“We have such sights to show you!” – Interview with HELLRAISER: REVIVAL Video Game Studio Mad Head Games

2026/06/24 16:06:25 +00:00 | Jonathan James

Bryan and I can hardly contain our excitement for the new Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival video game! Every trailer looks better than the next, and with a release date now set for October, we're only months away from getting our hands on what looks to be an incredible new chapter in Clive Barker's endlessly fascinating world of pleasure and pain. The best place to keep up on all things Hellraiser: Revival is the Hellraiser community Discord server, and courtesy of Tony Searle of the Hellraiser Discord community, we have a transcript of the interview that was conducted with video game developer Mad Head Games (a Saber Interactive studio).

The interview is a great way to get Hellraiser fans and gamers up to speed on the approach Mad Head Games is taking, including discussion on their work with Clive Barker and Doug Bradley to keep this new installment true to the original movies and novella. For all of the juicy details, read the full interview below, but also make sure to keep up with the very latest on Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival and community discussions on all things Hellraiser by visiting:

Interview Courtesy of Tony Searle - Hellraiser Discord Community

Hellraiser has a very distinct aesthetic and philosophical core - pain, pleasure, desire, and horror all woven and intertwined. How did you approach translating that into interactive gameplay without losing the essence of Clive Barker’s vision?

Clive was heavily involved in our process early on, which was integral to maintaining his vision. He made certain that we understood the soul of the work. Once we had the spirit of the story, he empowered us to make the idea into something you play. At that point, he began reviewing gameplay and narrative scripts periodically, offering feedback and ensuring we stayed true to Hellraiser’s soul.

Clive has seemingly played a deep creative role, helping shape the new narrative while ensuring it remains faithful to his vision of “the seductive pull of suffering”. How did his involvement influence key creative decisions from early concepts to the final release?

Clive is an imaginative powerhouse; he's given us a lot of input on the game. He was involved every step of the way and made sure we understood his vision so we could better translate it into the game.

Did anybody playing the Gamescom demo need to use the provided vomit bags? Was that marketing flair, or did you expect people to potentially need them?

We expected people to potentially need them. We cannot confirm or deny whether anyone needed to use it.

How did you balance cosmic horror and body horror with interactive storytelling, given that both can easily become overwhelming or gratuitous?

The duality and contrast between the teams is sort of like the famous quote, “Demons to some, angels to others”. The design goals we set for ourselves when it came to those were getting to the feeling of discomfort. We wanted the players to feel discomfort while watching, but never to do violence just for the sake of violence. We took it very seriously to honor the storytelling. A lot of the team are huge Hellraiser fans who have read all the books and seen all the movies, so they have really dived deep and have an excellent understanding.

Were there moments where the technology of modern engines allowed you to do things with Hellraiser’s world that the movies never could?

We are separated by decades, so they were for sure limited. Video games are an interactive medium, so naturally, we empower players to immerse themselves in a much deeper way than the movies ever could. You can dive in and see explicit details from multiple angles, and in immersive ways that traditional movies could never really help provide.

The Cenobites aren’t typical “enemies.” How do they function in the game - as hunters, stalkers, manipulators, boss fights or something more complex?

Without spoiling too much, the Cenobites value suffering, and suffering can be delivered in more ways than violence alone. We have such sights to show you!

Were there considerations for accessibility in terms of tone and content (gore filters, difficulty settings) so that more players could engage without neutering the horror; Particularly those players who may want to stream the game or promote the game?

As developers, we are strongly against censorship in games; there is no place for that. We want to create an unforgettable experience for Hellraiser fans, possibly pushing the boundaries, without our creativity being limited in any way. With that said, we have been in communication with our partners and believe that our game will be viewable as long as creators set the appropriate mature content warnings for their audience.

Horror in games often borrows from popular franchises, but Hellraiser is more philosophical and transgressive. How do you see this game standing out in the wider horror landscape?

Hellraiser, as a franchise, is known to be an uncomfortable experience. Having Clive Barker’s involvement in the creation of our game and Doug Bradley returning as Pinhead was very important in staying true to the original vision. These combined will help make our game stand out in the horror landscape for its content and how we pushed the limits.

What’s one aspect of Hellraiser’s philosophy or imagery you felt most strongly about preserving, even if it was risky for gameplay or marketability?

The team wanted to preserve Clive Barker's entire vision. No matter what, we were going to stay true to his creation, making this game a true extension of Clive’s dark and imaginative world. From the visual style, overall lore, character personalities and even the Genesis Configuration, we stayed true to these key pillars to remain authentic to the spirit of Hellraiser.

Some of the initial previews and impressions of the game noted some concerns or issues, particularly with rigid melee combat, low gunplay feedback & responsiveness and questionable enemy A.I. Is the team taking this feedback into consideration and endeavouring to smooth, polish and enhance these systems and mechanics?

