What is Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Revival? 

Video games love a good movie collab. Back in the day, movie tie-ins were common releases. However, they were terrible, rushed products that tried to release around the movie’s release date. Fortunately, those days are over. Now, collabs are much more refined and make the most out of nostalgia and finely crafted games.  

Hellraiser Revival by Saber Interactive is a first-person survival horror action game. It is one of the most graphic horror games released this year and, honestly, in a long time. Between the extreme gore, sexual content, and disturbing imagery, it embraces the franchise’s willingness to push boundaries. But what makes it work is more than how far it goes. Its oppressive atmosphere, strong audio design, and first-person perspective will keep players uncomfortable even with no immediate threat. There are rough edges in its animations, combat options, and interface, but the overall experience delivers a memorable survival horror game that feels distinctly Hellraiser.

Developer & Publisher // Saber Interactive
Platforms // PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
MSRP & Release Date // $39.99, October 8th
Reviewed On // PC

Could Have Been a Sequel

• Hellraiser Revival delivers a narrative that is true to the source material, hitting it home for long-time fans of the franchise.
• Aidan must traverse the hellscape of the Labyrinth to save his girlfriend Sunny.
• The feeling of dread and desperation is constant throughout the narrative of the game.

Hellraiser Revival delivers a narrative that hits remarkably close to home for long-time fans of the franchise. You play as Aidan, a protagonist forced to wield the power of a mysterious puzzle box known as the Genesis Configuration. His mission is direct yet daunting: navigate the twisted, otherworldly hellscape of the Labyrinth to rescue his girlfriend, Sunny. This setup immediately locks you into the core Hellraiser mythos, turning the iconic box from a passive artifact into a primary tool for survival and progress.

What stands out most about the narrative is how seamlessly it captures Clive Barker’s signature atmosphere and tone. The story remains thoroughly engaging throughout my playthrough, balancing personal desperation with macabre horror. In fact, the writing is so faithful to the source material that the script could have easily been handed to a studio as the foundation for a proper film sequel. It manages to feel grounded in existing lore while offering a fresh, interactive descent into the dread-fueled world of the Cenobites. Speaking of dread.

An Atmosphere That Gets Under Your Skin

• Hellraiser Revival uses a first-person perspective that adds intense immersion to the game.
• Sections involving Pinhead and the Cenobites are always intense and leave players stressed. Especially one scene in a club.
• The visuals in the Leviathan locations clearly had higher production value compared to other locations in the game. 

The first-person perspective is a great fit for this world. Seeing your hands interact with doors and objects makes everything feel more immediate, particularly when the game turns a routine action into something unsettling.

Saving is a perfect example. You put your hand into a hole in the wall, where something grabs and cuts your arm. It does not cost health, but the animation makes even saving your progress feel uncomfortable. That attention to the franchise’s fixation on pain carries through to healing and other interactions.

The environments and audio do much of the work. This is not consistently a visual showcase, and some character models are less convincing than others, but the atmosphere is excellent. The areas associated with Leviathan are especially terrifying, while Pinhead and the Cenobites stand out visually.

Some sequences left me genuinely stressed. One particular club scene pushed into territory that made me stop and think about just how far the game was willing to go. Without spoiling it, Hellraiser Revival commits to its disturbing subject matter.

Familiar Survival Horror With Its Own Personality

• Hellraiser Revival is clearly influenced by Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 8: Village.
• The merchant is one of the best aspects of the game. Besides selling equipment, she comments on events happening in the game and acknowledges actions Aidan has done. It’s a nice haven in a world of constant dread.

The clearest comparison is Resident Evil 7. The first-person exploration, scavenging, crafting, and resource management feel familiar, while the merchant and inventory system also bring Resident Evil 4 and RE: Village to mind.

The merchant is one of my favorite touches. She does more than sell equipment: she comments on events, acknowledges things you have done, and provides lore. Those reactions help her feel connected to the world and give you another reason to pay attention when you return.

