Hellraiser: Revival already feels like an authentic adaptation of the cult-classic film franchise, blending bloody body-horror with oddly humorous spooks and scares.
I’ll be honest and say I’m no superfan of the Hellraiser films. I think the first one is excellent but it didn’t bring me the same pleasure as other horror series do, and I certainly never expected it to get a video game adaptation.
After going hands-on with Hellraiser: Revival at Summer Game Fest though I’m sold. It’s like BioShock but more gruesome.
No Pain, Just Pleasure
My initial thoughts when diving into Hellraiser: Revival was “why a first-person shooter?” It felt like an odd genre as the Hellraiser films aren’t exactly known for their high-stakes shootouts.
The gameplay I experienced used combat sparingly though. It’s just one layer of the overall experience and not one that outstayed its welcome.
Judging from some of the in-game dialogue the protagonist idan Lynch isn’t overly familiar with firearms. They’re a bit like James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2 in that regard. They find guns and melee weapons but their inexperience with them means they can never truly feel safe.
Fortunately you get another tool for your arsenal, the Lament Configuration. This horrid artifact is a staple of the Hellraiser series and in this game it’s used to telekinetically inflict pain on whoever crosses your path. It can pluck fire from torches and rend saw blades from walls, turning them into projectiles at the cost of some charge.
This is where the demo got oddly comical. For those that aren’t aware one of the dominating themes of the Hellraiser films is the line between pain and pleasure. The supernatural entities known as the Xenobites are demons for most but angels for some, and the devilish torment they inflict upon their victims is often revered as the ultimate gift by in-universe cultists.
You’ll encounter one of these cults in the game, and they were not happy that I was touching an object deemed sacred to them (the Lament Configuration). Perhaps I’m just desensitised to all things horror but I couldn’t help but chuckle as I lobbed fireballs at half-naked weirdos screaming at me touching their magic cube.
As previously stated though combat is only one layer of the experience, there were still plenty of moments that made me feel helpless.
Towards the end of the demo Hellraiser: Revival pays homage to the infamous P.T. PlayStation demo with a looping tour through a house that genuinely had me on edge.
Xenobite silhouettes flicked for milliseconds before disappearing completely, and the final, gory image of my hands-on session will be seared into my brain for many weeks to come.
That’s the beauty of Hellraiser: Revival, at least for the time being. Like a time-capsule from the late 1980s to the early 1990s it faithfully modernises old-school horror. Its power doesn’t lie in its ability to scare you but unnerve you, only to give you a bit of respite in its campy yet intense combat segments.
Hellraiser: Revival was a real highlight of Summer Game Fest for me, and I think both hardcore fans of the film series and casual admirers like myself are going to get a kick out of it.
It’ll launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 8 October, just in time for Halloween.
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