The video game industry is full of canceled projects. Most of them never see the light of day, living their short lives without the public ever catching wind of their existence. Very few of them get hyped up then canceled at the 11th hour like Paradox Development’s boundary-pushing fighting game Thrill Kill. The controversial nature of the project, at least for 1998, had a lot of people talking and ultimately led to its cancellation. But aside from its shocking-for-the-time theming, did it have anything to offer to the genre?
Oddly enough, Thrill Kill started as a game called Earth Monsters, a violent take on basketball. After abandoning that concept, they decided they wanted to make a four-player fighting game, a big feat for the time, that would outshine Mortal Kombat with its brutality. Initially, they wanted to push things so far that they would be the first Adults Only-rated game to have a major release, but pulled back after the realization that most retail outlets wouldn’t stock them with that rating.
Thrill Kill’s story followed a group of souls banished to Hell fighting for a chance to be reincarnated. This setting was populated by characters ranging from an evil plastic surgeon to a deadly dominatrix, all custom built to push the boundaries of taste in the most shocking ways possible. It wasn’t anything particularly deep or terrifying, often resorting to clichés like the hulking postman who “went postal” and killed his coworkers or a hillbilly cannibal who fights using a severed leg. To really get the game noticed, Paradox upped the sexualization of the female characters, pushing it into BDSM territory.
Unfortunately, publisher Virgin Interactive was purchased by EA, and the game never ended up being released. Despite being basically finished, they decided the game would harm their image if released. Eventually, the studio would repurpose their at the time impressive fighting engine for the 1999 game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, a four-player fighter featuring the iconic rap group. The game was an interesting use of the Wu-Tang license, creating an experience that’s fondly remembered by some.
Thrill Kill’s legacy has lived on due to the nature of its cancellation and controversial content, with bootleg copies of it floating around for years. But the real question remains: would Thrill Kill have been successful if released? The 3D fighting genre was still a novelty at the time, and this game was built from the ground up to support four players, so it seemed like it would have been a shoo-in for players gathering in places like college dorm rooms. Boundary-pushing fighting games were also popular at that time, with Mortal Kombat flourishing and many edgy imitators, such as Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. and the like, joining the fray.
That being said, the violence in the game is pretty tame by today’s standards, especially compared to the type of realistic yet over-the-top violence seen in the modern Mortal Kombat series. The sexual content of the game was also pretty juvenile, mostly focused on outdated jokes at the expense of its female characters. Even the violent Thrill Kills, this game’s version of fatalities, didn’t keep up their shock value after repeated viewings.
Thrill Kill did have some neat ideas going on gameplay-wise. While not even close to being as smooth as something like Power Stone, the value of having a four-player 3D fighter was undeniable, especially given the way player elimination worked. Rather than having a traditional life bar like in most fighting games, you build up a meter by attacking. Once the meter is full, the player becomes supercharged, allowing a short window where you can eliminate the next player you hit. If the meter is filled when it’s down to just two, you’ll get charged for your “Thrill Kill,” the extra violent final kill.
These moments made for a tense chase, as everyone tries to run away to prevent their brutal death. The focus on building up a meter also gives the player incentive to be more aggressive, both fitting with the tone of the game’s world and making sure you don’t have one player hiding out in the corner while the others whittle each other down.
The combat itself is heavily based on combos and counters, which can be a little difficult to perform when fighting multiple players from all angles. The levels themselves have some good theming, but all amount to square rooms, meaning there’s a lot of crowding in a corner when a player has their meter charged. It’s easy to see why EA saw promise in the engine, because it feels like Thrill Kill is a good first try that would have improved greatly with subsequent sequels and better tech. I could easily see it throwing in some Super Smash Brothers-style items to mix things up a bit and add variety.
No matter how you felt about the game itself, it will live on in infamy due to the nature of its content. The dark backstories try to reach for heights that Twisted Metal: Black would eventually hit, but still, feel rooted in trying to push the envelope rather than attempting to tell a “mature” story. The premise and characters all were unique, and with a little more polish and care the game could have lived up to its reputation as a video nasty-style classic. I’m surprised there hasn’t been an attempt at a modern release, as it was a finished product, and not nearly as controversial as it would have been 20+ years ago.