Hellraiser: Revival is one hell of a ride. From the opening lust-filled moments, to the blood and guts minute-to-minute action, and then all the way to the shocking conclusion, the game doesn’t slow down, it doesn’t pull punches, and it doesn’t shy away from what the players could constitute as an unfulfilling ending.
We break down everything about those endings, how to get them, and which one is canon in the larger universe, if either. With two endings, they’re both diametrically opposed in what happens to Aidan going forward, so what you want to happen to him really is up to you.
Also what it means for Aidan after the choice, where he ends up, and what troubles he may or may not have going forward. It’s certainly not all rosy no matter the choice you make, but it is going to be interesting to see the direction of Boss Teams Games franchise going forward.
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WARNING: There are spoilers for the Hellraiser: Revival ending within this article. It’ll explain fine details about the endings of the game, so make sure you’ve completed the game prior to reading this, or be content with having it spoiled.
Hellraiser: Revival Ending Explained
If you’re here, you’ve likely already completed Hellraiser: Revival. You’ve encountered the Cult members, the delicious, if not maniacal machinations of Bruno, Marlowe’s delusions of grandeur, and the unfortunately sad encounter with the Sister of Mercy. And that’s before we get to the pact with Pinhead, the relationship with Sunny, and how it all goes terribly right, or wrong, depending on your viewpoint.
After you’ve killed the three main bosses in the game, taking their hearts and feeding them to Sunny to finish her restoration, it’s obvious both Pinhead and Sunny have been keeping something from Aidan, our protagonist. Not content with just the hearts, Sunny takes Aidan’s arm, and then gives birth to something that Pinhead absorbs as he begins his ascendancy to the next level of being.
He transforms with a new colour scheme and look, with some additional powers, and then reveals that he and Sunny had a pact from the very beginning. He made a pact with both of you, but only one of you really benefits. Sunny manipulated you into helping her revive herself, and in turn, bring the required lifeforce to transform Pinhead, and in return she would be taken by the Cenobites into immortal sensation, pain, pleasure, and everything she could ever want.
Of course this revelation doesn’t please Aidan, and the shock that he’s been used this whole time leaves him reeling for a short time, before he’s given one final choice of his own. He can either stay here, in the human world, with PTSD and trauma from what he’s seen, a lack of a right arm, thanks to Sunny eating it, and the knowledge that life is effectively not everyone else understands it to be; or he can choose to go with the Cenobites.
If he does that, he, along with Sunny, ends up enjoying sensation forever, immortal and in a new dimension within the Revealer, alongside the Cenobites and the new Pinhead. The choice is entirely yours, but what happens in each, and which should you choose? We explain each of them below, plus how to get both in one playthrough.
Ending One – You Choose Life
Choosing life, and staying with Zora and humanity as a whole, means giving up any chances of eternal sensation and potentially becoming much more. Aidan is shown sitting and smoking, looking wistfully out the window. After the ups-and-downs of the story, with his dependency and need for Sunny being his major driving force, it also represents a turning point for his character in that he makes decisions for himself.
It’s no longer about Sunny, it’s about Aidan, and what he wants for the future. There’s little indication in the small cutscene that he’ll be chasing Pinhead into the new dimension, and even less indication he’s worried about Sunny anymore. His life is truly his to do with as he wants.
Of course, in the real world he now has to contend with potentially hundreds of murder charges thanks to his tirade through the Cult, and ignoring that, he’d have to try and explain where his long-term partner has disappeared to, having left behind no trace other than a blood-covered bed, and numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia. It’s not quite as happy as the cutscene makes it seem. Choosing to remain human and stay on Earth will unlock the Human After All trophy/achievement.
Ending Two – You Choose Sensation
The far quicker ending, and one that’s also far more ominous in how its represented, is the ending where you choose Sensation. You accept the offer from the Cenobites and follow them into the new dimension. The last we see of Aidan is him hanging from Hell Chains, face, arms and body strung up, and screaming in pain.
It seems that the offer for pleasure and pain is nothing more than what Sunny’s original fate was, and you’re stuck there for eternity. If this ending is canon, it offers little more for Aidan to do, and it’s a sad state of affairs for the character. Selecting this ending, and following them through the brick wall, will unlock the Experience Beyond Limits trophy/achievement.
How to Get Both Endings in Hellraiser: Revival
Once you have chosen your first ending in Hellraiser: Revival, you’ll be sent back to the main menu. To get the second ending, and the relevant achievement for it, you’ll need to hit continue. This will bring you back to the cutscene right before Pinhead carries Sunny off. You can skip this, as there’s nothing new, and then make the opposite decision than you did moments before. You’ll see the other cutscene play out, and the trophy/achievement will pop.
Which Hellraiser: Revival Ending is Canon?
Which Hellraiser: Revival ending being canon is unknown right now. It’ll largely depend on how Boss Team Games wants to proceed with the story. Will the sequel be with Aidan once again, or will it be a new protagonist? And what does that look like either way? We’ll surely know what’s canon if Hellraiser: Revival gets some story DLC, or a much-needed sequel in the future.
The bigger question to what’s canon is how the franchise itself interprets the events in Hellraiser: Revival, and if they’ll be mirrored in any future film. Pinhead is no mere Cenobite anymore, ascending to a new level of sensation. With this game being set some 20 years after the last Doug Bradley-starring Hellraiser film, and 20 years ago in our timeline (you can tell by some of the mobile devices, for example), then is this canon already?
For your next read, go see what we thought of the game in our in-depth review, or our tips and tricks we wish we’d been told before playing.
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!
