upon release, "the house of the dead: overkill" received a generally favorable response from critics, with an average review score of 81% at gamerankings and 79/100 at metacritic. many critics praised the fast-paced balanced gameplay, with x-play stating "the arcade style shooting is satisfying and provides a challenge for experienced players" yet "easily conquered for those who can't aim a wiimote to save their life." games radar found the simple gameplay to be "varied enough to keep the momentum going." although considered to be easier than past games of the series, gamespot calling the difficulty a "cake walk" at pure gore and bloodiest game times, eurogamer opined the game "almost never tries your patience, and it's made with such infectious and irreverent glee and such obvious pride, you can't help but join in." the over-the-top b movie grindhouse style was particularly praised. "game informer" stated "the parade of f-bombs and one-liners fit in perfect harmony with the grindhouse presentation", even recommending it to tarantino fans. "gamespot" claimed it "reinvents the aging shooter series for the better with an over-the-top grindhouse theme that resonates in its every aspect, from the hilarious story to the fantastic vintage soundtrack." "edge" stated that "overkill" "raises the bar for third party production values on this generation's best-selling console." though 1up "still enjoyed the game", they did consider that "with its constant stream of expletives and toilet humor, it may turn just as many people away" and started their review with a disclaimer for younger gamers not to play, being strictly an adult game. another issue critics found was a number of technical issues, particularly with the frame rate, which ign called "sketchy" and "sad to see in a game that has so much amazing content in it." "gamepro" also experienced this, notably when "the screen became cluttered with enemies", originally hoping the issue to be fixed before the game's final release. another issue were glitches, with "computer and video games" reportedly experiencing no enemies appearing at all at times and sometimes requiring to restart the console.