Saber Interactive, the developers of Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2, have finally released a haunting vision into the gameplay of their upcoming action survival horror game, Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival. It raises the bar of eldritch ecstasy to an unfathomable degree.
Hellraiser: Revival had an announcement trailer released on July 22, 2024. Then, we got plot details and a tease of Pinhead voiced by no other than Doug Bradley, reprising his iconic role from the original Hellraiser movie. Saber Interactive's interpretation of Clive Barker's psycho-sexual horror mythos follows Aidan and his descent into Hell in hopes of freeing his girlfriend, Sunny. As Aidan, the player will use the Genesis Configuration's magic to fight cultists and otherworldly beings.
Considering the intense themes of Clive Barker's Hellraiser, it was a relief, and a welcome surprise, to have a story-driven, single-player survival horror game that's definitely not Rated T for Teen. However, even though I've seen the movies, even Hulu's reboot, I couldn't have predicted the developers at Saber would take it this far. They're not pulling any punches when it comes to the gore and sex Hellraiser is known for, so much so that they're doing whatever they can get away with under the game's M for Mature rating.
According to Gamespot, at a hands-on gameplay showing the game studio even had vomit bags for those who couldn't handle the sights. With this newly released gameplay trailer and the details making the rounds about the hands-on showing a couple of months ago, we can piece together what's confirmed.
Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival looks like a worthy follow-up to the movies
By the looks of it, Saber Interactive didn't just honor Clive Barker's vision for Hellraiser, they worshipped it. This game is a blood-written love letter of pain and pleasure. Although I haven't played it myself, it just looks fantastic so far, and the details on the gameplay tells us the vibes are as horrifying as they are filled with substance. I like that there will even be moments of dark humor, in the vein that some enemies you fight will get pleasure off of you harming them. It possibly opens up the survival horror mechanics to allow the player to use NPCs' sinful desires against them.
The combat and gameplay loop is inspired by titles such as Codemned and Resident Evil 7 and 8. There will be plenty of puzzles, of course. One of your weapons includes a puzzle box, the Genesis Configuration, which can spawn chains like, well, Spawn. I can only predict it'll have lightning-based abilities, too. However, you'll be able to wield various melee weapons and guns. The resources to craft, upgrade, and reload these weapons will be scarce, as survival horror goes, and there'll be a "lore accurate currency," as Kurt Indovina from Gamespot put it, that'll be important to a character yet to be seen.
Hopefully, a longer gameplay trailer is released soon to dive into, and perhaps in-depth interviews with the developers on the creative process behind this game. I'm very interested to hear about how they came up with these ideas. They must have "let the demons in," as Stephen King would've put it.
No specific release date is confirmed, but Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival is aiming for a Fall 2026 launch. It's available to wishlist now.