Splatterhouse is an arcade-style sidescrolling beat 'em up with platform elements[2] in which the player controls Rick, a parapsychology college major who is trapped inside West Mansion.

After his resurrection by the Terror Mask, Rick makes his way through the mansion, fighting off hordes of creatures in a vain attempt to save his girlfriend Jennifer from a grisly fate.

[3] Rick awakens in a dungeon under the mansion having been resurrected thanks to the influence of the "Hell Mask", a Mayan sacrificial artifact from West's house which is capable of sentient thought.

[3] Inside the mansion, Rick finds Jennifer, prone on a couch and surrounded by a throng of creatures that retreat upon his arrival.

The Terror Mask releases energy into the grave, reviving a giant monster named "Hell Chaos" that claws its way up from the earth and attempts to kill Rick.

As the lights vanish, the mask shatters, turning Rick back to normal, and he flees as the house burns to the ground and the credits roll.

[6] The FM Towns Marty version was ported by Ving Co. and released only in Japan in 1992 and it is a pixel-perfect rendition of the original arcade, with no substantial changes apart from a new menu interface in the title screen.

This change is not present in iOS version of the game, but it includes a "Splatter Rush" mode instead, where enemies continuously spawn from both ends of a wide screen.

[19] Following its European release at the ATEI show in January 1989, Computer and Video Games gave the arcade version a positive review.

He complained about the limited variety of attacks, one way scrolling, and censorship present in the North American console version.

Thomas did, however, compliment the game's horror themes and music, noting that the console graphics, despite being "toned down", are a "good representation of the arcade original".

There are only seven levels, and you'll finish each one in just a few minutes," he wrote, going on to explain that the enemies all follow easily memorized patterns, making the game very simple to play.