Universal's Free Renfield Web Game Has Some Seriously Killer Prizes

Renfield, the long-suffering servant of Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) has finally earned his shot at the spotlight. After centuries of doing the bloodthirsty fiend's bidding, R.M. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has more than a few bones to pick with the Transylvanian bloodsucker. Namely, the fact that he's a terrible boss: imagine being forced to fetch innocent souls for vampiric cravings or chomping down on spiders to gain superhuman reflexes for the sake of survival. Oh, the inhumanity! But that's where the upcoming horror-comedy "Renfield" comes in, to share the titular servant's side of the story. The modern monster tale picks up centuries into their relationship, with Renfield ready to explore life outside of his narcissistic boss, if he can only work his way through their toxic co-dependency.

You don't need a bad boss horror story to empathize with Renfield — just one glimpse at the trailer proves the poor guy needs to cut Dracula off. And thanks to a new promotional effort from Universal, Aptos Labs, Forward Studio, and Signal and Cipher, you can support Renfield on his journey to freedom. Together, the companies have launched "Free Renfield," a web game that promises some seriously killer prizes.

Is it just me, or is there suddenly an abundance of movie-related web games? Despite the fact that it was just Pac-Man with drugs, the "Cocaine Bear" game was (suitably) addictive. And despite being oddly terrifying, the "Banshees of Inisherin" game was also an unexpected blast. "Free Renfield" continues the trend — which means I now have my fingers crossed that Sony will take notes and immediately put together a game where fans play as Russell Crowe, weaponize holy water, and dodge bile à la "The Pope's Exorcist."

Until then, "Free Renfield" will tide us over! The game runs from now through April 20th and playing increases your shot at winning some wicked cool prizes.

Here's how the Renfield Sweepstakes works: simply visit the game website, follow the instructions to register, and start playing the game. As mentioned, Renfield's connection to Dracula means that he can eat bugs to temporarily gain superhuman abilities — a detail that sounds perfect for developing a mini-game. Inspired by this power, the gameplay is actually even simpler than you might guess: players look at movie scenes and suss out the location of hidden bugs. Selecting the right scene earns you a chance to be entered and win one of the many prizes.

Throughout the next four weeks, 17 Dracula-related prizes will be awarded to some very lucky players. Among them are various gold jewelry pieces, a limited edition comic strip, a custom red velvet suit (that matches the one worn by Nicolas Cage's Dracula), and the grand prize, a one-of-a-kind vintage Dracula pinball machine.

Each time you successfully find the hidden bug, you earn 10 entries into the sweepstakes, which increases your chance of winning. Other ways to earn entries are to redeem a "Renfield" movie ticket bought via Fandango (worth 100 entries) or to invite friends to play Free Renfield with you (worth 10 entries per friend). Do that every day through April 20th, and you might just win the opportunity to clear out your basement to make room for Dracula's pinball machine!

Based on an idea from comic book creator Robert Kirkman ("The Walking Dead" and "Invincible"), "Renfield" was written by Ryan Ridley ("Ghosted") and directed by Chris McKay ("The LEGO Batman Movie"). The film opens in theaters on April 14, 2023.