Hellraiser: Revival. Does. Not. Mess. About. I will emphasize that till the end of this review. It might shock you to know that the unlike other iconic horror franchises, Hellraiser has never had a video game adaptation, until now. There were rumours about an attempt back in the 8bit era on the NES, but that never came to fruition, and then as the franchise’s popularity waned, so did the chances of seeing it on the interactive screen, so to speak. Thanks to Boss Team Games and Saber Interactive, that’s now changed.
When this was announced, I’ll be honest, I was sceptical how it’d work. Pinhead and the Cenobites are immortal beings that can’t be killed. They’d make terrible bosses, odd protagonists, but they have to be included for it to feel like Hellraiser. Clearly, the developers had the same thoughts, and pivoted the story slightly away from the Cenobites, keeping them front-and-center, but making the protagonist a hedonistic, drug-taking, sex-having human that can’t stop abusing all of them. Such is Hellraiser: Revival.
Hellraiser: Revival Goes Gunplay and Melee
Players take on the role of Aidan Lynch, who, after a particularly graphic opening scene, has to head into the Labyrinth to save his long-time lover, Sunny. As well as that not-so-small-matter, you’ll have to contend with a Cult, lead by Marlowe and a brutal follower Bruno, as they attempt to kill you and ascend into a higher being. Within the opening hour, my worries of how the studio would make a Hellraiser game feel like a Hellraiser game, replaced with horror, excitement, disgust, and moments of uncomfortable silence.
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As the game progresses, it attempts to balance between balls-to-the-wall-gore, and telling a love story that’s more toxic than you’d notice at the beginning. Aidan is prompted by Pinhead and Zora – an Eremite who doubles up as councillor and item seller – to question his own wants and needs ahead of Sunny’s, all the while mowing down Cult members and paranormal entities that leave you lacking ammo, running for your life, and banishing them using the Lament Configuration Box in a crude and graphic show of power.
While the story feels like prime Hellraiser, with a return performance from Doug Bradley being especially good (less so in the case of the stiff and unemotive at times Aidan and Sunny), the combat mixes horror and action. As mentioned above, you can go full-FPS with the five weapons on offer, including a shotgun (my personal favourite), pistol, revolver, submachinegun, and assault rifle, or melee-based, with daggers, baseball bats and jagged metal on offer, amongst others. Honestly, the melee combat combined with the survival horror put me in mind of Condemned, which is no bad thing.
The gunplay is a little stiff if I’m honest, and it felt heavy and unnatural at times. I’m no eSports afficionado, but I’m not bad at games like Call of Duty, Battlefield etc, and the shooting just felt slow and hard work. Now, I have to say that could be intentional, so as to not make you feel like some over-powered action hero, but that goes against the fact that Aidan is a motorcycle gang enforcer by trade, someone you’d expect to be well-versed in the arts of gunplay.
Either way, it took some getting used to, and the lack of ammo throughout kept me not only on my toes, but more focused on using the melee weapons scattered around plentifully. This is where the combat really shines, and is ridiculously fun. Each melee weapon has a limited amount of hits, different benefits (blunt good vs armor, sharp good vs open skin, in essence), and they all have gory and graphic results.
The body damage mechanics is genuinely impressive, and batting way above the size of the studio, if I may say. Depending on where you hit and with what weapon, will provide different results. Chop off a forearm, a head, a leg at the knee and many more. I had to think about where I was hitting armored enemies to make use of any skin on show, and it gave me something to keep in mind from beginning to end. Genuinely impressive piece of the game.
As hinted at above, banishing enemies using the Box is a fundamental part of the game, akin to DOOM’s Glory Kills mechanic. You banish the enemies, your health goes up a little, and you’ll also increase your Suffering meter, which allows the use of the Box in combat. Throw items, interact with the environment, or even take and throw fire, causing explosions and carnage.
With how early I unlocked the Telekinesis ability for the Box, I expected more uses to come from it, but was sorely disappointed there weren’t more, albeit okay with how Telekinesis allowed for utter destruction every time. Just like the melee system allowed for some seriously gruesome amputations, so did the Box. Throwing a circular saw blade at high speed through a group of enemy cultists never got boring, that’s for sure.
Puzzles and Collectibles
When not taking on smaller cult members on hulking boss fights that showcase the true horrors of the Hellraiser universe, you’ll be tasked with completing puzzles of all sizes and shapes to progress. From finding the finishing tip of a Leviathan puzzle to get through a gate, to getting the right sequence of blocks in the right order and with the right pictures on to proceed, the puzzles are a great mixture of easy to understand but difficult (at times) to complete. One criticism I could levy at Hellraiser: Revival in regards to the puzzles is the lack of clear indicators at times.
