Revealed only recently, Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival is looking incredibly promising. A new story in the Hellraiser canon, Hellraiser: Revival is set to provide players with an action-packed survival horror experience, and based on its reveal trailer, it's probably not going to leave much to the imagination.
Indeed, Hellraiser: Revival is shaping up to be a particularly gruesome and disgusting horror game, in the best way. Players will assume the role of a man called Aidan, whose girlfriend has been trapped in the Labyrinth of the Cenobites. Aidan must use the Genesis Configuration—a puzzle box that summons the Cenobites, to save his girlfriend and survive against all manner of otherworldly fiends. The game will adopt a first-person perspective, which promises to elevate the terror and offer a sense of paranoia. All of this is to say that Hellraiser: Revival is looking uniquely affecting and notably creative—traits that will hopefully be shared by the recently revealed Friday the 13th video game adaptation.
Hellraiser: Revival’s Gameplay Formula Avoids A Common Horror Adaptation Pitfall
Hellraiser: Revival is a new story set in Clive Barker's terrifying world, and it could be the key to other horror franchise adaptations.
Hellraiser: Revival Will Be Followed by a New Friday the 13th Game, According to Horror Inc.
The Next Friday the 13th Game Will Hopefully Be as Bold and Ambitious as Hellraiser: Revival
At this year's San Diego Comic Con, Horror Inc.'s Robbie Barsamian confirmed that a new Friday the 13th game is on its way. Unfortunately, Barsamian didn't offer much more information than that—he didn't even reveal the game's title—but the IP certainly has enough potential to carry a solid, even terrific, horror gaming experience. One can only hope that this unnamed Friday the 13th game will follow in the footsteps of Hellraiser: Revival, if only loosely.
Horror Inc. Controls the Friday the 13th IP.
While Hellraiser doesn't have a notable footprint in the gaming medium, Friday the 13th certainly does. There have been a number of video games released under the franchise's name, including:
- Friday the 13th (1989)
- Friday the 13th: Road to Hell (2006)
- Friday the 13th: The Game (2017)
The most significant of these Friday the 13th adaptations is also the most recent. Friday the 13th: The Game is an asymmetrical multiplayer game akin to Dead by Daylight, wherein one player controls Jason Vorhees while up to eight others play as survivors, attempting to escape the masked menace and ultimately take him down. It certainly has its fans, but it's hard to consider it a definitive Friday the 13th gaming experience.
For one thing, its multiplayer construction means that it can't leverage factors like tension, atmosphere, pacing, and storytelling in the same way that a single-player game can, and it's not very unique either; again, it's very similar to Dead by Daylight. This is to say nothing of the fact that this take on Friday the 13th has been more or less abandoned, despite being marketed as a game that would have long-lasting support. With this new Friday the 13th game likely launching in the shadow of Hellraiser: Revival, it ought to be a bit more distinct and ambitious, serving as a proper continuation of the Jason Vorhees mythos rather than a spin-off or loose adaptation.
Hellraiser: Revival and Friday the 13th Demonstrate an Important Modern Gaming Trend
Looking back at previous Friday the 13th games, it's clear how they were pitched and sold: as side dishes to the main course of the films. It's the same song and dance as other video game adaptations, which just take the story of a movie or TV show and clumsily drop it into the interactive medium. But now, IP-holders are better understanding the creative and financial potential of video games, with games like Hellraiser: Revival and even Marvel's Spider-Man standing on their own, not directly aping any existing piece of media. Hopefully, the upcoming Friday the 13th game will follow this modern practice.
- Developer(s)
- Saber Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Saber Interactive
- Franchise
- Hellraiser
WHERE TO PLAY
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.
Play the story of Aidan, who must use the power of a mysterious puzzle box – the Genesis Configuration – to help his girlfriend Sunny’s escape from the otherworldly hellscape of the Labyrinth.
Wield the powers of the box to survive your bargain with the infamous Pinhead and do battle with the horrific cult devoted to the Cenobites.
A New Story in Hellraiser's Canon – Unwittingly kickstart Pinhead’s ritual to unleash greater pain and pleasure than ever before.
Harness the Power of the Box – Combine the unique, hellish abilities of the Configuration with an arsenal of earthly weapons to inflict bone-breaking, flesh-searing pain - or is it pleasure? - upon masochistic enemies.
Fight Against Unholy Enemies – Take on hell's wretches, deviants, cultists, and even its most infernal priests in a story-driven horror survival game.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
