Remakes are a fun way to play classic games or relive favourites with new features and polish. This game shouldn’t have been revived.
“House of the Dead” has arcade-style gameplay, original boss battles, and B-movie charm.
These arcade games are difficult, but they keep you coming back for more.
I hoped the remake would bring the original game’s charm into the 21st century and enchant a new generation of gamers eager to investigate Dr. Curien’s mansion and end his zombie experiments.
I can’t fault it for trying, but it left me wanting.
These games are light gun games, in which infrared beams shot from specialized controllers give the illusion of shooting virtual enemies. Adapting this system to current-gen consoles required a major overhaul, which hurts the gameplay.
“House of the Dead Remake” on Switch features a number of control schemes, including one that uses the Joy-Cons’ built-in gyroscopes to try and recreate the aim-and-shoot mechanics of the original, but aiming feels clunky and sluggish, which is the last thing you want when hordes of the undead are chasing you.
To kill enemies, you must tilt the controllers awkwardly and frequently reset the aiming reticle.
Even though you have more lives to start with and can buy more with your final score, the game’s poor controls will make progressing through it a real ordeal.
The game is faithful to the original series in many ways. This remake polished up the game but kept the cheesy B-movie feel that “HotD” fans love.
The game lacks music. The remake features new songs that pay tribute to the original themes without improving the score.
Most tracks have an offbeat, chiptune quality that, while fitting given the game’s retro roots, left me unsatisfied.
There are rumours of a remake of the second “HotD” game, my favourite.
There aren’t many legal ways to play the original version of the game unless you have a Sega Saturn.
