Although I haven’t seen it (because I didn’t manage to get that far) there is apparently a severed hand in level five that gives the middle finger, which is obviously a tribute to the severed hand in Sam Raimi‘s classic horror sequel, Evil Dead II. Graphically, Splatterhouse is very basic, with limited animation and muted colours (just look at the screenshots – everything is very brown), although credit must be given for the imaginatively-designed enemies and situations. Unless you’re exceptionally good at the game. You get three lives and one single continue to carry on once the game’s over, so experiencing Splatterhouse‘s later levels is something of a rarity. One hit from an enemy will lose him one heart, and when all his hearts have gone he loses a life.

Rick’s only fallback is his health meter, which is indicated by a row of hearts at the bottom of the screen. Although it’s not really a single ‘boss’ he’s fighting, per se, more of a prolonged attack by multiple smaller opponents. Again.Īt the end of each scrolling section Rick must survive an even more brutal onslaught – usually in a single room – by punching and kicking his way through a boss battle. He must make his way by any means possible, from left to right, through hoards of evil monsters – all of which want to suck his brains out through his nose… Rick mustn’t dawdle either, because an unknown horror is slowly creeping up behind him as he walks and if it catches him it’ll kill him. Rick can jump, punch, crouch, kick, do a special sliding kick, and can also pick up weapons he finds along the way.

According to the story, Rick has died and been resurrected by The Terror Mask and he’s now on a mission to rescue his girlfriend Jennifer from a fate worse than death. You play Rick, a hockey mask-wearing parapsychology major who is trapped inside a nightmarish building called West Mansion. It is known for its grotesque opponents and for its satirisation of well-known horror films of the 1980s.

Splatterhouse is an infamous side-scrolling horror-themed action game that was released into arcades by Namco in 1988.

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