The Best House Of The Dead Games

The House of the Dead is a horror arcade light shooter. It has you blasting through undead creatures that have broken free from a secret lab beneath the Curien Mansion. The game spawned numerous sequels, spinoffs, and even some bad live action adaptations.

Each game brings something new to the table even when it takes away a feature that fans have grown accustomed to over the years. These include branching paths, rescue minigames, and weapons that only get more efficient at dispatching the growing number of undead. So which games did it best?

10

The House Of The Dead Remake

A Corpse Without A Soul

Pros

• Enemy models can be viewed in gallery
• Updated graphics offer a unique visual

Cons

• Bullets have no impact.
• All enemies crumple to the ground instead of having death animations
• The soundtrack imitates the classic beats making the lack of the original soundtrack more evident

The remake of the original The House Of The Dead game pales in comparison to the rest of the series. Despite updating the graphics, the lack of bullet impact, unique death animations, and the original soundtrack make it seem hollow when viewed side by side with the original.

The remake has a few interesting features that make it worth it on sale at least. You can get a closer look at all the 3D models through the gallery, and you are even shown a map of the Curien Mansion’s layout.

9

The House Of The Dead 4 Special

An Immersive Arcade Booth

Pros

• Offers an epilogue to The House of the Dead 4
• Moving chairs and other effects make the experience more immersive
• Old music tracks remixed

Cons

• Shortest game in the series
• Special cabinets make the full experience exclusive to in-person players
• Availability of the cabinets is limited
• Getting the good ending can be unfair

The House of the Dead 4 Special is one of the shortest games in the series. It makes up for it by being immersive. Included in only select arcades, this cabinet spins your chair around, blows air on you, and gives you only one health bar to make it to the end.

This is not a retread of the fourth game, but an extension to the plot. With the Magician set to return, it’s up to Kate and an older agent G to stop even more waves of undead from being released upon the world. Even if you did great throughout the game, there is a chance that your final quick time event will ruin the entire playthrough.

8

The House Of The Dead Ex

Can Your Love Defeat The Undead?

Pros

• Three different gameplay styles
• Every minigame offers a unique experience
• Players can choose which games to play to progress
• Failing one minigame makes it easier if you attempt it a second time in a row

Cons

• The full experience requires two players

The House of the Dead ex may not be a traditional game in the series, but it is loads of fun. This is a perfect game for couples since you need to work together to help Zobio and Zobiko escape the lab and find true love together by completing missions.

This can mean catching apples, taking pictures of the undead, or doing some stage management for a concert. This is as over the top as you can get in the series and it pays off. The arcade cabinet has a variety of gameplay mechanics that make use of buttons, pedals, and the signature light gun.

7

The House Of The Dead 3

Fun With A Boomstick

Pros

• The shotgun is the most satisfying weapon in the series
• Freedom to choose which order to play each stage
• The best gore effects in the series
• Introduced the Mystery Man plotline

Cons

• Better voice acting takes away the campiness of the series
• Lack of lore for the EFI Research Facility
• No survivors to rescue
• Some bosses are downright token takers

Trade in your pistols for pump shotguns in The House of the Dead 3. The pumps in the arcade cabinet provide a more immersive way of reloading. This new gameplay style helps compensate for the numerous zombies that appear on the screen at once.

There are no more survivors that need saving. Instead, players take turns saving each other for some bonus life. You can also choose what order to tackle stages in, though it doesn’t change much. This entry also has more of a factory setting with labs and abandoned offices.

6

The House Of The Dead: Overkill

A Semi-Canon Spinoff

Pros

• Grindhouse style fits the horror theme
• Multiple weapons to choose from
• Almost broke the record for most curse words in a game
• Survivor rescue minigames return

Cons

• Feels disconnected from the rest of the series
• Weapons feel slower

One of the oddest games in the series, The House of the Dead Overkill takes you back to G’s rookie days in the midst of a zombie outbreak in Lousianna. Teaming up with Isaac Washington, a cop on the hunt for his father’s killer, they chase after a common foe to discover the cause of the mutations.

