Spend resources like they are finite, because they are
Treat the game as a survival horror run rather than a shooter. Ammunition does not respawn, coins cannot be farmed and melee weapons lose durability with every swing, so a fight you avoid is a fight you have funded twice over.
- Hold healing items until you have no other option; the next room often contains a healing station.
- Save ammunition for bosses and use stealth to remove one to three enemies before a fight starts.
- Do not waste materials crafting recipes you will not use, because crafting stock is limited across the whole game.
Lockpicks, storage and the shop
Lockpicks break easily and there are never enough of them. Buy or pick up every one you see, even at the cost of a stack of shotgun shells, because locked containers are where the upgrades and extra weapons hide.
Zora, the merchant, refreshes her inventory periodically with firearms, upgrades and crafting recipes. Bank coins early so that you can afford an item when it appears rather than watching it cycle out.
Valuables can be left in the storage box and sold in one action from the shop screen, which saves hauling them around in a limited inventory. Recipe prices and stages are listed on the crafting page.
Weapons and upgrades
The early knife is the only melee weapon that never degrades, which makes it the tool for stealth kills and for finishing enemies you have already softened up. Everything else needs a repair kit to stay usable.
Each weapon has five upgrade slots and there are more upgrades in the world than slots, so you have to choose. Guide consensus is to put the first upgrade budget into the pistol once the medkit recipe is bought.
Details of every weapon, its location and the upgrade trade-offs are on the weapons and upgrades page.
The Suffering bar and box abilities
The Suffering bar sits in the lower left of the HUD and fuels the Genesis Configuration abilities. You refill it by damaging enemies and by fire, and you spend it on telekinesis, on the hellchains and on banishing enemies.
Enemies flash blue when they are close to death. Banishing one in that state returns health, which turns the bar into a second healing resource rather than only an attack meter.
Ability unlock order and the box puzzles are covered on the Genesis Configuration page.
How to take an encounter
Sneaking removes enemies without spending ammunition or durability, and the maps mark supplies and weapon locations you would otherwise walk past, so open the map when you enter a new area.
When a fight is unavoidable, use the environment: torches and fuel barrels burn, and traps can be placed on fuel. Armoured enemies shrug off blades, so switch to a blunt weapon or aim for exposed parts.
The full combat loop, enemy types and boss pointers are on the combat guide.
Pick your difficulty before you start
Normal is the recommended first tier and keeps autosave. Hellraiser can only be selected on a new game and charges a scarce token for every save, so it is a deliberate choice rather than an upgrade you can add later.
The four tiers and their save rules are compared on the difficulty page, and the objective order for your first run is on the story walkthrough.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first in Hellraiser: Revival?
Play on Normal, keep the starting knife as your reliable melee tool, bank coins for Zora’s stock and hold healing items until you have no alternative.
Should I use my guns early?
Sparingly. Ammunition is finite and cannot be farmed, so stealth kills and melee keep your bullets for bosses.
Are lockpicks worth buying?
Yes. They break easily and locked containers hold upgrades and weapons, so buy them whenever they are available.
Do melee weapons break?
Most do, and they need repair kits to keep working. The knife you pick up early is the exception and never degrades.
Where to go next
Healing timing, lockpicks and shop refresh behaviour. Source: Bloody Disgusting beginner tips. Checked .
Suffering bar, weapon durability, material randomness. Source: gam3s beginner guide. Checked .
Upgrade necessity and encounter approach. Source: Thumb Wars tips list. Checked .