We are just days away from the release of Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games’ Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival. Launching on October 8, Hellraiser: Revival is gearing up to be a scary good time, especially since this studio has plenty of experience adapting iconic horror franchises into video game masterpieces, as evidence of their work on Evil Dead: The Game in 2022. As we are in spooky season, this is the perfect time to pick up a new horror title.
While the single-player first-person game’s scenario is one we’ve all seen before, centered around the fearsome puzzle box, the true standout mechanic of this new title is the usage of the infamous puzzle box, aka the Genesis Configuration. Once used to summon evil beyond our wildest imaginations, Hellraiser: Revival is utilizing the box for slightly less nefarious purposes, introducing something new to the survival horror genre. Hellraiser: Revival shows us that sometimes a person’s greatest fear can become their greatest asset.
Once a Feared Item—the Genesis Configuration Becomes Your Greatest Asset
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Hellraiser: Revival begins like any Hellraiser flick where, on one fated night, a few folks stumble across the infamous puzzle box, effectively changing their lives. Through the game, players are introduced to Aidan Lynch and his girlfriend Sunny. One fateful night, the couple stumble across the Genesis Configuration and decide against better judgment to open it up. Upon opening the puzzle box, they inadvertently open a door, letting in the Cenobites, an alien-esque race that relishes both in pain and in pleasure.
Pinhead takes Sunny into the Labyrinth, the Cenobites’ realm, and like any good boyfriend would, Aidan goes after her. In order to get her back, Aidan must fight both demons and a human cult called the Scarlet Church whose members are deeply devoted to the Cenobites. His greatest asset? The Genesis Configuration that got the couple into all this trouble in the first place. In the game, the Genesis Configuration is used as a weapon and a key to progression, dual wielded along with melee weapons or guns to solve puzzles, alter the environment, and down enemies. Twisting and rotating the cube allows players to physically transform parts of the Labyrinth, opening up paths to new areas.
Once used to summon evil beyond our wildest imaginations, Hellraiser: Revival is utilizing the box for slightly less nefarious purposes, introducing something new to the survival horror genre.
This inventive addition to combat can be used to chuck enemies across environments or wield objects around a stage to defend yourself, a similar mechanic to stasis in Dead Space. Once enemies are downed, Aidan will receive Suffering, a sort of power source for the Genesis Configuration that fuels attacks. With enough Suffering, players can summon powerful attacks like Hell Chains that summon hooked chains aimed at spearing enemies where they stand. When utilized with firearms or your common melee weapons, the Genesis Configuration diversifies combat, offering players new and unique ways to take out targets, playing vastly different to your average survival horror romp.
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While a key item now, this puzzle box is and was a fearsome tool that has caused great suffering. It is one that players must now use to their advantage if they want to make it out of the Labyrinth unscathed. While an all-powerful key item doubling as a weapon isn’t a new concept, it is certainly shocking to see something as terrifying as the puzzle box suddenly become an asset for survival. I can only liken this mechanic to something like the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda, since the weapon can be used as, well, a weapon, but also doubles as a key to open new areas, solve puzzles, and take out enemies.
If it is powerful enough to take down both the beast and the human forms of the ever-frightening Ganondorf, the legendary sword is definitely something worthy of reverence. The Master Sword is a powerful and sometimes fearsome object. There have been many versions of the sword over the years. It can harm as well as help Link throughout his journey. In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, attempting to pull it prematurely drains the hero’s health, serving as a test of life force and readiness to wield it. Like the Genesis Configuration, the Master Sword can be used to flip switches, changing the environment around Link to unlock previously locked areas.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
Breaking objects or cutting down vines can also reveal hidden paths or solve environmental puzzles. The blade effectively repels evil, known as the Blade of Evil’s Bane, sealing away darkness and protecting Hyrule from evil. A fearsome, powerful object, the Master Sword is all-powerful, very similar to the puzzle box, although their capacity for good and evil are very different. Without either or, a player’s progression is effectively halted. With great power comes great responsibility.
Creative Weapons are the Key to Great Combat
Many times, I have found myself thoroughly enjoying a game because of its combat system. The game could be an absolute stinker, but the combat and weapons available have made me forget the bad parts entirely. Games are also pushed further over the edge thanks to a great weapons system, making them even better. I am a firm believer that a creative arsenal of weapons is the key to great combat and a great overall game. Combat becomes fun and addictive. I find myself eager to get into fights just to see how these weapons work on unsuspecting foes.
One of the most fun weapons systems that I have had the pleasure of playing around with can be found in games like Half-Life 2 or Dead Space, where gravity guns can fling saw blades at enemies, decapitating limbs before ricocheting off of walls to down even more enemies. Honorable mention to Dead Space’s Plasma Cutter that slices Necromorphs like a hot knife through butter. What about the Portal gun from the Portal series? This gun basically bends the rules of space and time, opening conjoined portals that can fling enemies across areas or solve puzzles a normal person can’t reach on their own. Too cool. Death Stranding‘s Hematic Grenades are another awesome weapon that dispatch BTs with ease utilizing Sam’s own blood.
A creative weapon or weapons makes people actually look forward to taking on enemies. It arms players with confidence, while equipping them with an arsenal capable of downing baddies in many cool ways. Fun or unique weapons are also a much-needed reprieve from your standard lineup of shotguns or grenades. Something with pizzazz that effectively and swiftly, or sometimes slowly and brutally, downs bad guys is too fun. It seems like the Genesis Configuration is that kind of weapon. A tool that can dispatch many in creative ways, accompanied by your standard arsenal that makes killing all the more fun.
- Released
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October 8, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