This game gives you multiple weapons to cycle through and even brings back the survivor-saving mechanic. Visually, this game has a distinct grindhouse look to it with grainy effects and a tinted view.

5

The House Of The Dead

Gothic Horror And Experiments Gone Wrong

Pros

• Gothic setting and designs
• The best final boss in The House of the Dead series
• A great soundtrack to kill zombies to
• Branching paths depending on survivor rescues and secret passageways

Cons

• Has never had a proper port
• Some effects feel dated

With gothic architecture and a creepy manor, the original House Of The Dead is a fantastic entry in the series. AMS Agents, Rogan and G, remain some of the more iconic characters in the series as they enter the Curien Mansion to stop the undead invasion.

Some of the more iconic bosses in this include Chariot, whose body armor falls apart the more you shoot it, and the Magician who is a creepy final boss. With multiple pathways and rewards for saving the scientists, the original game has plenty of replay value.

4

The House Of The Dead: Scarlet Dawn

Welcome To Scarecrow Manor

Pros

• Modernized weapon selection screen
• Mixes old and new bosses together
• Brings back the campy voice acting
• Shed light on the Mystery Man’s identity
• Multiple quick time events including survivor rescues, partner rescues, and environmental destruction that impacts difficulty

Cons

• Some bosses feel too scripted
• Zombie designs often blend with each other
• No gore effects

The House Of The Dead: Scarlet Dawn is a midquel taking place between the fourth and third game. This entry has more zombies than ever before and even lets you choose what weapons to bring in at the start of each level. There are even moments where you save survivors like the good old days.

Most of the arcade cabinets for Scarlet Dawn have a great aesthetic and blasts of air that make you feel like you’re taking real damage. Even the campy voice acting is back, along with a few bosses from the past.

3

The House Of The Dead 4

It’s The End Of The World

Pros

• Fast-paced action
• The soundtrack is one of the best in the series
• Bosses are bigger than before
• More zombies on the screen at once
• Grenades and gun shakes add more variety
• Revisits old areas from the second game

Cons

• Shaking the machine gun can feel clunky
• Survivors are gone
• Zombies burn instead of losing limbs

The House of the Dead 4 is one of the more chaotic entries in the series. A shotguns and pistols are ditched for an SMG and grenades. The game offers a few quick time events where you need to shake the gun to get free and a new boss system.

Bosses now take damage by hitting weak spots that open up throughout each fight. Get the bar to zero to stop their attacks. While this game gets rid of the iconic gore, it does hit you with nostalgia as you revisit the final stage from the second game. It also has a more cataclysmic level design.

2

The House Of The Dead 2

Zombies In Italy

Pros

• Zombies designs are the most memorable in the series
• Bosses all have unique weaknesses that require a shift in playstyle
• Bad voice acting adds to the charm
• Old soundtracks remixed
• Unique survivor rescue moments that result in branching pathways

Cons

• Worst voice acting in the series

The second game in the series is one of the more memorable ones in the series. With voice acting so bad, it’s good, and lines that propel some of the more serious moments into absurdity. The setting changes from the gothic Curien Mansion to the streets of Italy.

Zombies get a major glow-up in this entry and are some of the best-looking ones in the entire series. The bosses are also highly memorable, from the aquatic Hierophant to the chainsaw-wielding Strength.

1

The House Of The Dead 2 And 3 Return

A Port Worthy Of It’s Own Reputation

Pros

• Adds unlockable skins and weapons
• Has multiple modes to choose from
• You can change the difficulty
• You can modify the blood color between red and green
• Takes advantage of the Wii Mote for the most accurate House of the Dead port yet

Cons

• The game is locked to the Nintendo Wii

The House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return is one of the best ports for the series. Making use of the Wii’s motion controls, shooting zombies feels accurate, engaging, and similar to the arcade gameplay. You can also switch between the red blood and the green blood.

In addition to both games, you can also unlock different modifiers that change the experience. This can mean playing as different characters, using a weapon other than the pistol, or multiplying your score. Both games have alternate modes as well such as boss raids, time attack, and a difficulty slider to keep you coming back for more.