When near an item of interest, a small white circle will appear, meaning you can interact with it and it’s useful, however when I was using my torch (much-needed throughout), it obscured said white circle meaning I’d miss these items at times. That led to some frustration due to unnecessary time being wasted looking for a puzzle item when I’d already found it and overlooked it. That’s a minor inconvenience and an easy fix though.
There’s also a plethora of collectibles to find which I had great fun with. Whether it was broadening the story of Bruno’s depravity and beliefs, or understanding the Cult leader Marlowe’s motivations through his self-written biography, the notes and recordings did what they intended to in making me understand the characters a little more. There’s nothing worse than a game having meaningless collectibles for players to find in order to bulk up the gameplay time… this isn’t that whatsoever.
Some Jank
As good as the atmosphere, story, puzzles and overall feel of Hellraiser: Revival is, there is some jank involved. It’s not so surprising considering it’s not a AAA studio, but there are some poor moments that pull you out of the moment. For example, the biggest issue for me is the three times you’d encounter an enemy called The Embracer, something I can describe as a giant slug-like thing with five arms that’ll grab you and attempt to pull you apart if you let it.
The fight against this miniboss of an enemy is inventive and great fun, requiring you to use melee weapons, guns, or at the last fight, your Lament Configuration Box’s Hell Chains ability, to take off the arms. You’ll then Banish the Embracer back to the Labyrinth, same as you have countless times to many different enemies, all to get your health and suffering bars back up.
Unfortunately, as good as all that is, it’s immediately thrown out as the audio of the animation cuts out, and nothing is heard at all. It’s also not the only time this happens, with audio drops happening during pivotal cutscenes (thank God for subtitles), meaning you’re robbed of the voice-acting, and pop-in happening during some of the busier moments, especially in the late game areas.
Graphically, the game is unbelievable, with special attention being paid to Pinhead and the Cenobites, and the environments are top notch, especially in the smaller details. From fetish clubs vibing full of loud music, strobe lights and attendees to dark and dank sewers and everything in between, it feels like the developers thought of everything, which makes it all the more surprising that the models for both Aidan and Sunny, at least facial-wise, look like poor animatronic impressions of a human. Proper uncanny valley and rubber-esque, whereas the rest of their models, and that of the Cenobites as a whole, were top notch.
I have to admit it wasn’t deal-breaking whatsoever, and certainly something that gets patched quite quickly, but it’d be unfair not to mention the above here. A little more polish, or just some more bug-checking, would have probably helped here.
Hellraiser: Revival is one of the best film adaptation games we’ve ever had, certainly in tone and appreciation for the franchise it stems from. It nails the atmosphere, the world, the feeling of being in a Hellraiser story, and non-franchise fans will enjoy it as much as those already in love with the IP. It has something for everyone, from survival horror to uncomfortable levels of gore, to a love story that is more realistic than many out there – it doesn’t mess about, it doesn’t let up, and ultimately, Hellraiser: Revival may be the first adaptation of the IP, but it certainly shouldn’t be the last… I want that sequel.
Hellraiser: Revival
Experience a new chapter in the legendary horror series like never before. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival takes first-person action horror survival to the next level. Wield the powers of the Genesis Configuration puzzle box to survive your bargain with the infamous Pinhead.
Summary
There was a time where video games based on film franchises were bound to fail, with poor attempts at capturing what made them great. Hellraiser: Revival smashes that wall in almost every regard, giving life to the franchise in a meaningful and respectful way, no doubt bringing new fans into the fold and satisfying old fans like me at the same time.
Clearly a labor of love, I enjoyed almost every second of my foray into saving Sunny, a deal with Pinhead, and the ramifications of it all. I’m a happy Hellraiser fan, and some little issues aside, hopefully patched in the future, probably the best I could hope for. If you want to be scared, disgusted, uncomfortable and at times angry, Hellraiser: Revival won’t disappoint.
- True to the Hellraiser universe, and an incredible tribute to the universe created decades ago.
- Fun melee-based combat and a good use of the Lament Configuration Box.
- Body damage mechanics well above what you'd expect for the size of the studio.
- Some pop-in, missed audio and unfortunate facial expressions on some characters.
- Gunplay is a little sluggish and unresponsive.
Hellraiser: Revival is set to release on October 8th, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
For your next read, don’t miss our review of Control Resonant, or our top tips for Hellraiser: Revival we wish we knew before playing.
Thumb Wars reviews every game based upon the structure of our review policy, and every review is on OpenCritic.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
