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Zombies are the main threat and focus ofDead Rising Deluxe Remaster, which means you’re going to inevitably end up killing a lot of them as you make your way through Willamette Mall.
While slicing through zombies with katanas and smacking them with benches is its own kind of reward, Dead Rising also offers some bonuses if you kill a certain amount of zombies in a playthrough. The first two are relatively simple, but the final one is where things get tough.
Every Zombie Killing Challenge
The first challenge linked to killing zombies is one that you won’t even have to worry about -Zombie Hunter. This easy challenge requiresFrank to take out at least 1,000 zombies in 72 Hour Mode, which will come naturally as you make your way through the story for the first time. Killing 1,000 zombies will reward Frank with a trophy or achievement.
The second, and slightly more difficult, zombie slaying achievement is calledZombie Killer, which is unlocked when you kill a total of 10,000 zombies in 72 Hour Mode. Thiscancome naturally if you just focus on killing and not the story, but it’s not an easy task. The reward for unlocking Zombie Killer is a new suit that’s added to the locker.
Dead Rising’s most infamous challenge, though, is the Zombie Annihilator (previously called Genocider) achievement,which requires you to kill 53,594 zombies in 72 Hour Mode, which is a reference to the population of Willamette. Doing this will take a long time and require you to use a very specific trick, butthere’s an incredible reward waiting for you at the end - the Real Mega Buster.
One very important thing to note about the zombie challenges in Deluxe Remaster is that they’ve been made much easier overall, as the challenge tracks your killed zombies across every playthrough of 72 Hour Mode. You no longer need to hit 53k in one go, as it’ll bring over your kills from the other playthroughs.
Easiest Way To Complete The Zombie Annihilator Challenge
Now that we’ve walked through the Zombie killing challenges, it’s time to get set up and hit that infamous 53,594 tally. To do this, you’re going to want to start a new game of 72 Hour Mode and get through the beginning section. As soon as Frank has his freedom,head over to the parking lot in Leisure Park, making sure to grab some Skateboards and healing items on the way.
When you get to the Parking Lot,you’ll want to jump into the red convertible that always spawns in the lot and then drive down into the Maintenance Tunnels. These tunnels are always packed end-to-end with Zombies, which makes it the perfect place to run them down and add a bunch of kills to your total.
Once you drive the red convertible into the Maintenance Tunnels,you’re going to want to head to the left until you reach a ramp, and then go up it into a massive pile of zombies. Then loop back around to the entrance and head back to that section. By now, your car will have taken a lot of damage,so your best bet is to swap to the truck that’s parked at the top of that ramp, and then repeat the process all over again.
Once the truck starts to smoke (indicating that it’s about to break down), make your way over to the entrance to the Parking Lot and then pick up the red convertible that will have spawned there once more. Then, just repeat the process over and over again, making sure to hit as many zombies as possible and to keep an eye on your vehicle’s durability so that Frank isn’t stranded next to a bunch of hungry zombies.
It’s an incredibly arduous process that’s going to get boring very quickly, but it’s the fastest way to get the 53,000 total.The bonus side to this is that you’re awarded a lot of PP for killing these zombies, so it actually makes for a good way of levelling up. I’d recommend doing this achievement once you’ve finished the main game, but it does help get you from whatever level you finished that run at to Level 50.
If you’re using the Zombie Annihilator challenge as a way of levelling up, it’s worth grabbing Horror Novel 1 from The Sinister Read in
Entrance Plaza and Horror Novel 2 from Bachman’s Bookporium in Paradise Plaza to give yourself a 50 percent boost to PP from killing zombies.
All in all, doing this will take around 32 in-game hours,which equates to about three hours in real time. My main recommendation is to mute the game and then pop on some music, a podcast, or a long-winded YouTube essay to get you through the mind-numbing tedium. You do at least feel like a master by the end of it though.
Unlocking The Real Mega Buster
Once you’ve finally killed the required number of zombies, a notification will pop up letting you know that you’ve unlocked one of the game’s best weapons - the Real Mega Buster.
This Mega Man reference is apowerful firearm with 300 shots that spawns in the Security Roomonce you’ve completed the challenge. It’s capable of killing almost every enemy in just a few hits, which makes repeat playthroughs to get every survivor a breeze. It’s also the final part of the Mega Man outfit, as the other pieces are unlocked through challenges, minus the helmet that is found in Colby’s Movieland.
The Real Mega Bustercan be found opposite the blender that’s been added to the Security Room in Deluxe Remasterand will spawn whenever it runs out of ammo. You can’t stock up on it like you can the Small Chainsaw and other boss items, but one is really all you need since you’ll mainly be using it on boss enemies.
On PS5, you’ll also get a gold trophy for completing the Zombie Genocider challenge, which is a nice extra bit of recognition.
