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.
Raw Tale Games recently dropped a new devlog for its long-in-development medieval job sim Dreadwoods Gatekeeper, which is currently in development for release on Steam. Likened to Papers, Please with an atmospheric horror twist, the devlog dives into various aspects of the game, which main developer Darko describes as a “combination of story, horror, atmosphere, and simulation elements”.
Dreadwoods Gatekeeper sees you take on the role of a young army recruit who’s not the greatest at his job. To compensate for your lack of training, you choose to take on the job of gatekeeper for an isolated gate outpost in the Dreadwoods region. Your job is simple: inspect travelers, their documents, and the goods in their wagons before decide to let them through. At the same time, you’ll also be doing maintenance of the old gatehouse, and keeping yourself and your animal companions fed.
Needless to say, the locals talk of how the outpost is cursed, but you don’t believe it. You soon start to change your mind, as something doesn’t feel quite right about this place. Are you truly alone here? Could there be something supernatural lurking in the shadows? It’s up to you to uncover the truth while carrying out your duties and surviving the eerie nights.
Currently, the game has been in development since 2024. Raw Tale Games is currently planning future playtests for Dreadwoods Gatekeeper, which you can currently track for updates via the mailing list.