One Of The Most Controversial Games Ever Made Is Getting A Re-Release

The Night Trap ladies throw a party

If you've ever wanted to play your way through a cheesy, early-90s horror movie but missed out on the FMV craze of the era, you're in luck. It turns out one of the most notorious games of the genre, Night Trap, is making its triumphant return on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The folks over at Sega Bits are reporting that Night Trap, a full motion video game from 1992 that originally appeared on the Sega CD and Sega CD 32X, is being ported to modern consoles. Super tame by modern standards, it was originally one of the top games brought up in that whole "game violence is destroying our youth" conversation that led to the formation of the ratings board, the ESRB.

The only real details circulating at this time is that the game should be ready this year in time for its 25th anniversary and that the team at Screaming Villains is behind the project. On top of that, while everyone on the PS4 and Xbox One will be able to purchase the game digitally, Limited Run Games will also be making Night Trap available in a physical format for both platforms, sporting artwork that will closely mirror that of the original game.

This isn't the first we've heard about a Night Trap re-release, however. As the original story points out, Digital Pictures co-founder Tom Zito tried to get a Kickstarter going for Night Trap ReVamped back in 2014, but funding floundered. It looks like Screaming Villains were working on a mobile version of Night Trap when they were handed this console project.

For those who missed out on FMV games, there was a period when a handful of developers tried to incorporate actual actors and recorded scenes into video games. They didn't exactly take off, but a cult following sprung up around the games despite the fact that most of them were not what you might call "good."

Still, nostalgia and the chance to play a hard-to-find classic of the genre might work in Night Trap's favor. If you've ever wanted to try to help a group of teen girls survive an evening of terror brought on by vampiric fiends, now's your chance! Your job is to switch between various cameras stationed around the house and, when danger strikes, trigger various traps to take out the baddies. Not actually a bad idea on paper, but pretty cheesy in practice. Roll the footage!

The interface has received a slick overhaul, but it looks like all of the pitch-perfectly awful footage has remained intact. Keep in mind that I'm saying that with nothing but love in my heart. Night Trap hails from a very small, very specific corner of gaming's history, and I'm very excited that it's being restored in this way.

If you're a long-time fan, are you looking forward to picking up Night Trap all over again 25 years later? If you're new to the game, does this seem like something you're eager to take for a spin? Let us know in the comments below.

Ryan Winslett

Staff Writer for CinemaBlend.