''Chiller'' is a

light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sens ...

arcade game released in 1986 by Exidy. An unlicensed

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

was released for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

in 1990 by American Game Cartridges in the US, and in Australia by HES ( Home Entertainment Suppliers), with the option of using either the standard controller or the NES Zapper. In the game, the player takes on the role of an unseen

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

r who must maim, mutilate, and murder restrained

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...

s in a variety of dungeon settings. Few of the NPCs in the game are capable of fighting back, with the challenge element lying in how quickly the player can cause each of the victims to die.

Gameplay

The game consists of four main levels: the ''torture chamber'', the ''rack room'', the ''haunted house hallway'', and the ''graveyard''. If enough score is accumulated by completing these levels successfully, a final ''bonus round'' is unlocked, which consists of a

target practice In the military and in shooting, target practice are exercises in which weapons are shot at a target. The purpose of such exercises is to improve the aim or the weapons handling expertise of the person firing the weapon. Targets being shot a ...

where objects traveling at increasingly high speeds must be shot. Between each level, a bonus score can be obtained by winning at the

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine ( Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively ...

. The first two levels feature seemingly human NPCs restrained by

medieval torture devices A list of torture methods and devices includes: Psychological torture methods *Being subjected to long periods of interrogation *Blackmailing *Chinese water torture *Exploitation of phobias; e.g., mock execution, leaving arachnophobes in a room ...

. The player must discover how to kill these characters in the shortest possible amount of time. Although it is possible to shoot them to death, this process is inefficient as direct shots only result in chunks of flesh being blown away, leaving the victims alive. Instead, the challenge lies in finding ways to activate the torture devices, resulting in quicker and bloodier deaths. After the first two levels, the game transitions into a more traditional shooting game; the player must kill

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creatures, such as

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...

ghost A ghost is the soul (spirit), soul or spirit of a dead Human, person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visibl ...

s, and mummies.

Reception

The game sold poorly in the United States because arcade owners refused to purchase it; Exidy successfully marketed it to third world countries. Modern reviewers often criticize the game for its senseless violence and encouraging the torture and murder of apparently innocent people, as opposed to the gamer fighting enemies capable of defending themselves.

References

External links

* {{NES Zapper 1986 video games Arcade video games Exidy games Unauthorized video games 1980s horror video games Light gun games Nintendo Entertainment System games Obscenity controversies in video games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in castles Video games set in cemeteries