Hellraiser: Revival is Resident Evil For Sickos

Revival could also be many issues, however I extremely doubt the phrase “subtlety” was written giant on the whiteboard when developer Saber Interactive conceived it. It opens with a completely laid naked intercourse scene set in opposition to a stormy backdrop that hardly masks the screams of ache and pleasure from its contributors. Lightning strikes as needles are plunged into a person’s physique, his associate asking for the same degree of sadomasochism as she sits atop him — this isn’t her first rodeo, so to talk. Earlier than I get an excessive amount of into the realms of simply writing delicate porn, let’s minimize to the chase and introduce an object from a completely totally different realm: the Lament Configuration. This golden puzzle field is synonymous with the Eighties movie collection on which this undertaking is primarily based, and occurs to be the subsequent toy our couple (foolishly) select to play with. The person angles it in order to make use of its sharp edges to make incisions down the girl’s again, giving her what she wishes, however with an unlucky side-effect: the opening of a portal to a different dimension.

Otherworldly pleasure is what the Cenobites are all about. A gaggle of disfigured and unsettling people led by the long-lasting Pinhead, they swiftly lure our protagonist’s girlfriend into their misty, stonewalled jail fortress, and so the stakes are set. What is going to comply with is one man’s determined and wicked journey to rescue the girl he loves from a bunch of interdimensional deviants with a penchant for leather-based. Simply an ordinary weekday, actually (I used to be witnessing all of this at 10am on a Friday after per week of little sleep and a wholesome quantity of German beer, simply so you already know).

I lastly took management of this unlucky soul and wandered across the corridors of this different place, with its looping passages inflicting a superb sense of disorientation. It’s virtually unimaginable no longer to consider Hideo Kojima’s P.T. when face-to-face with a state of affairs like this, and whereas Hellraiser’s demo by no means comes near recreating that particular model of rigidity, I did really feel thrown into this world successfully. Clanking chains punctuated a screeching wind, ominous silhouettes waited on the finish of passages, and bizarre monsters popped out of my peripheral imaginative and prescient to remind me that I used to be by no means alone right here. For all of its not-so-polished mechanics and acquainted style tropes — we’ll get onto these later — Revival is actually off to a powerful begin by way of creating an oppressive tone and a spot I wished to flee from as shortly as attainable. Fortunately, I quickly make my manner out, however then the demo skips forward within the story slightly, and I discover myself craving for these jail corridors as soon as once more as I’m thrown firmly out of the frying pan and into the fireplace.

With little context given, I used to be now strapped to a chair; my wrists nailed into its wood armrests, and my left arm stitched into my abdomen to maintain my attain at a minimal. It is then that I pulled the digicam right down to see that I used to be certainly absolutely bare, our hero’s full manhood on show, however, fortunately, untouched by my captors – I can solely assume a sure princely piercing was acquired out of alternative. All of this self-inspection takes place whereas a charismatic cult chief paces across the small cell and inquires concerning the whereabouts of the Lament Configuration. It turns into shortly obvious that it is far more than a intercourse toy to him, and, actually, the important thing in his plan to summon the Cenobites — the creatures that his cult worships.

Fortunately, he quickly leaves me to ponder my predicament, and I make my escape. In a Noticed-like affair, I cleave the nails from my wrists after which use their rusted factors to chop the threads holding my arm to my abdomen. Then, as is custom in all good survival horror, I craft a bandage utilizing some collected material and alcohol and apply it, restoring my well being meter to an affordable degree. It’s from this level on that I realise simply what Hellraiser: Revival is: a Resident Evil sport in all however identify. I spend the subsequent part of the demo quietly crouching across the dungeon bowels of a nightclub, principally avoiding its patrols till I’m handed a weapon of my very own. The knife I discover slots properly right into a grid-like stock system alongside some medicinal herbs, and I exploit it to quietly take down my first member of the Cenobite fan membership with a stealth kill.

