Demons to some. Angels to others.
Not a lot of people know this, but I guess now that I am putting it on the internet… you know, everyone will. When I was a kid, I was the biggest chicken, scaredy-cat, wimp, wuss; etc., etc. My family used to love setting me up and scaring the bejesus out of me, this lasted until I was probably like 14… yea… shut up. But once I finally got over being afraid one of the first horror properties I checked out was Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. I remember my uncle owned the VHS 2-pack that had the first two movies, and I remember seeing Pinhead (Clive Barker HATES that name as the character was never named in his original version, he is now canonical named “the Hell Priest’) on the cover and thinking it was cool. Fast forward many years later and I have read the books, seen all the movies (there are more bad ones than good sadly) and FINALLY we have a proper video game; that cameo in DbD doesn’t count.
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Revival is a game that knows its brand. A series that is about pushing the human experience to the extreme, fans won’t be surprised at the BDSM, sadomasochism and graphic sexual situations but those new might be taken aback. If you have seen the movies then this all makes sense but to those that are newcomers, please understand that Hellraiser is NOT for the squeamish. Statues of human bodies twisted and mutilated and made to look like high art. The sounds of moans of pleasure and yes more than one full on sex scene. At one-point players will need to reach into a body to find something to progress which some will think is gross, but I thought it was so delightfully disturbing. You see in this game, “tears is a waste of good suffering” and if you know, you know.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: XBOX (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
As to the narrative, I got to say; this was so freaking good. Players will take control of Aidan Lynch, a man who ends up caught up in a whirlwind of a mess when after some vigorous lovemaking he cuts his girlfriend Sunny with the Genesis configuration. Unknown to him this opens a portal between realms and summons the Cenobites to their bedside, their leader ‘Pinhead’ offers to take Sunny with them to their realm where they explore the limits of physical experience to the point where there is no longer a difference between pleasure and pain. She says yes, and at this point if I was Aidan; I’d leave her alone. She is clearly for the streets… like you just agreed to go with literal demons… well demons to some, angels to others; BUT STILL!! Anyway, cuz Aidan is a dumbass he chases after her and what follows is one of the best Hellraiser stories in YEARS! Even though I spent a lot of the cutscenes trying to tell Aidan to leave her alone, she is clearly for the streets.
One of the bigger questions I had about Hellraiser: Revival when it was first announced, is what was the gameplay going to be like. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it plays a lot like the XBOX 360 launch title Condemned: Criminal Origins. As Aidan players are not only fighting; well escaping from Pinhead and his Cenobites but also the cult that worships them, The Scarlet Church. Enemies range from humans who are covered in various latex and straps into monstrosities with 6 arms that flail about. Oh man, we gotta talk about creature design because the developers at Saber Interactive did some excellent work here. I mean these are some gnarly looking monsters and I mean that as a compliment, again you can tell that this team is fans of movies from the 80’s. The Hell Priest (Pinhead), Chatterer, Deepthroat and Butterball all look amazing although one is relegated to a cameo. Albeit in one of the most disturbing cutscenes in the game, and in a game where you walk into your jail roommate, ahem, pleasuring himself to Sunny’s picture… I mean that’s saying something.
Players will have to scavenge around the cult’s headquarters for resources. There is a crating mechanic, and players can make ammo, bandages and more by the games end. There is even a very, very mysterious merchant who will show up and drop some riddle on you and offer guns and upgrades. The majority of combat in game is melee, while guns are always an option this is a survival-horror type game so ammo is limited. Bladed weapons can slash flesh while blunt weapons can knock the armor from enemies. This is where it kind of falls apart for me though because as promising as that sounds, the combat is pretty ‘meh’.
For starters there is no block or deflect with the melee weapons, players do have access to a dodge that is directional which is nice but it’s extremely easy to become overwhelmed by creatures. More than once, I was backed into a corner and killed because I just couldn’t kill an enemy fast enough or dodge past them. The melee weapons just lack a certain ‘oomph’ that I thought they would have. And I already explained why I couldn’t always use a gun; I ran through ammo like a Cenobite runs through blood. Even the fodder enemies on easy difficulty are pretty tanky and the guns are pretty much mandatory for boss fights. Make sure you stock up on ammo before each one.
In addition to the human weapons that Aidan can use he is also able to wield the power of the Genesis configuration. Using this will allow Aiden to throw objects telekinetically to one shot most enemies. Later he can capture fire from sources and throw fireballs. Mainly the box is going to be used for the many puzzles in the game. By reshaping the box players will have to turn it into various shapes to open doors. It can also be used to move platforms and things in the Cenobites homeland of the Labyrinth.
As a longtime fan of what Clive Barker started with The Hellbound Heart, I had very high expectations for this game. I am so happy to see that it not only met them but, in some places, surpassed them where the story is concerned. The combat, sigh well it’s there to help break up the exploration but with the limp feeling melee combat and the scarce ammo, I ended up just running from some encounters to move things along. If you are a Hellraiser fan then you are already waiting for release day, but for those that are new and curious; if you can handle the extremes that this game offers then I invite you to check it out, they have SUCH sights to show you.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.