Game Review: ‘Hell Is Us’
Every once in a while, I need to play a game that is a complete 180° from what I’ve been recently playing. Much to my surprise, Hell Is Us is that kind of game. It is a third-person action-adventure game with elements of RPG and horror that changes the way you approach gaming. Players are used to having a map with points to go to, a list of objectives to complete, and almost instant lore of what’s going on in the world. But not in Hell is Us. It requires players to pay attention, think carefully, feel discomfort, and improvise.
The studio behind it, Rogue Factor, has spent years establishing this universe, similar to what they did back in the day with Mordheim and Necromunda. As soon as you boot up the game, you already know that nothing could prepare you for every weird thing that’s about to happen.
[Note: While I am reviewing this game independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Rogue Factor for the purpose of this review. Warning: Light spoilers from Hell Is Us are below!]
The story of Hell Is Us is both intriguing and confusing
Hell Is Us takes place in Hadea, a fictional country built on controversial ideology and brutal history. You play as Rémi, a Hadean who was shipped off the continent as an infant and raised abroad. He returns as an adult to a home he barely knows. His main goal is to find his family. A father who is a blacksmith and his mother. The biggest unknown is whether they are still alive or not.
Hadea is a country locked in a civil war conflict between factions and haunted by mystical and mysterious monsters that are not affected by conventional weapons in any way. Soldiers are everywhere, but they’re not a threat. The story is written to feel personal and investigative rather than being an exposition all the time. Rémi talks to people and picks up the thread himself, relying on fragments of conversation, printed notes, and the topography of ruined towns. Every single piece of lore must be discovered by you. If you’re not willing to learn the story and important plot points, then it will be harder for you to go further with the story.
The writing shows an interest in implication over explanation. You’re being nudged to infer from the political and social situations of Hadea. The monsters and cataclysm are in the background because it’s a story about a son trying to find his parents. And it’s also a story about a country that refuses to do everything to get back to as normal a state as they can. The further you go, the more confusing it gets. Each new region, target, and discovery makes less sense. No matter what you do, you have to pay attention, because if you don’t, you’ll get lost for a long time. Skip one conversation, don’t read a discovery, miss a collectible, and it will get harder.
The gameplay is very different from what you normally expect from this genre
The mechanics of Hell Is Us are similar to Souls-like games, but at any moment, they can be made into something more methodical or even careless. Each strike you make to hit an enemy is a commitment. If you miss. Your mistake. Parrying teaches you patience. You can’t simply start a fight and keep parrying. You have to pick a perfect moment to either fight or defend yourself. Enemies you fight come in different variants that force you to study each enemy separately, learn their attack speed, which enemy must be dealt with first, and more.
The most interesting part of the overall gameplay, in my opinion, is that ordinary firearms are useless against the chimeras. You can only kill them with certain weapons like swords, axes, etc., which you can upgrade. Each upgrade changes the look of your weapon, as well as changing certain aspects of it. Besides the melee weapons, we can also use the drone. The drone itself isn’t a turret or anything like that. It’s more of a distraction that reveals weak points, interacting with unknown devices and languages, and is like that faithful companion you have and can always count on.
When it comes to dungeon designs, they really remind me of Dark Souls and Elden Ring. They are classic and treacherous in the best sense. Dungeons themselves are self-contained labyrinths with a strong aesthetic, each representing certain regions of the map.
The other “weird” part of the gameplay is the lack of a world map, mark points, quest checklists, and anything that could help you get to your main objective more easily. Instead, you have to pay attention in dialogues, discover each part of the map, collect everything, and don’t get lost. When you die in the battle, you are revived with or without your experience points (depending on your difficulty level). You are respawned in a place where you’ve had the last manual save.
The overall difficulty of Hell Is Us is not easy. The entire game proves that you can have many elements of the game that seem easy but can turn into a nightmare for each player.
The combat system is based on stamina, HP, and the weapon you use. Instead of sprinting from spot to spot and hitting the enemy, you have to dodge very often during encounters and parry. It’s all about the timing. Each weapon requires you to know its style of combat. For example, sword is neither too slow, too fast, nor too powerful. But axes, on the other hand, are fast, yet they deal less damage, and they allow you to have more control over stunning the enemies.
There are a few things in the gameplay that need more polishing, but they are unlockable further into the game and relate to abilities, so I won’t spoil them. Some things feel like they have been rushed.
Final thoughts on Rogue Factor’s Hell is Us
Hell Is Us is a great game that definitely warrants our attention. It may not be the best game in its genre, but it’s worth checking out. Not many games reward curiosity and trust you enough to believe you won’t get lost. With Hell Is Us, whenever you do something that the game doesn’t suggest, but it’s an available option for a player, the payoff feels like something you earned. And the game respects it. The story’s personal connection to Rémi’s search for his parents and his place in the world keeps the game from suffocating itself and using the usual themes of discovering “who you really are.”
The lack of a minimap, guidance, and hints will make some players happy and alienate others. Especially those that are used to having at least some idea where to go, what to do, or even track a few quests at once. But, even without the necessary parts of the gameplay, Hell Is Us really feels like a game that is confident enough to know what it wants to be and is certain that this is different from other gameplay.
My rating for this game: 4/5
All in all, if you’ve been craving a gaming experience that’s different from the recent titles and in some ways more innovative, Hell Is Us is worth your attention on day one.
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