pulp adventure, with winking witticisms and bloody messes strewn throughout. That makes it, if not entirely memorable, at least a bloody good time that understands the ephemeral nature of camp.
Dead Rising 4’s raw zombie carnage impresses, but its story and technical problems leave it dead on arrival.
At times it feels like a reanimated corpse itself, but as mindless and predictable as it may be Dead Rising 4 is as much fun as the series has ever been.