The local pizzeria near my school, baseball field, and home growing up had two arcade machines in it. The first was baffling to me as I couldn’t imagine why someone would want to play golf on an arcade cabinet. Of course, I eventually came to love Golden Tee in college when I understood how golf actually worked. The second machine, however, was one of the coolest things I had ever seen because it scared me and also felt like an action movie. The House of the Dead was so far from what I was used to consuming in media that it felt sort of wrong to play it. Decades later, I’m happy to share this The House of the Dead Remake review with you all fresh off a healthy dose of nostalgia and zombie-killing mayhem.

Announced in 2021,  The House of the Dead Remake surprised me with its initial Switch exclusivity. In hindsight, it’s perfect for the console and a wonderful addition to my arcade-centric Switch library. Based on the rail shooter originally released in 1996, this remake doesn’t strive to be modern in its delivery. This is very much the game you knew and loved in the 90s. That’s a good thing too. There are plenty of zombie shooters today if you’re looking to play something modern. Instead, playing the game for my The House of the Dead Remake review was like traveling back to that pizzeria in the late 90s.

Funnily enough, I don’t remember a story at all from those younger days playing the game. If you don’t either, then don’t expect to find some masterclass narrative this time around. Instead, the setup is simple and straightforward. It’s a perfect approach for a game that really just wants you to shoot the undead. Something that was surprising to me was that your score actually dictates one of three endings you receive. If you can rack up over 62,000 points during your rampage, then you get a pretty cool closing scene.

There’s something a bit janky about translating arcade games to consoles. There isn’t quite that perfect control scheme, but you do have options. You can play with analog controls on the Joy-Cons or Pro Controller. This feels, as you would expect, the worst of all the options. You can also use gyro aiming with either a single or pair of Joy-Cons. I think you can get away with any of these options for the main story mode if you so choose.  The new Horde Mode, however, is really unplayable with analog controls.

I’d highly recommend the Horde Mode, which is a new addition to this remake. That said, I’d also recommend the gyro controls here. Additionally, I’d highly recommend playing the game in docked mode if you can. Here, you’ll get 60 frames per second, whereas the handheld mode is only 30 FPS.

With a second remake on the way for the game’s sequel, The House of the Dead Remake was a pleasure to play and something I anticipate I’ll return to around Halloween. You know, for the spooky vibes. I think it’s a fun game that translates well enough to the Switch but nostalgia is big here. If you don’t have a past with this game’s arcade beginnings, then it might not really click with you. That said, rail shooters are a blast, and growing up in the 90s has placed the genre in a special place in my heart.

I think in terms of scoring, a 7 out of 10 is fair for this The House of the Dead Remake review. If you get a chance to play the game, then let me know what you think of it in the comments!

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The House of the Dead Remake

$24.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Incredible arcade nostalgia
• Wonderful update to a classic
• Visually, this is quite a great callback to the 90s

Cons

• Limited gameplay options
• What you see is what you get