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The House of the Dead Remake is finally here. Here is a roundup of the critics' The House of the Dead Remake Review Scores.
The House of the Dead Remake Review Scores: 58
The House of the Dead franchise is one of the greatest rail shooter series in the history of gaming. The House of the Dead was the first title in that series, which was first released on arcades in December 1997, almost 25 years ago. The House of the Dead Remake, obviously, is a remade version of that arcade classic. We've seen how The House of the Dead games could transition well from arcades to consoles before. But is this latest outing something that achieves the same goals and fun factor? As a Nintendo Switch exclusive, did it do what it has set out to do? Check out the House of the Dead Remake Review Scores below.
Sadly, it seems that The House of the Dead Remake failed to meet the expectations of critics. It currently holds only a 58 Metascore on Metacritic. There are a lot of complaints about this version of the game, and we're a bit bummed that things didn't work out well in what could have been a nice trip back in memory lane.
The game's only positive review came from the folks at Nintendo World Report, which gave the game an 8.5/10. In their review, they say: “THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake is precisely that, a remake of one of the most iconic and best rail-shooters of all time. In terms of core gameplay and story, there isn’t much; however, the touch-ups are all that was needed for a perfect refresh. To add to this, the gyro controls are surprisingly great and the best way to play. Grab yourself a joy-con and a willing partner, and shoot your way through bullet-hell in THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD.”
Sadly, not everyone's satisfied with the “refresh” that the game received in this remake. In fact, many feel that this game is more of a remaster, rather than a remake. The game's lack of innovation and add new stuff and improvements dragged the game down in the mud.
The game being a rail-shooter through and through is a problem. The game can't be played on handheld mode, making it a game that Switch Lite owners should avoid. Meanwhile, other rail-shooters that have been added on the Switch library, like Gal Gun Double Peace, have it on reverse. There's no joycon-as-a-light-gun control scheme, but that's more workable, as more people would probably be willing to play rail-shooters with their joysticks used for aiming controls. The House of the Dead Remake went all in on the nostalgia factor of bringing back on-rail shooters, but didn't consider how modern day players actually play on-rail shooters on the Switch. For that, it's been heavily criticized.
God is a Geek gave the game a fair 7/10, saying in their review that: “The House of the Dead: Remake doesn’t reinvent the wheel, is brief in length, and does have some niggly control issues, but this is a welcome addition to the library of any Switch owner who enjoys on-rails lightgun shooters.”
GamersRD gave the game a 6.5/10 for their review, in which they said: “The House of the Dead: Remake takes us back to the arcade era with new improved graphics but keeping the essence of the original title. It is a game that entertains for many hours, especially in company. The new additions are insufficient and it doesn't motivate replayability at all.”
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PC Mag's score is 6/10. They say in their review that: “The House of the Dead: Remake gives the classic zombie-shooting game a frightfully fresh coat of paint, but its arcade roots create new problems as a home console release.”
IGN also gave the cheesy game a 6/10. Their review was mostly positive, but they did say that: “The House of the Dead: Remake brings players back to the terrifying events of the original 1997 rail-shooter series, now ratcheted up in frights with new graphic and gameplay changes to suit modern gaming standards. House of the Dead: Remake features multiple endings and 1-2 player co-op play.”
Metro gave the game a very scathing 4/10, one of the lowest scores the game received. Their review criticizes the game: “A bad idea poorly realised and while the original coin-op retains its campy charm this remake is rendered pointless by the unsatisfying controls and glitchy performance.” They concluded their review by saying: “The same team is apparently also working on The House Of The Dead 2 but even if they address the technical problems of this first game it’s hard to understand what the point is supposed to be. Not when there are so many other Sega classics, of the same era and beyond, that don’t have a control system that’s impossible to recreate without additional hardware.
Even if this was a technically more accomplished remake it’d still be a fundamentally flawed idea. Given how badly put together it is, it’s hard not to see The House Of The Dead as one Sega franchise that should probably have stayed (un)dead.”
Ouch.
Conclusion: Is The House of the Dead Remake Worth It?
Had it been marketed as a remaster like what it actually is, critics probably would have given this game a better score. But even then, the decision to completely remove and handheld support is a baffling one. Had they allowed the game to be played as a modern rail-shooter without forcing motion controls and joy-con aiming controls down people's throats, the reception probably would have been warmer. Unless you're really itching to play The House of the Dead again on your Switch, then it might be a better idea to just wait for the sequel to come out. In case it gets cancelled, then we're sure this game would be heavily discounted by then – that's when you pick that up.
