The House of the Dead: Remake was meant to be played with motion controls instead of sticks, which is an understatement; this is a huge disappointment.
The sense of nostalgia and The House of the Dead: Remake goes hand in hand. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, SEGA was a leading game developer, publishing several games, some of which we still cherish. One of SEGA’s most popular games was The House of the Dead.
The game was released in 1996, when stories about entities from the afterlife, like Resident Evil, dominated the survival horror genre. Panzer Dragoon, Virtua Cop, and The House of the Dead are some of the best action games today.
Those games were wacky, primitive, and ridiculously fun to play! Since I’ve played the original on PC, I was eager to see how MegaPixel Studios, a Polish studio, will improve upon it on the Switch, and I was thrilled when it was revealed. Sadly, however, The House of the Dead: Remake is significantly worse.
Surprisingly, I can recall precisely what this game was like. To be more specific, it’s graphics. However, my memories are clouded by the fact that the original was considerably plainer and duller. If you’re dealing with a zombie, you can shoot bits of flesh or body parts or drill right through the monster’s chest.
Now that I’ve seen the original game, I must admit that the developers have made some good visual improvements. It appears better than its predecessor, but it’s also a lot more polished overall. As a result, the game’s mood, which is more in line with today’s zombie horror, was also altered. This game’s surroundings are more realistic, complete, and attractive.
There is a lot of reference to Capcom’s Resident Evil in The House of the Dead: Remake, which was a great hit when released. AMS agents Rogan and G are deployed inside Dr. Curien’s laboratory to investigate an outbreak that has created a horde of deadly creatures. They are about to encounter a wicked doctor and his insane experiments, armies of zombies, and creatures drawn from every corner of society.
To go from the shattered estate’s courtyard to the laboratories below, you’ll need to rely on your trusty service weapon to blast through four chapters filled with zombies, Freddy Krueger-style monsters, and other terrifying creatures. I’m not even going to pretend this narrative makes any sense. All four levels are included in the game, so you can expect to play for roughly 30 minutes.
The original and the horde game modes are available in The House of the Dead: Remake. First, you will come across a typical number of opponents on the screen, and then throughout the campaign, you have to shoot roughly six or seven creatures instead of just a few.
Though we can now target multiple monsters at once, the fight becomes more exciting, making the gameplay more challenging, as it may be exhausting at times. Players who plan to spend a lot of time playing this game will be pleased to learn that the developers have included a few new guns and the armory itself.
The gameplay is relatively simple. Zombies attack in prearranged patterns, and we must kill them all to progress. Your mission is to rescue some scientists who are set to be eaten by zombies in each scenario. If we rescue them, they could even offer us a first-aid package as a thank you.
New secrets, enemies, and captives are only accessible by discovering several hidden passages. There will be a variety of monsters lurking around every corner, and you must act quickly to avoid being wounded by them. It will tumble to the ground whenever you aim at an enemy’s weak spot. Bosses have movement patterns and weaknesses, too.
Age has taken its toll on The House of the Dead: Remake. Here, everything has been reworked from the ground up in 3D. The creatures’ and settings’ 3D models. Everything has a much more pleasing appearance now, aesthetically speaking. Then, we’re dealing with a Nintendo Switch game, and we’re enraged by trailers that promised us visual awe.
To play, you must use the same controls as in the original version. For example, the opening that loops at the beginning, rail shooter gameplay, enemy positions, and hidden locations are all the same in this game.
We’re back on familiar terrain. In contrast, the new soundtrack fails to impress, whether in the reworked music or even the Sound HUD, which is as irritating as possible. On the other hand, the visual HUD is a disappointment and doesn’t match the original.
Sadly, the gyro controls don’t function well, which is devastating to the whole experience. To begin, aim your JoyCon at the screen and start shooting. The controller floats off into the ether practically immediately after you aim it at the screen, leaving you racing to re-center it with hordes of zombies on your tail. Re-centering yourself is possible, but it’s not a process you want to spend your attention on during an arcade action game.
It’s also ridiculous that you’ll have to hit it almost as much as the gunshot button. With a Pro controller, you can also use conventional aiming, which is a bit more stable but still a touch shaky. At least the aiming reticle doesn’t wander off during a boss fight.
This is an unsatisfactory method of engaging in a game where shooting firearms at zombies was the primary source of excitement. In terms of mimicking it, JoyCon’s pointers do a great job. Although the controller has a worse feeling, you won’t be tempted to hurl it while playing.
The House of the Dead: Remake was meant to be played with motion controls instead of sticks, which is an understatement; this is a huge disappointment. As long as you lower the level to Normal or Easy, you should be able to finish the four chapters without spending any of your ten credits.
There is an easy-to-input cheat code for those who don’t like having to reload their weapon constantly, eliminating the need for reloading entirely and making it possible to fire and refocus without the unpleasant RELOAD message ringing in your ear. When you’re chasing your aim around the screen, that’s one less thing to worry about.
Even though the game has improved visually, it fell short of my expectations based on what was displayed before its release. The major flaw with The House of the Dead: Remake is that it is a poor replica of the original in terms of presentation.
One of the most significant issues with the remake is that the low-poly visuals of the original have been replaced with a more modern design that completely removes any individuality from the game. On the other hand, the game isn’t as great in terms of presentation. Nintendo Switch can deliver considerably more full-bodied, large, and complex games.
Multiplayer, however, is still a good feature, and the game adjusts to it well. Even while competing, you’re still playing as a team, simply attempting to out-score your opponents. You may not be able to aid him much if you don’t fire the zombie’s ax at him now and again. I would have just played the game once and never returned had it not had multiplayer.
However, even if you start it now, it will have you playing for a long time after discovering the courses and places of zombies and the like. Not only does The House of the Dead: Remake have difficulties with framerate, but it may also be glitchy at times. In rare cases, the monsters may suddenly become utterly brain-dead and remain still, as if they were waiting for their time to act so that you can blast them into existence.
It would have been an easy recommendation if The House of the Dead: Remake had been under better control. Regardless, I believe the Nintendo Switch got the wrong end of the stick here, with sluggish FPS and sluggish controls. When it comes to this game, you’d be better off waiting for an updated version on another platform or, at the very least, for a patch to be released for it.
If you’ve played The House of the Dead: Remake and are looking to try more games on the Switch, check out our Nintendo Switch Games section for the latest releases and reviews.
