Hell is Us

There are dozens of puzzles, with a Resident Evil-like fetishism for clicking locks and mechanisms. [Issue#416, p.112]

The story and haunting world of Hell is Us overshadow most shortcomings, and Rogue Factor’s message is a powerful one. The team’s refusal to hold the player’s hand may frustrate, but it also creates a unique sense of immersion and discovery. Hell is Us is meant to unsettle and provoke thought, not just entertain, and where it stumbles in one area, it succeeds in another. For players willing to overlook missing variety and conveniences, and who value atmosphere over a perfect presentation, Hell is Us offers a journey well worth taking.

Hell Is Us is a genuinely interesting game that many will adore for its commitment to letting you spend your time exploring mysteries and unlocking lore. The fact that you'll want a notepad near you will send some of you rabid, and that's great. For me though, Hell Is Us is a game that looks beautiful in every respect, but ends up feeling a little bit too paint-by-numbers when it comes to the actual mechanics at play. I like Hell Is Us well enough, but I don't know that I'll remember it.

Rogue Factor's action-adventure succeeds in leading players through its brutal world without any guidance, despite some rough edges.

Hell is Us is a bold and original adventure game that refuses to hold players' hands and relies on their intelligence, memory, and willingness to immerse themselves in a raw story full of real-life war horrors. While the adventure and puzzle elements are excellent and the story is very suggestive, the action feels more like unimaginative boredom.

While I was left dissatisfied by the narrative conclusion of Hell is Us, its journey to that point was pleasantly engaging. It was refreshing to not just follow a quest marker through a story, but also a relief that I was never spun around for hours on end wondering where I needed to go next. This balance is what made traversing Hadea and experiencing all the horrors it contained a rewarding one, making each new step feel earned rather than routine. It's backed up by an imperfect but engaging combat system that's only let down by some shallow enemy variety and imprecise control, but never to the point of outright frustration. If Hell is Us is developer Rogue Factor's first stab at a new type of third-person action game and although it's less revolutionary than the initial promise might suggest, it is one that still managed to stay surprising until the end.

Hell is Us is another title that would have been better suited to being a movie rather than a game. Rather than focusing on Souls-like action or puzzles to offer solid gameplay, it attempts to combine these two radically different genres, and the result is disappointing. Finding an audience looking for both of these experiences at once is difficult enough, but they have also been treated superficially, even clumsily, because of this ill-advised compromise. It is therefore unlikely that they will satisfy the majority of players. This is all the more unfortunate given that the overall production is of fairly good quality and the atmosphere is sometimes incredible. Hell is Us confronts us with the horrors of war in a way that few games dare to do, but its message risks being lost in the wanderings of the gameplay.

Brilliant idea, solid framework—and yet an adventure that falls short of its potential: much of the detective work in Hell is Us is more tiresome than engaging.

Overall, Hell Is Us has all the makings of an incredible game but is let down by clunky combat, a meandering main quest and lack of direction. However, it must be praised for its environmental storytelling and attention to detail when it comes to art direction and world building. If you don’t need direction and objectives to enjoy a game, this could still be the one for you as curiosity will always be rewarded in Hell is Us.