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Chiller

NES

NES

A player's goal is to shoot everything that there is on the screen, both animated characters (ghosts, zombies, humans) and inanimate elements of the background. There are four unique screens detailing various horror scenarios and settings, a torture chamber, a rack room, a hallway and a cemetery....

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Developer
Sharedata

Released on
1990

Size
1–2 Players

Version
NES

Requirements
Nintendo Entertainment System

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
American Game Cartridges

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

A player’s goal is to shoot everything that there is on the screen, both animated characters (ghosts, zombies, humans) and inanimate elements of the background. There are four unique screens detailing various horror scenarios and settings, a torture chamber, a rack room, a hallway and a cemetery. For each screen, shooting all available targets gives the player a bonus shooting round. The game features a Ghost counter on-screen scoring system named the “Ectoplasmic Tabulator”. It has very similar gameplay to “Crossbow” and other related Exidy 440 board system games.

Chiller

Overview & History

Originally released by Exidy in 1986 as a notorious coin-operated light-gun arcade cabinet, Chiller was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989 by American Video Entertainment (AVE). Developed during an era when gore in video games was virtually nonexistent, this unlicensed NES title pushed the boundaries of shock value. The game is set in a macabre medieval torture chamber and graveyard, where players act as unseen sadistic executioners rather than traditional heroes. Stripped of the original arcade cabinet's light-gun peripheral, the NES version forces players to awkwardly navigate a floating crosshair across static, screen-filling panoramas filled with helpless bound victims.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard NES shooters, Chiller lacks traditional scrolling levels. Each stage is presented as a static diorama where the primary objective is pure destruction and sadism. In the opening torture chamber levels, players must systematically mutilate tied-up prisoners using guillotines, buzz saws, acid vats, and rack stretching devices before a strict timer expires. Once all human targets are neutralized, players must shoot a specific number of creeping ghouls and monsters to clear the screen and advance to bonus stages—such as a spooky graveyard and a moving train. The game features heavily looping background music, grating sound effects of screaming victims, and unlockable secrets hidden by shooting specific background pixels, creating an atmosphere that is as bizarre as it is unsettling.