Dead Reset

Lore & Background

Dead Reset follows Cole Mason, a surgeon who awakens in a research facility with no memory. He is ordered by facility director Magson to operate on a patient named Amanda, but the operation reveals an alien creature that kills everyone in the room. Upon dying, Mason loops back to the moment he wakes up. After several loops, he convinces the staff of the time loop, and they successfully sedate and remove the creature, though Amanda dies. Mason learns the facility studies a time displacement machine invented by Magson, and that his contact with it causes the loops. The creature escapes containment, kills engineer Cooper, and damages power conduits, trapping the survivors. Magson reveals the facility is 10,000 meters beneath the ocean, with an escape pod arriving in two hours, but the time displacement machine is malfunctioning and will destroy the facility in one hour. Mason discovers he was a test subject of the machine, which causes memory loss and DNA alteration. The story branches into multiple endings depending on whether head researcher Fearne survives and on Mason's final choices.

Reader's Guide

Dead Reset received mixed reviews on Metacritic. Bloody Disgusting found the story engaging and praised the visuals, practical effects, and acting, though they noted the limited gameplay would likely appeal more to horror film fans than hardcore gamers. Nintendo Life enjoyed the gory death scenes and praised the story and production design, but was less impressed by the acting and found the low budget distracting, also reporting bugs on the Switch. Nintendo World Report, reviewing a preview, said they broadly enjoyed the early part of the story and praised the acting. PC Gamer, after playing a demo, called it 'an utter riot' and compared it to Alien, The Evil Dead, and Stargate SG-1. The game's multiple endings and streamer mode, which allows livestream viewers to influence outcomes, are notable features.

Did You Know?

• Dead Reset was released on September 11, 2025 for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch.
• The game includes a 'streamer mode' that allows people watching a livestream to influence outcomes.
• Developer Dark Rift Horror was founded in York, England in 2015.
• The creature in the game can predict all of Cole Mason's moves during combat.