The Killing Game Show

A 1990 Psygnosis title for the Amiga system (Later ported to the Sega Genesis/Megadrive under the title "Fatal Rewind"), at its core, The Killing Game Show is just what it is, a Deadly Game.

The premise of the game is simple: get to the top of the stage to advance. However, HALF's (Hostile Artificial Life Forms) are released into the stage to impede progress. The biggest danger, however, comes from the DOLL (Deadly to Organic Life Liquid) that is constantly being pumped into the stage after the beginning of stage countdown finishes. Touch it, and die instantly. There are a multitude of weapons and tools to use, including keys to unlock doors and a liquid freezer to stop the rising DOLL, and knowing how to use them will save you.

The backstory of the game is as follows: In the late 21st century, incarcerated criminals are given a shot at freedom by playing the game. However, they are stripped down to their vital organs and nervous systems, then placed into a machine armed with a simple cannon. If anyone can make their escape from the 16 pits of death (cylindrical pits built into eight custom satellite moons, two pits per moon/level), they get their life back. As for anyone who ends up dead... well, onto the next challenger.

The actual main character of the game is a criminal named Carl. Part of a Freedom Fighter group working to displace the local government, after he is caught during a police raid due to a suspected Mole, he meets up with an old friend of his, who tells him they're going to be forced into the above mentioned game, which nobody's come out from alive, as an example. Carl is then determined to win the game, since it would potentially mark him as an international hero, and help give enough leverage to overthrow the government.

The Sega port, Fatal Rewind's story is somewhat less harsh, as it follows the story of a man trying to get money for his sick daughter's operation. This version was published by Electronic Arts, and has two levels cut from it due to space limitations on the Genesis.

Noticibly, there was a rather unique feature: should the player die, they will watch the AI take them through the same path they took, right up to their death. This can be fast-forwarded with the corresponding key or button, and you can take over manually to stop the replay and potentially avoid making the same mistake twice.

The gameplay as a whole is easy to pick up, but it becomes Nintendo Hard Very quickly. Extra information on the game can be found here.

Tropes associated with The Killing Game Show:


 * All There in the Manual: The backstory of main man Carl, as well as the Nightmare Fuel-riffic process of how contestants are prepped for the game.
 * A Winner Is You: Somehow beat the game and you get rewarded with a whole two lines of text!
 * Blood Sport: It's right there in the title.
 * Deadly Game
 * Grimy Water: The DOLL itself. Touching it is instant death, but the closer you are to it, the faster your score rises, thus giving the player an impromptu timer.
 * Nightmare Fuel: How the contestants are surgically prepped for the game. The legs from groin-level down are cut off, with or without anesthesia, then their skin is stripped off in a method similar to sandblasting. Next, a sheet of malleable metal is grafted onto in place of the skin, especially since the arms are how they move around. Afterwards, vacuum-esque suckers are attached to their hands, to allow them to climb walls and pick up items. Presumably the cannons are attached where the legs would be. Barring the final sentence, that was paraphrased from the manual.
 * Nintendo Hard: Stage 1-2 starts the use of keys, 2-2 starts the collect X number of items to open the gate, 3-1 has switch puzzles, 4-1 has insta-death skeletons, and the list goes on. The fact that there are limited lives and continues (with no way to earn extra continues, though you do get a life at the end of each stage) does make for a very tough challenge.
 * Trial and Error Gameplay: Once keys are introduced, you'll need to memorize their locations to outrun the DOLL.
 * Rise to the Challenge: Once the timer stops counting down, the DOLL starts rising. Best get moving.