A hellacious heart-felt game: A look at All Hell Unleashed

For horror fans whose tastes mix mediums like ingredients in a mad scientist’s casserole, the idea of crossovers in both games and movies are a favored form of fan service. We’ve all debated who would win in a fight between Michael Myers and Ash Williams, or who’s deadlier, Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger (at least until Freddy Vs. Jason 2 is released and we get a definitive answer.) But some fans take it a step further. When they decide to bring famous frights into their passion projects, they don’t settle for one or two; some like indie game developer Steve McCall of Fista Productions, also known as 8-Bit Slasher, choose to throw in as many major franchises as they can. McCall’s most popular game, All Hell Unleashed, does this very thing, and recently had version 6.66 released. With David Arquette, who horror fans will remember as Dewey from Scream shrieking the game’s praises, it’s clear that All Hell Unleashed is a fan’s passion project gone gold.

Courtesy of Steve McCall

With nearly thirty years’ experience with NES/SNES games (Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, respectively), McCall poured his passion for 80s and 90s horror films into every pixel present in All Hell Unleashed, spending over a year in improving and developing the game. A 2D platformer, All Hell Unleashed plays much like the staples of early video games, such as Super Mario Brothers or Megaman, but with a somewhat darker tone. Players take on the role of a lone protagonist battling against iconic villains of some of the biggest horror movie franchises. Summoned to our world by a satanic cult, such icons as Jason Voorhees, Candyman, Leatherface, and even the Killer Klowns from Outerspace do their damnedest to massacre the player as they save “busty damsels” and work to undo the cult’s evil plans.

Courtesy of Steve McCall

To do so, players move through one of ten levels, each based on a horror classic. From Scream to Child’s Play, players will use thrown knives and Molotov cocktails (which double as a way to clear certain obstacles) to fight through a variety of enemies, every one of which is a shoutout to the source material. Moving through the Halloween level, for example, will see players fighting off a sheet-ghost, a rolling Jack-o-Lantern, and even knives thrown at them. In addition, terrain hazards (read: more knives) and pitfalls threaten to put players in an early grave before they even find Meyers, meaning players will need to be quick on their feet as they seek out the dimensional orbs they need to complete the level. Once they have found all the orbs, a portal takes players to the second part of the level, where cultists and one of the aforementioned damsels await them. The damsels are not just pixelated eye-candy; saving them is vital to unlocking the game’s true ending, and rescuing one restores the player’s health. However, accidently killing them (which is often sneakily easy to do) leaves a player at one health and locks them into a darker ending. Once the player clears this second segment, they face off with the boss of the level: the horror of the film.

Courtesy of Steve McCall

The boss fights are one of the most intricate and well-designed parts of the game. Each boss has a pattern of attacks, each of which is unique and again features plenty of references to the films. Jason Voorhees leaps from Crystal Lake to attack the players, Freddy shapeshifts, and somehow Michael is always right behind you. The patterns are simple enough, but each boss is only vulnerable for brief periods, so players will have to react quickly. In addition, each boss is more vulnerable to certain weapons, so knowing which weapon to use when might be the difference between your player pushing back evil or pushing up daisies. These fights are the shiniest parts of an already well-polished gem of a fan-made game.

Courtesy of Steve McCall

All Hell Unleashed has plenty of easter eggs, references, and honest passion packed into every 8-bit sprite. The levels are meticulously designed and detailed without losing the retro charm of the halcyon days of the NES. The soundtrack is comprised primarily of 8-bit versions of the themes from each movie, from the spine-chilling Halloween theme to the kooky Klowns theme. The level of detail draws players in and makes it clear that McCall has made a masterpiece. With version 6.66, the game is even more polished and offers players not only the chance to play as the unnamed protagonist of the story, but also the chance to play as some of the “heroes” of horror. Players can choose to play as cult-classic cult-buster and general schmuck, Ash Williams of Evil Dead fame, or they can don the hockey-mask and machete of Camp Crystal lake’s own unholy horror, Jason Voorhees. With Evil Dead: Burn recently searing the silver screen and Crystal Lake due to premiere this fall, players can kill time in between, but they might need all the time they can get, as this game is surprisingly brutal.

Courtesy of Steve McCall

All Hell Unleashed is not an easy game, especially for horror fans who were born a touch too late to experience the SNES days. (My very first console was an SNES, although I was too young to manage more than button-mashing in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting game.) It is designed to be difficult, and even requires a NES/SNES emulator, a program which allows modern computers to emulate older consoles. Many games for such venerable devices such as DOS, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo Gamecube require an emulator to be run on modern computers. Even more so than going back to one of the OG Resident Evil games, jumping into the NES-style game like All Hells Unleashed is going to be brutal. Although the ten levels are relatively short and straightforward, horror fans who aren’t used to the style of games from back then will struggle. McCall does provide an infinite health cheat code (amongst many other fun cheats, ala the classic days) that makes the game’s combat child’s play-sans evil doll- but the NES style may not be for everyone. (I personally inherited my mother’s inability to manage Mario games, and even with the infinite health cheat, I got stuck on the Scream level.) Horror fans who aren’t as sure of their thumbs may enjoy experiencing the game through watching one of the multiple playthroughs on YouTube more than playing, but those who love a challenge will get just what they want from All Hell Unleashed, and if they want even more pain, there’s an “absurd mode” which makes any hazard a one-hit kill. If a player can beat the game with that mode on, they might just be scarier than the slashers.

Courtesy of Steve McCall

All Hell Unleashed is among the highest caliber of fan projects, a labor of love with an attention to detail and dedication that blends NES nostalgia with horror movie hits, so that every level is recognizable at a glance to a horror fan. It oozes with not only competence and clean design, but also character and honest fun. Available to download for free from itch.o or as a physical copy for only twenty dollars, Version 6.66 will resonate with any Horror Fan whose heart (and other internal organs) remain buried in the NES days need to give this one a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03VlV4l7x4s