Survival horror icon Clock Tower is getting an "enhanced version" and first Western release

Survival horror pillar Clock Tower is getting an "enhanced version" for modern consoles that will not only revitalize the game, but also officially bring it to Western audiences for the first time. 

WayForward, the studio best known for the charming Shantae games as well as a litany of spinoffs like Adventure Time and RWBY titles, announced the reworked retro release today in collaboration with Sunsoft and Limited Run Games. The latter is also backing about 20 other games in a slew of retro revivals and new physical releases, including Colossal Cave, GEX, Tomba!, and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. 

Clock Tower is a 2D point-and-click adventure game infused with survival horror elements, namely fleeing and hiding from the murderous and unpredictable antagonist Scissorman. It was originally released in Japan in 1995, a year before Resident Evil and four years before Silent Hill, and is often regarded as one of the early, formative survival horror games. 

"A tense atmosphere, chilling sound effects, detailed 2D animations, and randomized elements to maximize replayability demonstrate why Clock Tower is considered a groundbreaking pioneer in the survival-horror genre," as WayForward puts it. 

WayForward, which will co-develop and publish the new Clock Tower release, is bringing it to Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and PC in "early 2024." A digital version will come first, followed by a physical version from Limited Run Games. The studio's promising a "new animated opening, motion-comic cutscenes, and vocal theme song performed by Mary McGlynn" as well as features such as an "art gallery, save states, and other modern enhancements." 

16 years later, a legendary roguelike is getting a prequel thanks to a Kickstarter campaign from earlier this year. 

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Read more
Screenshot from OFF showing a monchromatic scene haunted looking white-collar working looking down at a smaller spirte.
The cult classic RPG that inspired countless weird indies, including Undertale, is making a comeback after 16 years
Lara Croft stands in front of blue flames and a city vista in the Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness key art used on the box, cropped to fit a thumbnail
Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered restores some cut content to hopefully make Angel of Darkness a little less hated this time around
A screenshot shows a teardrop-shaped protagonist smiling.
The Metroidvania gods have spoken and answered my prayers with this horror game that looks like Majora's Mask if it let you play as an onion-headed freak
The Sinking City 2
After a years-long battle with its publisher, Ukraine-based studio reveals first gameplay footage of survival horror sequel The Sinking City 2, launches Kickstarter, and hits $100,000 goal in hours
Beyond the Ice Palace 2
After 37 years, this Commodore 64 classic returns with a new Metroidvania sequel that gives serious old-school Castlevania vibes
Screenshot from Exit 8 showing a clean, bright passageway of a Japanese underground metro with a single suited man walking toward the camera.
Godzilla studio Toho is adapting one of the Nintendo Switch's most popular games - a liminal space horror set in Japan's metro
Latest in Survival Horror
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f's ESRB rating has zero chill: "Faces ripped apart," "a character burned alive inside a cage," and "entrails and sinew displayed on serving platters"
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f writer says many of the franchise's female characters experience "a great deal of suffering," so he wants his protagonist "to be able to make her own decisions, for better or for worse"
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f may be the scariest game in the 26-year-old series, or at least the first one rated 18+ in Japan
Silent Hill f
"That, to me, is what Silent Hill truly embodies": Silent Hill f's A-list team now includes legendary series composer Akira Yamaoka
A top down view of a schoolgirl on the floor surrounded by blood-red leaves in Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f disclaimer is even making a horror buff like me shudder: "If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break"
Silent Hill f
Famed Higurashi When They Cry creator Ryukishi07 says he worked so hard on the Silent Hill f story that "I don't think I would mind if it was the last thing I ever wrote"
Latest in News
Jurassic Park Survival
As Jurassic Park Survival, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, and the Star Wars KOTOR remake remain MIA, Saber CEO promises "everything that we have talked about is still in development"
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Zero Dawn star Ashly Burch responds to Sony's controversial AI Aloy by pushing for actor protections: "You have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you're using this AI"
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f's ESRB rating has zero chill: "Faces ripped apart," "a character burned alive inside a cage," and "entrails and sinew displayed on serving platters"
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f writer says many of the franchise's female characters experience "a great deal of suffering," so he wants his protagonist "to be able to make her own decisions, for better or for worse"
Starship Troopers
District 9 filmmaker Neil Blomkamp is working on a Starship Troopers reboot that goes back to the original 1959 novel
Nova's helmet sitting among rubble
Jonathan Hickman will "revolutionize Marvel's galactic canon" in a new event that brings in the Hulks, Black Panther, Nova, and more