Hellraiser: Revival Is Out Now: Reviews, Price, Platforms and Doug Bradley's Return as Pinhead

Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival launched October 8 on PS5, Xbox, PC and Switch 2 for $39.99 – and critics are deeply split on whether it's pleasure or pain.

The box has been opened. Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, the first-person horror game that brings Pinhead back to consoles and PC, launched on Thursday, October 8, 2026. It's out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch 2, and it arrives with one of the most divided critical receptions of the fall.

Some reviewers call it a faithful, nasty love letter to Clive Barker's 1987 film. Others say it buckles under clunky combat, starved resources and bugs. Here's what you need to know before you buy.

Price, platforms and editions

Saber Interactive publishes the game, with Boss Team Games also involved in the project. The price is lower than a typical big-budget release:

The Deluxe Edition adds a Nailer melee weapon, cosmetic skins for a Cenobite shotgun and a baseball bat, a weapon charm, an '80s horror movie filter, a digital art book, a digital novella called Bleeding Hearts and the soundtrack. Pre-orders also came with a Labyrinth Pistol skin and a Martyr Sawblade skin.

For collectors, physical collector's editions were sold through Boss Team Games, built around a replica of the puzzle box along with other licensed extras.

Pinhead is back – and so is Doug Bradley

The headline for longtime fans is the cast. Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead in the first eight Hellraiser films, returns to voice the Hell Priest. Clive Barker himself consulted on the story, which was written in collaboration with him.

You play as Aidan, whose girlfriend Sunny is taken by the Cenobites. To get her back, he has to survive a cult that worships them and descend into the Labyrinth, using both ordinary weapons and the powers of the Genesis Configuration, the game's version of the iconic puzzle box. The box lets you throw objects with telekinesis, use fire and chain attacks, and solve puzzles that reshape the Labyrinth around you.

Mechanically, it's a first-person survival horror game with action and stealth elements. Ammunition and crafting supplies are tight, melee weapons wear down, and the box's powers are fueled by hurting enemies – so the game pushes you to stay aggressive while managing a thin inventory. Expect chase sequences, boss fights and a lot of gore; this is not a game that holds back.

The reviews: pleasure or pain?

Critics could hardly agree less. On launch day, Metacritic's PS5 page, which has the most reviews, sat at 69 – a "mixed or average" result that hides a huge spread. Individual scores spread from enthusiastic to harsh:

• GamingTrend (8.5/10) called the combat loop, which rewards inflicting suffering, a great economic engine, praised the Unreal Engine 5 visuals and sound design, and singled out Bradley's performance. It also reported frequent crashes to desktop in the last third of the PC version.
• Push Square (5/10) praised the faithful, brutal tone and the trippy Labyrinth sections, but criticized severe resource shortages, clunky controls, confusing level design and frustrating bosses. It finished the game in about eight hours.
• Game Informer (4.5/10) liked the art direction, Bradley's return and some of the puzzle-box ideas, but described weightless gunplay and a long list of bugs: enemies stuck in scenery, broken chase scenes, audio dropouts, subtitles that don't appear and an encounter that failed to finish.

The common thread is easy to spot. Almost everyone agrees that Revival looks and feels like Hellraiser – the atmosphere, the Cenobites and the Labyrinth get consistent praise. Where reviewers split is on whether the shooting, stealth and economy are good enough to carry a full campaign, and how much technical trouble they ran into.

Performance and technical notes

On PS5 and PS5 Pro, the game offers both quality and performance modes. Push Square noted occasional frame drops in performance mode, especially when moving between areas. Bugs show up across several reviews and platforms, so a day-one or early patch would not be surprising – but Saber has not detailed one at the time of writing.

If you're on PC, Saber released a free Steam demo ahead of launch. If it's still available, it's the safest way to test how the game runs on your hardware before paying.

A bumpy road in Germany

The launch also came with a ratings headache. Germany's USK had issued a rating, but after an objection the game went through a second review, and it was temporarily pulled from the German Steam store. In the days before launch it returned to Steam in Germany for pre-order, though German outlets reported that the final outcome of the USK review had not been officially published. Saber also removed the ability to dismember dead enemies – a change that applies to every version of the game, not just the German one.

Should you play it?

If you're a Hellraiser fan, Revival is probably the most faithful game adaptation the series has ever had, and Doug Bradley's return alone will be enough for many. The $39.99 price also makes it easier to take a chance on.

If you mainly care about tight shooting and polish, it may be smarter to wait. The reviews suggest a game with strong horror instincts and real ideas held back by rough edges – exactly the kind of release that can improve a lot with a few patches. Read a few reviews, keep an eye on upcoming updates, and decide whether you're ready to solve the box.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.