I’m then tasked with taking one down face-on, although, and it’s when going toe-to-toe with my aggressors that I discover Hellraiser shifts into a distinct gear. Its first-person melee fight turns into barely extra concerned than something seen in Capcom’s horror catalogue, full with gentle assaults, heavy assaults, blocks, and dodges. On the floor, not all that authentic, but it surely provides an additional wrinkle when confronted with armored foes. You see, sharp and serrated weapons comparable to knives and machetes are efficient in opposition to flesh, however with the intention to make your enemy bleed, you’ll want to interrupt by their safety utilizing blunt weapons comparable to a pipe or bat. This provides a welcome layer that I’ll admit was surprising, however a welcome shock in a demo that had up to now been very by-the-numbers.

This melee weapon system, mixed with dingy rooms and masked aggressors, jogs my memory of 2003’s Manhunt, and I do surprise if Saber is aiming for a similar type of shock issue and controversy storm Rockstar whipped up again then. The vomit luggage sitting subsequent to the monitor in case I wanted them actually felt just like the form of publicity stunt aiming to invoke such a response.

Sure, Hellraiser: Revival is significantly violent, and seemingly relishes it as a lot as its NPCs do after they yelp in pleasure as you break up their flesh. Human meat sculptures line the corridors of the cult lair, forming dioramas harking back to the worst that Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal needed to provide. Corpses have been rearranged into twisted pinwheels and nailed onto partitions, and inside organs stacked like essentially the most wicked of totem poles. It’s undeniably stunning at instances, and if you happen to’re not a fan of gore, this actually isn’t the best way you’ll need to spend your time. Possibly I’m simply desensitized by all of it, although, as after some time, I discovered myself taking a look at one other bleeding aberration and considering to myself, “I’m wondering in the event that they’ve stuffed the guts or the liver of their mouth this time”.

The facets I discovered far more participating have been spent within the different dimension, the one the place Cenobites instill worry versus the debauched depths of the human thoughts. The spotlight of the demo was after I was chased by The Chatterer — one among Pinhead’s most loyal sidekicks whose vibrating enamel genuinely despatched a shiver down my backbone as he pursued me. I needed to dash by randomly closing doorways and slide underneath spikes and hooked chains with the intention to escape his grasp and his hungry gnashers. It was a genuinely tense slice of survival horror and one thing I hope to see extra of within the last sport. When it is leaning into Hellraiser lore and creating a strong sense of dread, you may actually see Clive Barker’s hand reaching over the sport. It’s a disgrace his distinctive model of horror doesn’t really feel as current again in the true world.

My demo ended with a few pretty easy puzzles that included reaching into the heart of two totally different corpse shows to retrieve two halves of a key, and urgent down on 4 nails sunk right into a cranium in the proper order to acquire one more key. They have been a change of tempo, however hardly riveting of their execution. The identical will be stated for Revival’s gunplay, which lacked punch to say the least. I took out a couple of goons thanks to some pistol pictures to the pinnacle, however didn’t get the form of set off suggestions I’d want from a reliable shooter. Ammo was handed to me pretty liberally, so I’ve my fears that Revival might lean nearer to the “motion” aspect of survival horror greater than I’d ideally like, and in the end really feel extra Resident Evil 4 moderately than the RE 7 it initially seems to be to be taking inspiration from. I discovered the melee system far more participating and would really like this to be essentially the most prevalent method of battle within the full sport, moderately than the whole expertise devolve right into a first-person shooter that has you gunning down wave after wave of grunts.

When committing to its personal type and embracing Hellraiser’s distinctive look and tone, Revival is a powerful and stunning tackle the survival horror style. Its obvious influences are absolutely on show as a lot because the numerous items of corpse artwork that flank its hallways, from Resident Evil to Manhunt, with even a touch of Condemned thrown into the combination. It’s when it leans more durable into the fight aspect of those inspirations that I start to vibe with Hellraiser much less, although, in addition to when its creepy, leather-laden tone is changed by sequences bordering on torture porn. If it is aiming to shock, Hellraiser: Revival is actually trying to be on course. If it’s aiming to deliver one thing contemporary to survival horror, I’ve my reservations for now.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can primarily be discovered skulking round open world video games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing on the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Comply with him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.