Overall – 50%
50%
Official Score
Night Slashers: Remake is more lifeless than its undead horde, taking the charm of the cult classic beat-em-up and burying it six feet under. For those looking to throw down, look back to the original release of Night Slashers – this remake’s not worth saving.
The night calls out once more with the release of Storm Trident and Forever Entertainment’s Night Slashers: Remake. Should players gear up for spooky season with this retro revival, or should the past stay buried – so to speak?
Night Slashers: Remake Review
For those who have yet to dive into Data East’s world of unspeakable horrors back in 90s arcades (1993 to be precise), Night Slashers has carved out a nice little nook for itself as a cult classic beat-em-up. It has even managed to bring in new cult members with a recent re-release on more modern platforms – just the thing for those who don’t want to lug a huge arcade machine home.
For fans of the Final Fight or Streets of Rage series, Night Slashers takes the side-scrolling formula and adds a heaping helping of ultra violence, gore, and supernatural magic. Choosing from radical heroes like Jake Hunter, Christopher Smith, Hong Hua Zhao, and Liu Feilin (making a new cameo in this version), players will embrace the darkness in Night Slashers as they set out to take down zombies, mutants, werewolves, and other threats that go bump in the night.
Of course, a beat-em-up is only as good as its move set and world, and Night Slashers absolutely delivers in that regard. Players can perform combos, grab, and slide, pull off special attacks, charge up for energy attacks, and even bury foes into the ground where they so rightly belong.
Finding a way to overcome its endless onslaught of foes throughout its seven stages keeps things heated without overstaying its welcome. For newcomers who have yet to brave these night terrors, players can expect their first run to clock in at a little less than an hour.
It’s just a shame that Night Slashers: Remake doesn’t quite live up to its legacy. One can see that something is off from the offset with its intro segment of a van crashing through a zombie horde, summoning at best the energy of a 90-year-old elderly driver.
While the characters and world have received a higher resolution glow-up, everything from the stilted animations (you can count the number of frames) to the bland user interface damns this release to hell. Put simply, Night Slashers: Remake is devoid of the charm of the original, feeling more lifeless than its undead threats.
Outside the main mode of Night Slashers, players can also set up a custom game with the parameters of their choosing. One can also tune into its music room, which features songs from the original and the remake. We hate to say it, but we greatly prefer the digitized tunes of the original release.
Night Slashers: Remake is more lifeless than its undead horde, taking the charm of the cult classic beat-em-up and burying it six feet under. For those looking to throw down, look back to the original release of Night Slashers – this remake’s not worth saving.
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