Hellraiser: Revival is just around the corner, and the team over at Saber Interactive were kind enough to tease us all with a demo. And friends, it was everything I hoped for. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Hellraiser fan, both the original The Hellbound Heart novella and the original movie. So my standards for this game are VERY high. Let’s jump in and talk about the demo.
What is Hellraiser: Revival?
In case you missed it, Hellraiser: Revival is an upcoming action-horror game developed and published by Saber Interactive. What makes this game extra delicious is that it is considered to be canon, with Clive Barker himself directly involved in the writing. Barker has also provided guidance on aesthetics and mythos to help truly give an understanding to everyone involved. Additionally, Doug Bradley (the original Pinhead) has returned to voice Pinhead.
Plot-wise, we play as Aiden, a biker struggling with his own personal demons. His girlfriend Sunny falls victim to the Cenobites, accepting a deal for immense pleasure in exchange for her soul (in simple terms). Aiden follows into the nightmarish Labyrinth to save her, but Cenobites aren’t the only thing he has to worry about. A cult worshiping the Cenobites is lurking in the shadows, desperate to figure out how Aiden and Sunny got the Genesis Configuration to work.
Revival on the horizon
Hellraiser: Revival‘s demo opens on a scene of intimacy between Aiden and Sunny, who are experimenting with pain and pleasure. In the midst of this, Aiden uses the Genesis Configuration to cut Sunny, which triggers the box and summons the Cenobites. And thus begins the descent into Hell.
As the demo is only available on Steam, I am keeping this spoiler-free while still giving my honest thoughts. The demo serves a really great purpose – it introduces you to the environment, how to interact with it, and eases you into the story. It does exactly what a demo should do, in my opinion: gives you a taste of what’s to come without revealing too much. We get a glimpse of the Labyrinth, and of the Scarlet Church’s territory. Additionally, we’re introduced to some core gameplay mechanics, including crafting. This shows that resource management will come into play, alongside other survival horror elements.
Clocking in at roughly an hour, the Hellraiser: Revival demo brings just enough to the table to intrigue.
Pinhead is SO back
Truth be told, I have been VERY apprehensive about Hellraiser: Revival. I’ve found horror to be very hit or miss recently, in both film and game form. Hellraiser is an old favourite of mine, and I hunted down the novella to read like it was my life purpose. And let’s be real here, friends. Current film-to-game adaptations have been severely lacking.
Hellraiser: Revival has genuinely surprised me so far. From what was shown/experienced in the demo, they have got the whole vibe down. And as a single-player, story-driven game, it has a lot more promise than what we’ve come to expect. I don’t tend to get my hopes up for games. But I am so very excited to get my hands on the full version of this game. It hits all the marks of what we have come to know and love from Hellraiser. It’s a little sexy, bloody, and deeply atmospheric on an unsettling level.
All I can say now is roll on October 8th.
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