Video Games
‘Hellraiser: Revival’ Secures Its ESRB Rating With No Cuts
After aiming to push the ESRB rating as far as they possibly could, Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games have secured a rating for Hellraiser: Revival. And while it’s assumed that the game snagged a Mature rating (as an Adult Only classification would effectively block it from being sold on the PlayStation Store), Saber’s chief creative officer Tim Willits revealed to IGN that they “had to take nothing out for [the rating]”.
Similar to the MPA, the ESRB tends to come down on games that have a focus on sexual content (Madmind’s Agony and Succubus come to mind). This is particularly noteworthy, since the world of Hellraiser has plenty of that, mixed in with its brutal violence and gore.
However, the ESRB is only one of the multiple ratings boards that Saber will have to satisfy in order for Hellraiser: Revival to secure a wide release. The Australian Classification Board is one such example of a big hurdle, along with CERO for Japan. Both are notorious when it comes to having stricter guidelines when it comes to violence and sexual themes.
Nonetheless, Willits is confident the team will get their ratings for those respective territories. “We’re working with all the other ratings groups now, and I think that we’re going to do really well. It’s all context. It all fits with the IP. It is an artwork, and it is a mature game for mature audiences. We’ve stayed within those lines, and we’ve been very successful at moving the game through all rating boards.”
As mentioned last month during Harrison’s interview with the team, Saber is aiming to deliver an authentic Hellraiser experience. “We studied a lot of what makes Hellraiser so unique and appealing,” said Revival Game Director Emil Esov. “[And we] believe that what we came up with captures that true essence both in theme and in audio-visual delivery.”
Hellraiser: Revival will unleash its sights later this year for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series.
Six years after its release, and just in time for the game’s 10th anniversary, Red Hook Studios have announced a brand-new Darkest Dungeon DLC in “The Fire’s Edge”. Coming August 18 to PC via Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation and Switch (the Xbox version will arrive at a later date), the update will add two heroes with unique mechanics from the critically-acclaimed sequel Darkest Dungeon II, along with a variety of brand new features and capabilities.
The Fire’s Edge introduces two new characters in The Duelist and The Runaway. The Runaway is a position-flexible damage dealer utilizing a unique Burn damage type with high synergy for teams that like to utilize Stuns and Pull/Knockback/Shuffle effects. Meanwhile, The Duelist is a complex damage dealer that dances between the party’s ranks, able to freely maintain Riposte while alternating between her two combat stances, Defensive and Aggressive.
Those who have explored Darkest Dungeon II will be pleased to learn that the Burn combat mechanic from that game will be incorporated into Darkest Dungeon.
Players will also have three new districts in Academie Duello, Craftworks, and the Archaeological Base Camp. Trinkets, with unique mechanics such as Trigger Uses, Quest Charges and Progressive Trinkets, have also been added. And for those wishing to do a bit of modding, the devteam are working on tools to allow fans to do just that.