We have continued to develop and polish the gameplay experience beyond what journalists or creators have been able to play in the game's early stages.

Is Revival a wholly linear experience, or are players likely to be rewarded through exploring; deviating from the beaten-path?

This is best left to the imagination. Players will have to discover for themselves.

Was there a consideration to create or introduce new Cenobites and to potentially expand the ranks of Pinhead's ‘Gash’? Or are you essentially sticking to just the core four Cenobites?

Pinhead (of course), Butterball, Chatterer and Fallen. They are all present in the game to varying degrees but we don’t want to reveal too much on that yet.

Can fans of the franchise expect easter eggs, nods and references to the franchise overall, whether that be across all eleven movie installments, comics or other media?

We had a strong focus on the first two movies and The Hellbound Heart novella first. If you want more details, you will have to discover for yourself when the game is out.

If the ratings and classification bodies demand cuts or revisions to the violence or sexuality of the game, does the studios have contingencies in place to protect the games original vision, or would it likely result in the case of diluted and cut content?

We do not believe in censoring game content, as it would not align with our (or Clive Barker's) vision. We have already obtained our ESRB and PEGI ratings without compromising content, and we are continuing to work with the other ratings boards to make our game as widely available as possible.

Can fans hope for any classic Hellraiser characters like Frank, Kirsty or Julia as examples to make any cameo appearances?

Our story takes place 20 years after the first movie and focuses on an original cast of characters; apart from the 4 classic Cenobites, there are no cameo appearances.

The game takes place twenty years after the events of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II, which would place it within the same general timeframe as Hellraiser: Deader. That movie also explores cult activity, though centered on LeMarchand rather than Leviathan. Did the team watch Deader during development? And did any of the later movies influence the game’s production beyond the first two Hellraiser movies?

Again, we focused on the first two movies and the novella for inspiration. Everything else we were quite selective about, but you will need to play to uncover more information.

Aidan seems to share some of the wretched infatuation traits with Julia Cotton, which Antony De Fault has advised Aidan was somewhat modelled on. Was this a deliberate decision to pay homage somewhat to Julia, or is that this kind of human psychology is ripe for exploration in the Hellraiser universe?

It is an homage to her character… but it is also part of humanity, found in many people and essential to the themes that Hellraiser explores.

For the games inventory system, previewers have noted similarities to Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Village – What was the design process for an attache-case style management for this and what sets Revival’s apart from the games that have inspired and maybe influenced such a system?

We were focused on creating an action survival horror experience. We felt that this type of system fit the genre perfectly.

Part of the notable legacy of Hellraiser is the musical score of in which is unlike anything else before or since. Has the development team taken a similar approach to the music in the game?

We are utilizing a mix of our own creations themed after the original score, as well as remixed licensed music from artists such as Sexual Purity, which we feel fit our vision.

With Doug’s return as Pinhead, the fandom has noted that the effect modulation on his voice seems to be more heavily processed. Is this down to his inevitably aging voice or could it be tied to a particular narrative the game is running with? Is the voice filter something that is still in development to find that happy medium?

Doug's voice has changed as he aged, but funnily enough, while recording his voiceover for the game, he shared an anecdote with us about how the team from the original movie did not save the settings that were used for modulating his voice, so they had to recreate it again for the second movie and for each iteration after. The same also happened here, where our team has been working on recreating the voice modulation from scratch, and we feel that our final landing place for it fits the character appropriately.

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Many thanks to Tony Searle of the Hellraiser Discord Community for providing us access to this informative discussion with the studio behind Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival! To read previous interviews from the community and to keep up with all things Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, be sure to visit and join:

"Experience a new chapter in the legendary horror series like never before. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival takes first-person action horror survival to the next level.

Play the story of Aidan, who must use the power of a mysterious puzzle box – the Genesis Configuration – to help his girlfriend Sunny's escape from the otherworldly hellscape of the Labyrinth.

Wield the powers of the box to survive your bargain with the infamous Pinhead and do battle with the horrific cult devoted to the Cenobites.

A New Story in Hellraiser's Canon – Unwittingly kickstart Pinhead’s ritual to unleash greater pain and pleasure than ever before.

Harness the Power of the Box – Combine the unique, hellish abilities of the Configuration with an arsenal of earthly weapons to inflict bone-breaking, flesh-searing pain - or is it pleasure? - upon masochistic enemies.

Fight Against Unholy Enemies – Take on hell's wretches, deviants, cultists, and even its most infernal priests in a story-driven horror survival game."

Releasing October 8th to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC / Steam. To wishlist the game now, visit: https://saber.games/hellraiserrevival/