Analysis of HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake

HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake is the new version of the game released by SEGA in 1997 for the arches. The classic “on rails” shooter comes to xbox practically weeks after its release on Nintendo Switch after announcing what was perhaps one of the shortest exclusives in gaming.

Thus, the owners of a Xbox we already have in our hands HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remakefamous title of zombies which coexisted over time with resident Evil. The title now receives some improvements and changes in the way of playing to adapt it to modern gaming standards. Although we already foresee that they are not enough.

Welcome to the mansion of madness

The story of HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake It was never his forte. Yet, but at the time, it was a tempting excuse to spend long sessions in the “little machines” of our favorite arcades. The story arrives as it was in the original, with the player (or players) assuming the role of Thomas Rogan there G. They are both AMS agents assigned to the curian mansion save Sophiathe fiancée of one of them, and incidentally locate some scientists who disappeared on the scene.

Doctor Curien is a mad scientist who manufactures heinous human experiments, turning them into despicable creatures straight out of the darkest nightmares. These monsters now roam the mansion freely, so we’ll have to fight our way through their ranks by pulling the trigger again and again in order to find Sophie.

How to play HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake?

HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake is a shooter on rails in which we only have to focus on shooting the enemies that appear on the screen as accurately as possible. scrolling is automatic our ability to explore is therefore extremely limited since we have to settle for where the game takes us like a roller coaster car. It’s a very old game concept which may shock the youngest. However, it will cause quite a lot of nostalgic feelings in “older” players.

Even so, at times (and if we’re fast enough) we can change the course of the journey and choose between several paths. This will lead us to meet other situations and monsters and perhaps the strange scientist that we can save. This mechanic works in favor of its replayability and prolongs the life of a title which, on the other hand, is quite rare as was the original adventure designed to be enjoyed for a while in the arcades. The story of HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake is composed of 4 chapters with their corresponding final bosses, so we can easily finish it in an hour. Additionally, we have 10 continues to finish the adventure, with the advantage that this time there is no need to put a coin in the slot. Of course, when we run out of “keep on going“The game is over and we will have to start over.

Same mechanics as the original title

As we mentioned before, we must take care to defeat as many zombies and creatures as possible, alone or with a friend. At times we also have to save several scientists scattered around the mansion. These are always in dangerous situations, about to be attacked by an evil creature, so we must be quick and precise when shooting. If we do it correctly, the released character will give us an extra life to continue fighting. On the contrary, if we fail to save them, this health point will be subtracted and this could greatly complicate the development of the adventure. These are not easy situations to solve, so we will have to use our lynx reflexes to solve them.

Also during the development of the phases, we must pay attention to the interactive objects which are scattered on the stage. If we are smart enough we can destroy them and they will reward us with healing items, special items, higher score, activate a new mechanism or cause an explosion to help us against enemies.

Horde mode and some more added

Few new releases include this title. Among the most notable additions is the horde mode. This is not a typical horde mode where we have to resist the onslaught of enemies in one place. It is a modality that will allow us to play the main adventure but with a much greater possibility zombies. It is clearly designed to be played after familiarizing yourself with the classic mode and, if possible, having learned all the paths and secrets it contains, because it is a very demanding mode and intended for more experienced players.

The other additions are focused on setting up the user experience as completely as possible. For example, we can adjust reticle speed as well as its color to leave everything to our taste. Some levels of self-taught for the more inexperienced. It is also possible change blood color creatures to lighten the gory tone of the title a little and it can be enjoyed by the little ones in the house. But little to say about it. In our opinion, we believe that a golden opportunity was missed do something more powerful, interesting and that really surprises the player. And that was not the case. The veteran gamer will have their longing for nostalgia fulfilled, but for newer players, nothing will be enticing enough to venture into this project. Even the graphics aren’t what they should have (or could have) been.

A very conformist remake

The game looks better than the original, obviously, but the team of megapixel studio could have gotten something more powerful, no doubt. We’re talking about a game from over 20 years ago and a current generation of consoles and gamers who have seen things like the remake of Resident Evil 2 and 3to name just a few titles zombies technically flawless. The models are smoother, the textures are more detailed and the light is more “realistic” than the original. However, this HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake It looks like something from a few generations ago. It doesn’t look bad at all but I think the label “remake“should give you the right to do something that looks “new” and this game doesn’t.

As for the sound little to add. are kept original melodies that have been remastered. Now they sound more candy cane, more metallic. Some of them sound shrill than the original and can be a bit uncomfortable, but the truth is that they are at an acceptable level. Not so much the sound effects of the shots which I don’t think sound as loud as they should. One thing they decided to keep out of sheer nostalgia is the Beep “Recharge!” when we run out of bullets in the magazine, which will eventually ring in our brains until we go to sleep. We come back to the same thing: the most nostalgic will shed a little tear of joy but the truth is that, when you have several games, it’s really annoying to hear the same warning every 3 seconds.

THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake, a genre on the verge of extinction

HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake It’s another one of those wasted opportunities to do something bigger. Let’s not forget that the original game is one of the great arcade classics in video game history. However, on this occasion, it seems that they used this SEGA license simply not to let it die. On the one hand, it’s nice to remind gamers of a title that was among the most played machines in the arcade. But on the other hand, his return is not worthy of such a version conformist which contributes little to the kind of shooter and some zombies.

If you are nostalgic and you were a regular player of this title, this HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake he can strike a chord with you. Myself, while playing, I dreamed of those afternoons with my older brother shooting cooperatively while queuing behind the backs of spectators. However, to be honest, I would never introduce this game to my 12 year old nephews. Even more so after playing titles like Cod, fortnite oh dying lightfor example.

HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake was analyzed in a Xbox series X for Xbox area using a code provided by your distributor, Entertainment forever.