Hell is Us
Developer: Rogue Factor
Publisher: Nacon
Platforms: Xbox Series X (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
Scuffed walls, flapping fabrics, lights over doorways, or even big splotches of paint. These are the types of smaller, somewhat subtle, attempts developers have used throughout the years to try and help point players in the right direction when moving through the world of their game without being as blatant as placing directional markers or pinpoints on a map. Most others drop the pretense entirely, dropping exact pins on maps where players need to go to complete a quest or side-mission, some even pinpointing sub-objectives as well.
Hell is Us is the complete antithesis of this design philosophy. Rather than placing players into a world filled with a guide-map or blatant paint, this action adventure game is all about finding the way yourself, even if it means getting confused along the way. Featuring a darkly twisted storyline, is Hell is Us’ unique design philosophy worth getting lost in?
Story
When he was still just a young child, Rémi was smuggled out of the country of Hadea and into the larger open world. Now that he has grown, Rémi joined the ON Peacekeepers with the sole purpose of being able to re-enter the now war torn Hadea in an effort to track down the rest of his family. Unfortunately for him, not only does he have only the vaguest idea of where to start searching, his father’s hometown of Jova, and even more unfortunate for him there are mysterious supernatural monsters roaming about that the locals have started calling demons as most conventional weapons are ineffective, seeing them as punishment for the atrocities the civil war has seen both sides commit.
Hadea is torn in a battle between two religious factions, the Palomists and the Sabinians, who hate each other for reasons that most cannot even explain. The hatred has always been there, so it will continue, and even as Rémi travels freely thanks to obtaining the equipment of a uniquely free moving faction, he will speak with and learn more about the country and work to uncover it’s bloody history and the mysteries that just might be behind the appearance of these strange monsters, all while the real hell is everything that he sees humanity does in front of him. Interestingly enough, most of the time players will arrive in locations and talk to NPCs either in towns or scattered around ruins or outposts and generally find out that they have arrived after the worst of things have happened. Sure, the pale monsters still roam around, but they pale in comparison to the bodies of children hanging from a tree or mass graves of the other faction being buried with heavy machinery.
It would have been very easy for the developers of Hell is Us to simply go with the obvious presentation that humanity is the real evil here and players are already in Hell just from the amount of violence and wilful dehumanization committed by the factions in the civil war within Hadea, but they have actually woven this horrific violence into an incredibly in-depth and well built world that features both a heavy-hand when it comes to sensitive subjects but also one carefully guiding it to telling its storyline. Not only will players uncover long lost histories about the region as they traverse through ruins, using their drone to translate long forgotten texts and uncovering a history of betrayals, kings and queens, sacrifices, and far more, but they will also discover what little good there might still be in humanity along the way, especially through their own actions and the actions of Rémi’s own family, though we won’t go into further detail here as this is best experienced firsthand.
As mentioned at the start, Hell is Us does not provide any indication of where players actually need to go when it comes to completing its quests. Players will instead need to rely solely on descriptions provided from NPCs, be it directions using landmarks, navigating with a compass, or even following specific sounds, to find the way to what they are looking for. In fact, every main quest Rémi must complete is simply referenced through his quest-log and given minor updates and bits of info as players learn a bit more about it. Character details and location details will also be updated as players find and travel through landmarks or talk to a character/change their situation, but for the most part players will be on their own to navigate the lands of Hadea and this is especially true for anything that isn’t part of the main quest.
Alongside these main quests are various side and optional objectives that players can almost certainly miss and most likely will even if they are trying to go over locations with a fine-tooth comb. These include Mysteries, Good Deeds, vaults of knowledge, and more. Many of these, like the latter two, involve finding clues throughout the area and either inputting a code or inputting puzzle pieces in a manner that players must figure out on their own to properly complete. The same can be said for the former two as well, though perhaps not quite as simple. Mysteries can begin from finding a strange object, locked door, or even a note, while a Good Deed is often triggered by finding someone in need of some type of assistance. Once again though, there is no guide as to how to help some of these people or how to solve these mysterious puzzles other than doing the leg work or putting the ol’ noggin to work.
Hell is Us is the type of game that players will likely want to take some type of notes for if they can, as some of the more complex mysteries and other side objectives can be rather challenging puzzles if players haven’t been paying attention or are missing a clue they wouldn’t have noted down otherwise. It is interesting to note that while some of these provide clear player benefits, others actually do not or only in a minimal way. While I won’t go into detail here about some of the quests, a large portion of Good Deeds are as simple as that, Good Deeds that show that there is something good still in humanity and the player is willing to either help a grieving father bury their child properly or track down milk for a starving baby. These people have nothing to truly reward the player with, other than bringing a little light into their lives at the worst of times, but perhaps someone is paying attention elsewhere.
Gameplay
As mentioned before, Hell is Us is all about exploration. Players will have no markers to work with beyond the information that their datapad updates with from conversations and visiting locations and of course, anything the player physically notes down themselves. There are some little clues players can turn on if they wish, such as directional symbols for certain audio cues in case players want a bit of help but it only happens for navigation purposes. Instead, clues about where to go next must be gathered from talking to NPCs within the world, reading notes and glyphs, and even tracking down sometimes the most random of objects to discover something incredibly obtuse.
