Atari has returned to their classic Haunted House game with a major facelift and other than the story it doesn’t resemble the original title.
When Atari isn’t Recharging their classic titles they are doing them again from the ground up and that’s what they’ve done with Haunted House. You play as Lyn, a female teen who’s uncle has vanished inside this haunted place and you’ve been tasked by one of the many ghosts to find him but also put together a magic vase that will entrap the other restless spirits. The game features procedurally generated stages so no two runs will be the same. As you complete objectives you move from room to room collecting powerups and solving puzzles to unlock the next door. Guided by a friendly ghost, you must use the tools he provides to disable and eliminate the other ghosts. From what I’ve played, this is the ONLY friendly ghost in the game. Each time Lyn is knocked out, the game starts over with an entirely new map, so try not to let that happen.
Gameplay looked like you were playing through the old Scooby Doo cartoons but with actual ghosts instead of people wearing costumes. The scare factor is minimal so this is one that can be enjoyed with the family as I wouldn’t consider the jumpscares to be jumpscares. Sure a ghost may jump out of a painting or two and try to grab you but the surprise is minimal. Controls are simple to learn but the tutorial feels like it takes longer than necessary because of this. The graphics for this remastered Atari classic look better than any recent remaster or recharged title I’ve seen with vibrant colors and immense details. The stealth mechanics are great without feeling overpowered as are the flashlight combat ability. Overall we found the game far exceeded our expectations and look forward to playing it again.
