The Killing Game Show
| Developer: Raising Hell | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Psygnosis | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Shoot’em up/platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
5/10 | |
A futuristic twist on the gladiatorial games, where criminals are forcibly thrown into elaborate arenas packed with deadly traps. Their goal: stay alive, earn their freedom, and, most importantly, keep millions of viewers entertained.
You’re the latest contestant. They’ve stuck you in control of a heavily armed bipedal robot (think ED-209 from Robocop, only nimbler) and given you one mission: scale a massive scaffolding as fast as possible, turning anything in your way into smoke and debris.
The levels are towering structures partially submerged in a toxic lake (its composition is anyone’s guess, but a single touch spells instant death). To make matters worse, the path is littered with hazards—mines, electrified barriers—and patrolled by squadrons of kamikaze drones. One more complication: the liquid level rises slowly, making it increasingly dangerous to backtrack (should you miss a power-up—or worse, a key).
The difficulty is fiendish, the timing unforgiving. Thankfully, the game features an intriguing innovation: a replay system that lets you watch your last attempt and jump back in at the perfect moment, sparing you the agony of restarting from scratch every single time.
For all its originality, The Killing Game Show ends up feeling rather repetitive. It’s a demanding game, strictly for the most tenacious players. Fans of Nebulus, this one’s for you!
Fun fact: the game was ported to the Sega Genesis in 1991 (under the rebranded title Fatal Rewind). And if a modern reinterpretation sounds appealing, you might enjoy RIVE (PC, 2016).
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