This can lead to some puzzles, as mentioned before, being quite challenging and almost a bit too frustrating at times but thankfully players will be able to figure it out on their own eventually, nothing is ever really blocked off when it comes to solving these puzzles, though I’m sure there will be plenty of guides out there eventually for those that want an easier route. That being said, it is worth noting that there are some time limits for specific “Good Deeds.” These are generally hinted at through talking to a related character though so it rarely comes out of left field.
Exploration within the world of Hell is Us is a bit on the hit and miss side which is unfortunate. Despite being an action adventure game, it is one that stylizes itself similar to a Soulslike more than anything else and one of those issues happens to revolve around some stiff movement and the complete inability to jump. While it is understandable in some regards as the developers want players to progress through certain locations in a specific manner, the fact that something that should clearly be climbable often blocks the way or progress without the circuitous route is annoying. That and the fact that falling into water any deeper than waist high is instantly deadly to Rémi. Thankfully though unlike a standard Soulslike, there is no actual punishment for dying in Hell is Us. Not only are there various holographic save points throughout each map that also serve as a way to instantly fast travel back to the player’s vehicle, which happens to also be the way they travel between zones, but any item collected, slayed enemy, or puzzle solved will stay that way even in death. Enemies will not respawn outside of Timeloops or players leaving an area entirely through their vehicle and coming back.
Now as for these enemies, it is safe to say that the combat in the game is solid at best but perhaps a bit lacking overall. Part of this is due to enemy types and another is due to the weaponry and combos that players can use. First and foremost, the amount of enemy types in the game is woefully small for an action adventure title and the combat mechanics themselves are simple enough. Players can attack, side-step or dodge at the cost of stamina, or parry an incoming blow to decrease an enemy’s stagger gauge where, when depleted, leaves them open for an instant kill. Players can have two types of weapons equipped at a time and can swap between them even in battle, be it the standard long-sword, twin-axes, polearm, or great sword and each of these weapons have their own unique combo and special charge attacks. Alongside their melee weapons players also have a drone at their side that can be used for a variety of skills such as being used to distract an enemy to prevent players from getting easily ganged up on, being used as a booster to slash through a line of foes, and more. These drone skills work on a cooldown timer and any time the players slash or dodge, they also need to worry about their stamina as well as a depleted stamina meter will mean any attack or dodge will be incredibly slow, leaving them open for a counter-attack.
Alongside standard enemy types players will also come across various enemies of the same type that have specific “Haze” elements within them. Hazes come from within a foe and will make the enemy invincible until the haze itself is defeated and forced to retreat inside the enemy, often leaving them stunned or wide open for defeat as a result. Fighting the Hazes is about as challenging as battles can become but it is interesting to note that even on Normal those familiar with action adventure games will likely find it a bit too simple overall and on the easier side, though the difficulty can be bumped up at any time. Part of this is thanks to an “active reload” style healing mechanic. As players dish out damage to an enemy, the lymbic particles that drop from them will swirl around the player and when the coalesce into a solid ring, a tap of RB can absorb the particles and provide significant healing. In fact, players it is entirely possible to be on death’s door from one enemy only to wail away at another and heal right back up, making health kits and meals often something unnecessary.
As players fight they will also slowly improve the levels of their various lymbic weaponry as mentioned before and at certain points they can also be forged into stronger versions and given special properties as well. Players can equip various bits of defensive gear located within puzzles and hidden away while also applying glyphs that can strengthen their weaponry through the blacksmith, though again as mentioned before the real draw for most will be the actual puzzles and the atmospheric world, so filled with mystery, rather than the fairly simple combat.
Audio & Visuals
Hell is Us has some amazingly handled environments that are both a wonder to behold and gut wrenching at the same time. Witnessing some of the horrors that have occurred throughout the horror of the civil war as players travel through towns is truly gruesome and a stark contrast to the more crisp designs of various ruins and wonderful looking pastures that players can travel through in other locations. The character models of the NPCs players talk with are impressively detailed and are a perfect fit for the dire circumstances in which they live though it is worth noting that the main character is as bland as they come. The same can unfortunately be said about the enemy types. While there are various enemies that have Hazes within them as mentioned earlier, these are simply stronger versions of enemies players are already fighting, often within the same battle, and the complete lack of variety really hurts here. Especially since, while not terribly scary in their own right, there is something eerie about the way many types are designed.
As for the voice work, it is great to say that the title is fully voiced, with even characters that don’t have major dialogue trees having things to say out loud. The main NPCs that characters can interact with have a lot of dialogue at times and all of it comes off as fitting sounding and quite thematic in nature, though again, the main character’s own voice actor is sadly lacking as well, making him a bad match against the stellar performances of the rest of the English dub. The background music throughout the game is limited but when it is there it is used to impressive effect.
Overall
Hell is Us is a rare breed of game in this day and age. One where it refuses to hold the player’s hand in any way other than simply telling them that there is an objective to complete and the slightest hint that players may have started a mystery or good deed along the line, with nowhere to actually point things out to solve these puzzles other than paying attention to the clues given. This may frustrate some but delight many that have come to grow tired of the handholding many games implement these days. Combine this with an impressive story that weaves horrific scenes of war with in-depth lore and Hell is Us makes for a highly entertaining, albeit slow moving, action adventure that could have used a bit more spice when it came to enemy types and actual combat.
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