This all led to essentially the most horrific sequence in all the demo, which noticed Aidan enterprise right into a facsimile of his house together with his lacking girlfriend Sunny. As we looped by means of this home setting, we not solely witnessed more and more disturbing visions and messages however discovered extra in regards to the sad dynamic between the sport’s core couple. There’s no means that this sequence was at the very least partially influenced by Hideo Kojima’s ill-fated horror sport P.T. and its related nightmarishly repeating hall however Hellraiser: Revival makes the expertise its twisted personal with a hell of a punchline.
And that’s the large factor that I appreciated about Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, that all through the variety in gameplay and presentation it stays visibly and tonally true to Barker’s scary story. We didn’t get to have an prolonged assembly with Pinhead or different Cenobites just like the Chatterer, and we are able to’t wait to see how they determine into the sport itself, however they’d undoubtedly match throughout the aesthetics of Hellraiser: Revival. Irrespective of how action-driven or surreal the sport will get, that is Hellraiser by means of and thru, leaning into the gory violence and sado-masochistic erotica that the franchise is thought for.
As for the gameplay, it handles nicely, even within the first-person fight sequences that began off this demo. Mechanically inside its fight, the sport feels nearer to one thing like Half-Life or Deus Ex with out coming off as dated as these early PC first-person shooters. The puzzle-solving and psychological sequences retain these broader gameplay sensibilities however inside a a lot totally different tone and sort of depth that informs the expertise; the urgency is there however not from readily dealing with a tangible enemy a lot as an existential one.
Taking lower than an hour to finish this demo, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival not solely felt like a worthy online game adaptation of its fan-favorite property however a breath of recent air for contemporary film tie-in horror video games. It seems like so many movie-inspired horror titles are overly by-product of Lifeless by Daylight, with video games like The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath and Evil Lifeless: The Sport leaning into asymmetrical multiplayer experiences. Against this, Hellraiser: Revival is a single-player expertise that blends motion and horror whereas taking full benefit of its supply materials visually and narratively.
For anybody who’s had Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival preordered for months, we’re joyful to verify that the sport may be very a lot actual and on observe for its October launch date, simply in time for Halloween. And for any fan who’s apprehensive that the sport might be an echo of any variety of asymmetrical horror video games, we’re even happier to report that it’s very a lot its personal franchise-appropriate expertise. Doing its supply materials proud, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival is shaping as much as grow to be one of many standout horror video games of the yr.
Developed and revealed by Saber Interactive, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival might be launched October 8, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X|S, and PC.
