Hellraiser: Revival Hands-On: A Brutal, Puzzle-Heavy Horror Experience

I didn't know what to expect from Hellraiser: Revival when I sat down for my hands-on session at Summer Game Fest. We knew it was a first-person horror title with puzzles, but after spending time with it, the game’s DNA feels remarkably close to the Resident Evil series.

The demo dropped me into a small, contained area filled with locked doors, keys to hunt down, and puzzle boxes. It felt similar to the Care Center in Resident Evil Requiem, albeit on a smaller scale. As I moved through the rooms, clearing out enemies, I found myself scouring lockers and cupboards for a specific snake key required to progress through the lobby.

Combat and Environmental Puzzles

Because Pinhead is a powerful presence, you aren't forced to stay hidden in the shadows. You have an arsenal of guns and melee weapons at your disposal to blast through threats. While the combat feels a bit clunky, the action is fast-paced and arcade-y, which provides a solid counter-balance to the slower, more deliberate puzzle-solving sections.

Saber Interactive's team emphasized that the game opens up significantly as you progress, featuring large, Resident Evil-style areas. The puzzles also go beyond simple key hunting. In one section, I used the iconic puzzle cube to physically rotate parts of the environment, creating a bridge across a gap. It is a refreshing take on the genre to use the world itself as the primary puzzle mechanic.

The Looping Horror of the Corridor

One of the most striking moments in the demo involved a house corridor. The game forces you to interact with specific items in a specific order. If you get it right, you move forward; if you get it wrong, the area loops, becoming increasingly twisted and terrifying with each attempt. Chains hang from the ceiling, blood begins to coat the walls, and doors creak open in unsettling ways. It effectively mirrors the structure of Control’s Ashtray Maze, but with a gruesome, Exit 8-style loop that ramps up the tension.

Staying True to the Source Material

Todd Hollenshead, Head of Publishing at Saber, noted that finding the right balance for the game’s tone was a priority. According to Hollenshead, the team wanted to lean into the core of the franchise, acknowledging that Clive Barker’s vision was always defined by a specific mix of sex and violence. Rather than watering it down to appeal to a broader audience, the team focused on keeping the experience authentic to the series' identity.

After playing it, I’m confident they’ve hit that mark. The game is undeniably brutal, shocking, and gory—the final moments of the demo were particularly vile in a way that fans of the franchise will likely appreciate. Hellraiser: Revival has quickly become one of the titles I’m most looking forward to this fall. If you're a fan of survival horror, keep this one on your radar.