Dead Reset Review (PS5) – More Than Just Another Loop

Dead Reset is proof that we, as an audience, need to be ready for a return to the somewhat archaic age of Full Motion Video (FMV) games, but with a modern twist, dark, brooding story, and some genuinely impressive body horror that’ll leave you wretching one moment, intrigued the next, and laughing after.

If you’re not familiar with FMV games, they’re essentially interactive movies, where actors are on sets, and they act out full scenes that then get broken down and allow the player to control the story with a set of choices, effectively crafting their own adventure in a sandbox created by the developer and the talent.

Dead Reset may not do much to break this particular mould in the sense of gameplay, with the only gameplay on offer being a series of choices, but it does offer a unique aspect of the genre in the sense of the time loop mechanic. With the story surrounding Cole Mason, a kidnapped surgeon with no memory, idea of how he got to his new surroundings, or why he continually wakes up to the same group of people demanding an impromptu surgery on someone he doesn’t know, it’s easy to immediately get invested in the tale that Wales Interactive is attempting to tell.

Dead Reset Doesn’t Break the Mould, It Rewinds It

Throughout the three to four hour playtime, those choices you’re making will result in the progress of the story, or your grisly, visceral death, and you’d start the scene over, with the option of trying new choices to survive. It’s an integral part of the game, and is something that is not only referenced during the story between the actors, but ends up being explained in a new way, rather than a tired trope you’d expect in other sci-fi tales.

Talking of the actors, this is a mixed bag performance-wise, in all honesty. Thankfully, Cole Mason actor Daniel Thrace is continually proven to be the powerhouse amongst the cast, with a performance that could have easily ended up being schlocky and cartoonish, but he managed to rein it in and bring a nuanced take to an outlandish premise, and Lyndsey Craine is equally interesting to watch. The rest of the cast brings a mixed bag of performances, and depending on your choices, and therefore your exposure to them, it can be detracting at times.

Unlike the explanation behind the time loop, the story is far more generic, and one you’ll see coming a mile away. Dead Reset does boast multiple endings, four in fact, each with enough of a difference to feel unique, but the ‘meat and bones’ of the story is largely the same, with it clearly pushing you in the direction needed. One shocking omission from the game, and one that’ll annoy many, is the lack of a chapter select. Upon completing my first run through (I played through twice), I went to find the chapter select to make a different ending choice to see what happened, but couldn’t find it. Hopefully, this is something that gets added in a future update.

Dead Reset

Luke Addison

Trapped in a terrifying death-loop, surgeon Cole Mason is kidnapped and brought to an underwater facility, forced to operate on a patient to extract an evolving parasitic horror. Dead Reset is a blood-soaked interactive horror, where each death brings you closer to the truth.

Narrative

Consequences

Performances

Audio

Atmosphere

Summary

Clearly influenced by sci-fi legends like The Thing and Alien, Dead Reset will have you neck deep in body horror, blood, and time-looping shenanigans. Mixed bag performances and a lack of consequences to your actions are a drawback, but the atmosphere and audio will draw you back in. The completionists will love the tracker available, and no matter the ending, you’ll always be wondering if you could have done something differently.

HOURS PLAYED: 6
PLAYED ON: PS5

3.5

Dead Reset is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.

For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out our review of Hell is Us, or why Serial World was the most fun we had at Gamescom this year.

Luke Addison

Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!