Her shop also previews upcoming stock, allowing you to plan for equipment that will become available later. Discounts were another welcome detail. I held off on buying the assault rifle until late in my playthrough, then picked it up at a reduced price after accumulating ammunition in storage. It made returning to the shop feel worthwhile throughout the game.

Every Inventory Slot Matters in Hellraiser Revival

• Inventory management is critical and limited in Hellraiser Revival. It will require constant balance and trade-offs.
• Weapon durability is also important; even melee weapons will break after a few hits.

In Hellraiser Revival, inventory management plays a major role, and it can be demanding. Weapons take up substantial space alongside ammunition, healing supplies, and crafting materials. Picking up a melee weapon means considering what you will have to leave behind, especially when blunt weapons are useful for breaking armor.

Inventory upgrades help, but I regularly found myself weighing extra ammunition against another healing item or weapon. I prefer the balance of this system in Resident Evil, although Hellraiser Revival succeeds at making supplies feel valuable.

Weapon durability adds another layer. Melee weapons can break after only a few hits, and the game displays their condition on screen. Repair items and craftable repair kits let you keep using equipment you like, provided you invest the resources.

During my playthrough, I was working around the weapon durability, but it’s clear the frequent breakages will not appeal to everyone. Combined with the limited inventory space, durability sometimes turns useful tension into extra maintenance.

Exploration, Puzzles, and Bosses in Hellraiser Revival

• Exploration is rewarded regularly in Hellraiser Revival, often providing supplies, crafting materials, and weapon upgrade parts.
• Puzzles break up the game’s pace in a good way and are manageable.
• Boss fights are challenging, yet rewarding experiences. Don’t expect to defeat them on your first try. 

Exploration in Hellraiser Revival rewards you with practical supplies, crafting resources, and weapon upgrade materials. Searching areas and opening locked storage can make a meaningful difference to your equipment.

The puzzles provide a welcome change of pace. Some involve rotating the franchise’s familiar puzzle box to match the required configuration, while others ask you to search nearby environments for keypad clues. They are generally manageable, with enough thought required to break up the action without bringing progress to a halt.

Boss fights are another highlight. Their distinct attack patterns kept me learning and adjusting, and I do not think I defeated a single boss on my first attempt. They are challenging encounters that help keep the combat fresh.

A Few Rough Edges

• In Hellraiser Revival, the animations are rough and need more polish.
• The UI has some issues, such as difficulty in reading your health display, especially during fights.
• Items can also be difficult to find in the environments; though the maps help mark items in the area, it can be difficult to see them in the game. 

Some animations need more polish. While the game generally feels good to play, certain interactions and character movements could be more developed. The presentation is strongest around its signature horror imagery, with less consistency elsewhere.

The lack of a dedicated block button was also frustrating. Dodging handles many situations, but there were moments when I wanted to stand my ground. In tight encounters, moving out of the way sometimes put me in a worse position.

The UI has smaller issues. The flashing health display can be difficult to read during a fight, making it harder to judge how close you are to death. I would have preferred a clearer health bar.

Items can also be difficult to spot in the environment until you get close enough for their icons to appear. The map helps by marking discovered items, but clearer visibility would make searching less cumbersome.

Accessibility Options

• Hellraiser Revival has basic run-of-the-mill accessibility options such as subtitle options, colorblind, and mono audio.

Despite the hellish atmosphere, Hellraiser Revival provides a run-of-the-mill set of accessibility options for players. There are the tried-and-true subtitle options, colorblind features, and mono audio options as well. The accessibility options just meet the bare minimum, especially considering other games released during this year.

Final Thoughts on Hellraiser Revival

Hellraiser Revival delivers excellent atmosphere, extreme body horror, and satisfying survival horror systems. Its reactive merchant, rewarding exploration, and challenging bosses give it substance beyond the shock value. Uneven animations, demanding weapon maintenance, and occasional interface frustrations hold it back, but they never outweigh how effectively it pulled me into its disturbing world.

For horror fans who enjoy the first-person approach of Resident Evil 7 and want something that fully embraces Hellraiser’s brutality, this is an easy recommendation.

Note – A key was provided for the purpose of this review.