Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Preview: Hellraiser: Revival Was My Biggest Surprise of Gamescom
Push Square previewed Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival at Gamescom, calling it the biggest surprise of the show. Developed by Saber Interactive, the title is a first-person single-player narrative horror game lasting roughly 10 hours, a format that surprised many given the franchise's history, and the hands-on session convinced the previewer that the studio has faithfully captured the series' disturbing, sadomasochistic tone in game form.
The 40-minute demo was split into two halves: an exploration section in a cult's base involving key-hunting and Resident Evil-style puzzles, with weighty combat, limited ammunition and degrading melee weapons, followed by a scarier, visually distinct section set in the Cenobites' realm, the Labyrinth, featuring Pinhead, voiced again by original actor Doug Bradley. The game offers four difficulty levels, with the hardest, "Hellraiser" mode, featuring limited saves that Narrative Director Antony de Fault admitted might be "too hard." The preview noted the game's explicit, disturbing content pushes ratings limits, reportedly leaving one journalist shaken after their session.
In short
- Hellraiser: Revival is a 10-hour first-person narrative horror game.
- Gamescom demo mixed exploration puzzles with a scarier Labyrinth section.
- Doug Bradley returns as Pinhead; content pushes age-rating limits.
Explained simply
Hellraiser began as a horror story created by British writer Clive Barker and became a film series known for graphic violence and themes of pain and desire. Its central figures, the Cenobites, are otherworldly beings led by Pinhead, who is associated with a puzzle box that opens a path to their realm, the Labyrinth.
Hellraiser: Revival is a single-player horror game made by Saber Interactive, set in this world. Its first-person format puts players directly into the action, while its story and survival elements draw on familiar horror-game ideas such as exploring dangerous places, solving puzzles and managing scarce weapons.
Entertainment Film Gaming Horror