House of the Dead arcade returns with epic 85-inch VR setup
A new House of the Dead arcade game is on the way. Sega Amusements is teasing “House of the Dead: Reawakened,” a VR shooter housed in a Gothic mansion-style cabinet with an 85-inch screen, and it will debut at the IAAPA Expo in November, Video Games Chronicle reported Oct. 1.
Sega Amusements posted a teaser for the game on YouTube. Attractions Magazine first reported the cabinet’s specifications, according to VGC. The IAAPA Expo is the annual trade show of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
Inside the House of the Dead arcade cabinet
The cabinet is built to look like the front of a small Gothic manor. An 85-inch screen plays the role of the mansion’s front door, and two 43-inch vertical screens on either side act as shuttered windows. Once players step into the VR area, those screens combine to “create a jump-scare reveal,” per the Attractions Magazine report cited by VGC.
Animated lighting, a working clock tower and environmental audio add to the haunted-house effect. Each player wears a VR headset with individual 2.1-channel audio and holds a gun controller with haptic recoil. The game can be played solo or by two players in co-op.
What we know about the gameplay
“Reawakened” includes three missions and was built in Unreal Engine 5, VGC reported. The publication compared the setup to Sega’s earlier VR arcade shooter “Alpha Ops VR Strike.” Sega has not yet shared story details, difficulty options or pricing for arcade operators.
What’s next
Sega Amusements will show the game at IAAPA Expo in November, where operators and press are likely to get their first hands-on look. The last main entry in the series, “The House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn,” hit arcades in 2018, according to VGC, which makes “Reawakened” the first new House of the Dead arcade release in eight years.
For more on Sega’s history, read our tribute to Hideki Sato, architect of Sega’s consoles, and our look at how “Yakuza Kiwami 3” revives classic Sega Game Gear games. Find more in our gaming news section.
Reporting from Video Games Chronicle and Attractions Magazine contributed to this story.