Hell is Us review — Hell doesn’t come with directions

There’s something about Hell is Us that immediately grabbed my attention. In an era where most games are obsessed with holding your hand and guiding you toward the next shiny objective marker, Rogue Factor has thrown the modern gaming playbook out the window and dared to ask: what if we actually trusted players to figure things out for themselves? Turns out this is exactly what the gaming community needs right now.

Set in the fictional war-torn country of Hadea, this isn’t just another post-apocalyptic action game. It’s a rejection of convenience-based design, complete with no minimap, quest markers, and breadcrumb trails. You play as Remi, a young exile who was exfiltrated from his homeland and raised in Canada, now returning to search for his missing parents amid a brutal civil war.

What starts as a personal quest quickly becomes something much darker. The country isn’t just dealing with human conflict anymore. Supernatural creatures called Hollow Walkers have emerged, immune to modern weaponry and seemingly born from the very emotions that fuel the civil war. Somehow, they can be hurt with ancient weapons that Remi finds, signifying some deeper connection between the supernatural threat and the country’s forgotten past. 

The storytelling approach is refreshing in how it refuses to baby you. There’s no exposition dump explaining every detail of the world’s lore. Instead, you’re dropped into this world and expected to piece together the truth through environmental storytelling and careful observation.

Gameplay is where Hell is Us makes its boldest statement against current game design conventions. Forget everything you know about open-world handholding because this game wants you to figure it all out yourself. No minimap, objective markers, and quest log reminding you what to do next. When someone tells you to “follow the wind chimes north,” you better start listening for those chimes and find north on your own.

It sounds intimidating, but honestly, it’s liberating and immersive once you adjust. This approach channels the spirit of adventure games from the 90s, when getting lost was part of the experience. The world is structured as large hub areas filled with secrets, side stories, and dungeons rather than one massive open world, which makes navigation a bit more manageable while still preserving that sense of discovery. 

Every corner holds clues, secrets, or dangers, and your curiosity drives discovery rather than predetermined waypoints. The game expects you to take notes, read everything carefully, and add important clue-related items to your favorites for easy reference later. This level of player engagement feels almost abandoned by other modern games, and it’s evident this won’t vibe with all players.

Combat feels deliberately paced without being punishing in the Dark Souls tradition, but ultimately feels a bit clunky and stiff. You have standard and heavy attacks, blocks, parries, and dodges, plus a trusty drone companion that goes beyond simple distraction. The drone includes multiple abilities, including Surge Step for faster movement and various other tactical options like a cyclone spin. The weapon variety is decent, with swords, spears, and axes each offering distinct attack patterns and speeds. Enemy variety is a bit disappointing though, and overall combat boils down to the same ebb and flow.

What’s particularly interesting is the Healing Pulse mechanic, which requires perfectly timed inputs during combat to restore health. There’s no replenishable Estus Flask equivalent here and consumable healing items are extremely limited. You are expected to master this Nioh Ki Pulse-like mechanic in order to survive. In addition, your maximum stamina is capped by your current health level, so taking damage not only reduces your health but also permanently lowers your stamina capacity until you heal.

The puzzles are where you really need to think outside the box. Some are straightforward symbol combinations, while others are so complex you might even need community collaboration. These aren’t tacked-on brain teasers but integral parts of the world design. Clues are embedded in architecture, hinted at through dialogue, or hidden in environmental details. There’s Time Loops, which appear as distorted bubbles in the overworld. These environmental anomalies are usually guarded by Hollows and cannot be entered without obtaining some sort of artifact first. Who knows, maybe valuable loot might await you inside.

What’s really cool is that side quests emerge organically. You might find a gold watch engraved with “Otis” and suddenly find yourself following a breadcrumb trail that spirals into a full questline. These Good Deeds offer tidbits of daily life amidst the overarching narrative. The game also features Research Items to collect, all of which reward you with relics, weapons, gear, and skills.

The progression system is unlike a traditional RPG. There are no stats to upgrade or experience points to collect. Instead, progress comes through exploration: you find new trinkets, gear, and weapons that enhance your abilities. Individual weapons can be leveled up the more you use them, and the blacksmith can transform your weapons into elemental versions that deal more damage to specific Hollow types. 

Running on Unreal Engine 5, the game has mostly solid performance on the base PS5. Frame rates remained stable during exploration, but I encountered some stutters during combat. You can toggle between Performance and Quality modes. Load times are serviceable, coming in at around 7 seconds from the main menu. The game requires 21.57GB of storage space, which is pretty reasonable for a title of this scope.

There are customizable difficulty options: Lenient, Balanced, and Merciless, and they can be changed at any time in the settings menu. However, there are no options to make navigation or puzzles easier! Hell is Us spans across three meaty acts, and takes around 30 hours to complete, depending on how much optional content you do, and how often you get stuck.

The controls feel responsive and intuitive, with the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback being utilized for combat impact and environmental interactions. Even the speakers are used on the controller, which I wish more games did. Character movement occasionally felt slightly rough around the edges, especially with the camera sensitivity, so do play around with it.

Visually, Hell is Us is nothing short of stunning. Art Director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête’s background on Deus Ex shines through in every carefully crafted environment. The war-torn landscapes of Hadea blend WWI-inspired trenches with supernatural horror elements, creating a palette that’s both historically grounded and otherworldly.

The creature designs are particularly noteworthy. The Hollow Walkers are genuinely unsettling beings that feel like they’ve crawled out of a nightmare. This, alongside the lighting and atmosphere work together to create a consistently oppressive mood that never feels forced or overwhelming.

The audio design creates an immersive soundscape that perfectly complements the visual storytelling. Elias Toufexis, known for playing Adam Jensen in the Deus Ex series, voices Remi perfectly. Environmental audio plays a crucial role in navigation and exploration. Since there are no traditional waypoints, you’ll find yourself actually following audio cues to discover hidden areas.

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