I’ve had a strange fascination with Hell is Us ever since I saw its gameplay trailer during Sony’s State of Play last year. The gloomy atmosphere, haunting soundtrack, and creature showcase straight out of Lovecraftian nightmares immediately caught my attention. It felt like Death Stranding and Silent Hill mixed with Annihilation, where beneath the horror lies a story that hits closer to home. It had everything I wanted for something truly different. Something fresh. That was when I placed Hell is Us on my Steam wishlist and eagerly waited for its release a year later.
Fast forward to now, and the game is in my hands. To my surprise, not much has changed from the first impressions I had a year ago. Hell is Us is still a strange game. It tries to do something completely different from what we usually see in modern gaming with its "zero objective markers" gimmick. It’s the kind of game that takes so much risk, which often leads to many of its systems not fully resonating with me. But before I get into that, let’s talk about what this game is actually about.
Welcome to Hadea
It’s obvious from the start that Hell is Us is a science fiction game. You could argue it leans into horror thanks to its ghastly alabaster monsters, but at its core, it’s deeply rooted in sci-fi with clear inspirations from the genre’s classics. In developer interviews, the team even mentioned it was directly inspired by Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series of novels. I haven’t read the books yet, but I have seen the Netflix adaptation, and it instantly became one of my favorite films of all time.
But I digress. With that inspiration in mind, the mood and atmosphere that Hell is Us is going for makes sense. The game takes place in the fictional country of Hadea, a place cut off from the rest of the world and treated almost like a character in its own right.
Players take on the role of Remi, a man returning to his birthplace of Hadea, only to find that nothing is as it once was. As you might expect, Remi is voiced by Elias Toufexis, best known for his role as Adam Jensen in the modern Deus Ex games.
And like every other video game world with Elias Toufexis in it, this one is doomed. Hadea is caught in a grueling civil war, where people are forced to kill their friends, families, and neighbors due to political tensions. It’s a harrowing sight, and Hell is Us does not shy away from portraying the pain and devastation that come with war. Not even its monsters can match the weight of its real-world consequences.
As a fan of science fiction, I found myself slowly getting pulled into its dark and otherworldly universe, filled with mystery from the very first hour. You have no idea what’s happening, who’s who, or why the world is falling apart. After a few hours, though, the game begins to open up, offering a fascinating take on history, religion, and politics through its strange sci-fi lens.
“Lymbic” Exercises
Combat in Hell is Us is simplistic and barebones, but it gets the job done. Remi has access to Lymbic weapons, which are forged from the game’s twisted creatures, using their flesh as instruments of war.
There are four weapon types, each tied to one of the game’s four elements: Ecstasy, Rage, Grief, and Terror. Each weapon can be enhanced with Lymbic skills through Glyphs, allowing them to inflict effects such as poison or other offensive abilities tied to their element. It’s not particularly deep, and I’ve found this customization system underwhelming as I play, partly because the game has a weak enemy variety and an absence of high-stakes boss battles.
Most of my time has been spent with the Sword of Grief, which has carried me through tough encounters even without relying on Lymbic skills.
Alongside these weapons, Remi is accompanied by his Drone, a surprisingly versatile and reliable ally. It can translate cryptic ancient texts, act as a flashlight, and even assist in combat. With the right skills equipped, it can distract enemies or unleash a powerful Whirlwind attack that saved me more than once.
What I appreciated most about the combat, though, is how it borrows from Bloodborne’s rally mechanic. The game encourages you to stay aggressive, regaining health by striking enemies at the right moments. It keeps battles tense and punishes passivity, which fits the game’s tone.
That said, combat is not the game’s strongest suit. At times, it feels like a stripped-down version of modern God of War titles. Finisher animations often drag on, and I found myself skipping them in favor of basic attacks just to keep things moving.
A Game With Zero Direction
This is where my biggest issue with Hell is Us lies. While its atmosphere and story are compelling, the game often feels like it has no direction. Rogue Factor clearly poured a lot of love and attention to detail into the world, crafting esoteric lore and a cast of characters worth paying attention to. But the way it all comes together feels muddled and disappointing.
There were questions that still needed answering, and by the time I came close to finding out what they were, the game suddenly threw me into a different scenario.
The game’s defining gimmick is its diegetic objective system. There are no map markers, no objective lists cluttering your screen like a Ubisoft game, and no obvious guidance. Instead, you’re left to figure things out on your own. At first, I found this refreshing. Eventually, though, it devolved into frustration. I spent hours wandering aimlessly because I didn’t realize I had to talk to a specific NPC or interact with statues to progress.
It’s ambitious, but expecting players to keep notes and decipher vague clues is a tall order. It works for a while, but the novelty wanes when you realize that’s all the game really offers. It doesn’t help that the game’s janky animations and clunky movement make traversal annoying. While this game doesn’t have any options like jumping and vaulting through objects, it could clearly use some.
And just when I thought the game was getting started, the credits suddenly rolled. It felt flat. After hours of following breadcrumbs, searching for all the MacGuffins, uncovering lore, and piecing together the world, the finale felt hollow, like it was setting up a potential DLC or a sequel. It felt cheap. The payoff never landed, leaving me disappointed after investing so much into the experience.
Verdict
Clearly, I wanted more from Hell is Us. It’s a game that feels too ambitious, often banking on a patient playerbase to work, but that's not always the case. The result is something tedious and frustrating, and with a final act that’s so underwhelming, I couldn’t help but feel like I wasted my time. The atmosphere, worldbuilding, and soundtrack are fantastic, but the lack of direction and unsatisfying conclusion left me frustrated.
And that’s a shame because it had all the right ingredients for a competent sci-fi story, but maybe a second playthrough would make me change my mind, as I have yet to uncover most of its secrets.
But for now, I’ll end this with a saying from the words of Adam Jensen: “I never asked for this.”
