Dead Reset Review (Switch eShop)

Developer Wales Interactive is back with another FMV game, this time joining forces with movie studio Dark Rift Horror to present an Alien-inspired sci-fi romp with Dead Reset. Much like previous titles such as The Bunker and Five Dates, this latest effort has you make key choices at frequent intervals to influence the story and, in this case, maybe survive the horrors ahead.

Spoiler: You won’t survive. Y’see, as the title suggests, Dead Reset is set within a time loop, with protagonist Cole Mason reliving the same moments over and over again with each subsequent death – sort of like Edge of Tomorrow, then. Taking place within a dilapidated sci-fi lab of sorts, Cole discovers that a series of experiments has led to the birth of a deadly, gruesome monster; one that emerges from the chest of a helpless victim, no less. Remind you of anything?

Choices made throughout the story have an effect on how the supporting characters view Cole, and these include the headstrong sidekick Fearne, the brash, trigger-happy mercenary Slade, the cold, calculating scientist Magson, and more. From a morality standpoint, it’s often obvious what kind of choice needs to be made, but Dead Reset wisely keeps you on your toes by throwing in a few surprising punishments here and there – many of which result in your bloody death.

Make no mistake, Dead Reset is pretty grim, with blood and guts flying all over the place. However, many of the death scenes became quite funny in a “Gosh, I won’t be doing that again” kind of way. Pacing remains fairly solid, meaning you’re not waiting around too long for the story to get going again upon each reset.

Furthermore, through the magic of storytelling, not every loop sends you right back to the beginning, because jeez, that would be terrible. Instead, you hit natural checkpoints along the way which make each subsequent death feel slightly less devastating. Overall, Dead Reset tells a compelling story that kept me locked in for its duration, and there’s definitely value in tracking down each of the four endings, along with the *checks PR notes* 337 unique scenes available.

As for general production, the image quality is superb throughout. The set design is decent, though you can definitely tell that it’s low-budget at times; the valves on the doors look like they’ve been carved out of tin cans. The performances are also a little mixed, with Daniel Thrace and Lyndsey Craine doing an admirable job throughout, while Andrina Carroll often struggles to sell the motivations of antagonist Magson.

It’s a Switch release, although those playing on Switch 2 will need to, uh… consider not for now. The game frequently freezes, sometimes indefinitely, and although Wales Interactive is fully aware of this, the team is currently unable to apply a fix thanks to the lack of dev kits. Performance on Switch 1, mind you, is mostly fine. I experienced one of the aforementioned freezes, but it wasn’t a particularly lengthy one.