Hellraiser: Revival — How to Beat and Escape Charlotte

Charlotte stalks Aidan for long stretches of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival before cult leader Marlowe sacrifices her in an ascension rite, turning her into a towering, multi-limbed Cenobite with bladed arms. She confronts you in two ways. On the ritual stage she is a full boss you can kill, and after she breaks loose she becomes a pursuer you can only outrun through the sewers.

Quick answer: Keep Charlotte on fire with Dragon’s Breath and exploding cars, kite around the two police cars, and execute her when she glows blue. In the chase, drop into the sewers and seal the bulkhead door.

Charlotte’s weakness: fire

Fire is the key to this fight. Flames weaken Charlotte’s attacks and make her speed less useful, while burn damage keeps draining her health as you reposition. Fire also makes her more likely to stagger, leaving her vulnerable for a few seconds.

You can ignite her in several ways, so prepare as many options as you can before the encounter:

Each Dragon’s Breath shotgun blast sets her on fire.
Set off the red explosive barrels when Charlotte is beside them.
Hurl flames taken from hanging lights with the Genesis Configuration puzzle box.
Shoot either police car to make it explode and potentially ignite her.
Use the fuel canisters in each police car’s trunk to douse the ground.

Prepare before you inspect the altar

Finish all other preparations first: checking the altar’s photo and note, beside the hanging man, is what triggers the battle.

At the vendor, purchase the shotgun’s Dragon Breath Rounds upgrade. Shotgun ammo is plentiful in the arena, so use these rounds freely. For reliable burst damage against Charlotte’s huge hitbox, bring the Revolver as a backup; it costs 300 coins.

Check the arena for ammunition, crafting materials, and bear traps before starting the encounter. Set traps on paths where you can lead Charlotte through them ahead of time; once combat begins, you won’t have a chance to place them.

Leave melee weapons, lockpicks, and repair kits in storage, as they are dead weight here. Carry weapons, ammo, and healing items instead.

For Charlotte, hold back puzzle-box fire, torches, gas containers, and explosive barrels. Using your strongest ignition tools on the zombies that come first wastes them.

Let the police clear the zombie waves

Inspecting the altar brings in an initial wave of about four to five zombies. Save ammo by throwing objects at them with the puzzle box. Bear traps are another option, though getting enemies to walk into them can be difficult.

A larger wave arrives next. Two police cars then slam into the arena, run down zombies, and shoot at those still standing. Leave the officers alone and let them handle the horde. After the area is clear, Charlotte appears, kills the police, and starts the actual boss battle.

Ground phase: keep your distance and keep her burning

Her close-range slashes deal heavy damage and can knock you down, so keep your distance. Draw her around the two wrecked police cars and use them for cover. When she isn’t burning, she often charges straight at you; dodge at the right moment to stop her rush.

Keep flames on Charlotte whenever you can: detonate red barrels she walks past, launch fire from the puzzle box, shoot cars to set them off, or use Dragon’s Breath. For a reliable routine, keep her burning with barrels and thrown fire, then hold your shotgun blasts until she is no longer alight. Each Dragon’s Breath shot will reignite her and deal solid damage at the same time.

Bear traps on the ground can catch you, and your own hazards can burn you too. Mind your footing as you kite her, because the arena’s dangers can be deadlier than Charlotte.

Cliff phase: explosive zombies and the acid throw

Once she has taken enough damage, Charlotte withdraws to a cliff and howls, calling in explosive zombies. Ignore her and deal with them first: a single blast can empty your entire health bar. Kill the explosive zombies from a distance, then finish off any regular melee zombies.

After all three are defeated, Charlotte begins throwing zombies down at you from above. Look for her to pick one up and raise it over her head.

Shoot the zombie in the stomach just before she releases it. The resulting acid shower hits Charlotte, knocks her from the cliff, and sends her back to the ground fight.

After she lands, the battle continues as it did before, with no additional attacks. Keep moving and keep the flames on her. She might summon explosive zombies again, but consistent burn damage can finish her before she gets another chance.

Execution and reward

When Charlotte is close to death, she glows blue. Move in and perform an execution when you see this, instantly killing her and ending the fight. The execution animation and the arena going quiet confirm the kill.

She drops her heart and Charlotte’s Crown, a valuable that sells for a high price. Pick up both before you leave the ritual stage.

Escape Charlotte through the sewers

When Charlotte awakens and screeches in the candle-lit altar chamber, the objective reads Escape Charlotte and you have no option but to run. The route is short but unforgiving, so commit to each turn.

Turn away from Charlotte and sprint down the main corridor, following the red carpet.

Enter the first open doorway on your right, which leads into a cracked, dilapidated passage. Continue straight through the opening in the broken wall until you reach a floor grating and rusty ladder.

Drop onto the ladder and descend through the grate into the flooded sewer tunnel below. Charlotte appears behind the bars as you climb down.

Ladder Descent — Drop onto the rusty ladder through the floor grate to reach the sewer channel below. Shown at 00:21 in Ghosts of Reykjavik’s video. Image: Saber Interactive

Run along the sewer path beneath the overhead pipes, then pull the iron barred gate shut. The bars stop Charlotte’s melee strikes, even as she slashes through them.

Barred Gate Interaction — Pull the iron barred gate shut to block Charlotte's strikes as she reaches through. Shown at 00:38 in Ghosts of Reykjavik’s video. Image: Saber Interactive

Face back the way you came and sprint along the rest of the sewer corridor to the doorway at its end.

Open the metal door and go inside. Turn the circular handwheel to seal the door behind you.

Sealing Bulkhead Door — Spin the circular handwheel to seal the bulkhead door and reach safety. Shown at 00:54 in Ghosts of Reykjavik’s video. Image: Saber Interactive

Once the door is sealed, the objective changes from Escape Charlotte to Get to safety, confirming the chase has ended. Inside, Aidan holds the glowing patterned puzzle box in one hand and a knife in the other, safe from Charlotte for now.