Remothered: Tormented Fathers Review

I grew up watching tons of horror movies and one of my favorite times of the year is around Halloween. It’s only natural that spooky games are some of my favorites as well, instantly drawn to games like Castlevania on the NES and, later on, Resident Evil on the PlayStation. There are a bunch of different styles of games that fall into this genre, with some focusing purely on action, others on survival horror, and in recent years some that prioritize hiding and stealth instead of straight up combat. Remothered: Tormented Fathers for the Switch falls into the latter category, so right off the bat it’s not going to be as mainstream as some other titles. Add in some janky animations, odd characters, and less than stellar acting and you get a game that some are sure to adore while others will grow tired of in a matter of hours.

As a longtime reviewer of games (since 1995), it’s hard not to instantly hone in on all of the problems that crop up while playing. As I began playing Remothered, a litany of issues instantly flooded into my brain. The graphics are subpar and the character models are downright ugly with laughably bad animations. The voice acting stuck out as so bad it’s good and the main character you play as, Rosemary, bears a striking resemblance to Clarice from Silence of the Lambs. As I began moving the character around I felt like I was walking in molasses. Even while running she doesn’t move very quickly and she quickly starts wheezing as she gasps for breath. Perhaps it’s because she’s a heavy-duty smoker, but as a game that focuses on stealth and hiding I found controlling her was somewhat of a chore. Very early on there’s a sequence where you meet a caretaker nurse who welcomes you into the mansion and it was simply maddening how slow she moved and how long it took to walk from the entrance to the office on an upper floor. This game definitely doesn’t respect the player’s time.

You’ll immediately be introduced to an eccentric old man named Richard Felton. It’s obvious he’s hiding details about his daughter’s disappearance. It’s up to you to figure out what really happened and you’ll eventually be able to explore around the house where there are plenty of hiding places. You’ll have to avoid running into the psychotic old man and it’s not long before you discover that not all is as it seems, especially when it comes to the wife of the house! The gameplay revolves around searching for clues and items to solve small puzzles to open up new doors and gain access to other areas. You can hear Dr. Felton stomping around in other rooms and you’ll want to try to remain hidden as best you can. If he does spot you it’s usually best to run away and try to hide from him. You do have diversion items you can pick up to try and lure him away and even trap him for a time in other areas of the house. This cat and mouse gameplay is fun for the first couple of hours, but I grew tired of this conceit rather quickly.

Put simply, the production values just aren’t to a level that I’d have liked to see. If this were a $10 game it might be understandable, but the title is retailing for $30 on the eShop, which seems awfully expensive given what’s here. I appreciate the effort that went into the sound design, but even that is a bit overplayed. The surround sound was supposed to help me pinpoint where the enemies were located, but many times it sounded as if they were in the next room and I’d hide, only to find out that they were actually an entire floor above or below me! Repeated phrases over and over again from Dr. Felton drained any entertainment value after a few hours.

With clunky controls, somewhat boring gameplay mechanics, and a plot that tries too hard to be mysterious, Remothered simply didn’t land with me. That’s not to say it won’t with you, and I’d say if you have a soft spot in your heart for horror games, this one might be worth checking out. For everyone else, I’d recommend picking up a game like Outlast for a more enjoyable experience.

Craig Majaski

Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.