Xbox Review | Dead Reset

Ever wake up suddenly, confused about where you are or how you got there? I’m sure the answer varies from never to more times than I can count, but for our main character, Cole Mason, it’s an occurrence he knows only too well and has to quickly adjust to if he’s to survive the terrifying horror he’s about to face. In Dead Reset, an interactive horror FMV, you suddenly wake up to multiple strangers who need your help with different dangerous tasks, including the extraction of a parasitic creature, after it comes to everyone’s realisation that you are stuck in time loops and can essentially cheat death – hence the name ‘Dead Reset’. Your choices can lead to life or death scenarios, different story paths, and affect your relations, so you must do what it takes to survive the ever-growing horror that could be just a step away. Read on to find out more about my thoughts and feelings towards Dead Reset.

Things I Liked!

• Acting quality | Firstly, above everything else, I want to commend the entire cast and scriptwriters for their incredible effort to create the outstanding game that Dead Reset is. Out of all the FMVs I’ve played and/or watched my partner play, the acting quality and conveyance of emotions is one of, if not the best, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down to experience. Each character has a very distinctive persona, which allows you to form your own opinion on them quite quickly. The terrifying circumstances, mixed with the dedication from everyone to make it to safety, shine through everyone as each shows what they value through their raw emotions and facial expressions. A truly stunning display of what acting quality you should expect: Dead Reset has set the bar extremely high for future games.

• Cinematic value | Production, dramatic lighting, immersive sound effects, camera angles, all combined with the aforementioned acting, really made Dead Reset feel like a high-quality cinematic experience. I can even picture this as a full movie you’d pay to watch at the cinema. It definitely gives alien and spaceship vibes, given the environment and circumstances you find yourself roped into. I think the camera angles are great, providing us with close-ups and distance shots, which adds another perspective. The lighting is another feature which deserves more credit because it’s phenomenal, especially in the vents and more dangerous scenarios, to increase the tension. For one of the more cinematic FMVs around, it’s a fantastic addition to the genre.

• Story direction | The story of Dead Reset is all about making decisions to give you the best chance at survival without having to use the time loop to reset. That being said, death is inevitable. No matter what you do, you’ll experience death. I honestly thought I’d already messed up my first playthrough that quickly, so I reset my game, not knowing it was bound to happen. There are multiple characters to be aware of; should you work with them or make selfish choices? I could never tell and was always altering my opinion on whether they had my best interests at heart or were simply using me. Additionally, there are some unexpected but welcome twists to the story. The story, decisions and reactions scrambled my brain, which made me eager to go again once I finished my initial playthrough, which can only be a good thing, right?

• Tense atmosphere | Dead Reset had the ability to create fulfilling atmospheres throughout the game, depending on which setting you found yourself in. I always somewhat knew when to expect calmer situations and where danger was lurking, and this was thanks to all the effects: Lighting, sound, camera angles, and the feelings conveyed by the cast. Horror is all about making the player/viewer feel uneasy by creating a fight-or-flight response, which I did experience in places during my initial playthrough. Once I completed Dead Reset once, I had an idea of what to expect, meaning I got most of the tense segments the first time around with a few added extras over additional playthroughs.

Mixed & Disliked!

• Choices and outcomes | Most FMV games are known for letting players make choices, some important and others for different dialogue, that can affect the outcome of the story and which ending you get. It’s what makes the game interactive and allows everyone to play how they see fit. Now, there were numerous choices in Dead Reset, which I’m always a fan of, but not many significantly impacted on what path was waiting ahead, if at all. It was only towards the end of the game that some made a difference, enabling me to get the four endings (Note: there is no chapter select – you have to replay the game from the very start each time you want a different ending, miss an achievement, or select the wrong choice). Additionally, I would have liked to see more than four endings, as only one felt like a ‘good ending’, with the rest resulting in some sort of negative conclusion.

• Monster design | Now, to avoid spoiling the game. In the beginning scenes of Dead Reset, you are tasked with surgically removing a creature of parasitic nature from someone, and this was great! It was such a mystery, and its smaller size made it terrifying, especially when no one knew what it was capable of. As you progress through the story, events happen, and you end up seeing the creature on multiple occasions, where the scare factor just wasn’t quite the same for me. I know this is an FMV game, not a movie with a massive budget to blow, but the effects and creature design were underwhelming. I probably found myself laughing at the creature more than being scared of it, which shouldn’t be the case when it’s more than capable of tearing you limb from limb. I won’t go into any more detail to avoid spoilers; just know I wasn’t all that impressed.

• Horror and gore | I’m sorry, but for someone who loves a good horror movie or game, filled with horrendous gore and scenes that shock your entire nervous system, I might have expected significantly more from Dead Reset. Now, I appreciate the content warning before you start a playthrough and know many would have found themselves wincing and feeling squeamish towards some of the more graphic scenes. However, as this is my opinion and review, I will always be honest and would have loved the developers to go even further with their gruesome scenes. There is no doubt that Dead Reset uses horror aspects well and is the best horror FMV to date, but it wasn’t enough for me, and I believe it underdelivered on the ‘blood-soaked’ and ‘cinematic scares’ description.

How long did I play the review before publishing? Approximately 5 Hours
How long to beat the story? Approximately 2 1/2 Hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 24/24 OR 1000/1000
How long to achieve 1000G | Approximately 5-6 Hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | The Complex, Nightbook, The Bunker

Conclusion

Score: 58/100

Although Dead Reset is an incredible FMV (definitely one of the more noteworthy ones) with top-tier acting and cinematic properties, I wasn’t overly impressed with the choices element, gore, or scare factor. As an avid horror fan, perhaps I anticipated too much, but I do believe improvements could have been made.