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.