Hellraiser: Revival’s first gameplay is pure body-horror — but can the puzzle box carry a full game?

Why this trailer actually matters

The first real look at Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival finally answers the most important question: what kind of game is this? From the trailer, it’s a first-person survival horror that leans hard into Barker’s signature body-horror-think hooks, chains, flayed flesh, and uncomfortable intimacy-wrapped around a personal rescue story. You play as Aidan, diving into the Labyrinth to pull Sunny back from Pinhead’s domain. That matters because licensed horror games usually play it safe; this one looks willing to get genuinely nasty, which is exactly where Hellraiser should live.

• It’s first-person survival horror with puzzle-driven progression, not an asymmetrical multiplayer spin.
• The famous puzzle box sits at the core of gameplay, not just the story.
• Expect explicit body-horror and dismemberment; this is unapologetically hard-R.
• Platforms are PC, PS5 and Xbox; no release date yet.

Breaking down the gameplay (beyond the shock factor)

What caught my eye wasn’t just the gore-though, yes, it’s extreme even by modern standards—it’s how often the trailer shows hands on the box. In Hellraiser, the Lament Configuration isn’t just a trinket; it’s the key that opens (and sometimes closes) the door to suffering. Revival seems to position that box as an actual system: manipulating it to open pathways in the Labyrinth, trigger traps, or control those famously weaponized chains. If the puzzle box drives exploration and combat decisions, that’s the right kind of fan service.

Combat looks deliberate and punishing. We see quick flashes of firearms and close-quarters brutality, with enemies that move like zealots and deviants rather than generic zombies. The trailer implies you’re not meant to mow through waves; you’re meant to survive encounters and pick your moments, which is closer to Resident Evil 7’s tension than to action-horror power fantasies. If the box can tilt the odds—snaring enemies with chains, buying time, or opening a bailout route—that could create cool “solve or die” dilemmas in the middle of fights.

The big question is whether the puzzles are actual puzzles or just glorified quick-time events. Barker’s universe deserves more than holding a button to “align symbols.” Give us logic, spatial reasoning, and the creeping dread of solving something you know you shouldn’t. If Revival nails that, it could stand out in a crowded genre.

How faithful is it to Barker’s hell?

Visually, it reads as Hellraiser with confidence: industrial-flesh architecture, ritual geometry, and the palpable sense that pain and desire are two sides of the same coin. Pinhead’s presence feels authoritative, not cartoonish. The Labyrinth looks like an actual place you traverse, not just a cutscene backdrop. This is where most adaptations stumble—turning Barker’s cool imagery into a haunted house tour. Revival seems to understand that the dread comes from temptation and consequence as much as from hooks and blood.

My one worry is pacing. The Callisto Protocol showed that a gore-forward marketing cycle doesn’t automatically translate into sustained tension. Hellraiser’s horror is patient; it lingers. If Revival stacks every corridor with a new shock, the numbness sets in. Smart horror knows when to whisper and when to scream. The trailer leans toward screaming; the final game needs plenty of whispering too—sound design, darkness, and the terrifying pause before you twist the box one more time.

Why this matters now

We’ve had Pinhead in Dead by Daylight, but a full-blooded, narrative-driven Hellraiser game has been conspicuously absent. Meanwhile, licensed horror has exploded—Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Evil Dead, even killer clowns. Most of those skew multiplayer or co-op. Revival arriving as a single-player, puzzle-weighted survival horror is a welcome counterweight. Horror fans have been asking for fewer live-service grinds and more authored nightmares; this could scratch that itch.

Timing-wise, it also lands into a post-Dead Space remake landscape where players expect polished dismemberment systems, meaningful resource pressure, and top-tier audio. Revival doesn’t have to be AAA bombast, but it needs mechanical bite. The trailer suggests it—now the studio has to prove it’s more than nice framing around the box.

What gamers need to know (and what we still don’t)

• Platforms: PC, PS5, and Xbox. No release date yet, so don’t expect it imminently.
• Tone: Explicit body-horror and dismemberment. If you bounced off Outlast or The Medium for being too intense, consider this a hard content warning.
• Structure: Trailer reads single-player story with puzzle progression. No sign of asymmetrical multiplayer.
• Pinhead: Looks and sounds close to the classic portrayal. If the original actor is involved, huge win—but that hasn’t been clearly confirmed.
• Systems check: We still need to see HUD, inventory pressure, healing rules, save system, and how the box interfaces with combat beyond scripted moments.

One practical ask: accessibility. High-contrast modes, gore filters, customizable controls, and generous subtitle options matter—especially in a game that weaponizes darkness and audio. Hellraiser’s aesthetic is extreme; let players calibrate how they experience it without dulling the edge.

Looking ahead

I want the next showcase to be less sizzle and more systems: a full sequence where you solve the box, lure an enemy, spring a trap, panic, and improvise your way out with barely a bullet left. Show the Labyrinth as a place that reconfigures—doors shifting, geometry lying to you, temptation paid forward with consequences. If Revival delivers that, it won’t just be a good Hellraiser game; it’ll be a standout survival horror, period.

TL;DR

Hellraiser: Revival’s first gameplay trailer is all-in on body-horror and puts the infamous puzzle box at the heart of play. It looks faithful and mean in the right ways, but the real test is whether those puzzles and systems carry the experience beyond shock value. Platforms are PC, PS5, and Xbox—no date yet.