Hell is Us combines elements of traditional action gameplay with a more experimental, old-school approach to exploration and puzzle-solving, one that trusts the player to figure things out. We have a lot of games now that are a mile wide but lack in depth. Hell is Us provides the opposite of that: a game that focuses on a deep, explorative experience. And in a year full of surprises like Dune Awakening and Expedition 33, and the fact that we are finally getting Silksong. Hell is Us might be one of this year’s biggest surprises. 

Story 

Hadea is a war-torn country rife with civil war, unrest, and to make matters worse, a supernatural disaster known as “The Calamity” infests the country with Hollow Walkers. Creatures that will attack everything on sight. You play as Remi, a soldier for the ON Peacekeepers who breaks free from his unit to sneak back into Hadea to look for his parents, who sent him away as a child. 

Hell is Us combines the supernatural story with something familiar. It’s a story that focuses on the worst of humanity. The world is dark, depressing and full of all kinds of characters, from the morally complex to the straight-up detestable. Hell is Us is not afraid to delve into dark places, featuring genuinely shocking imagery and audio logs of a world torn apart by a civil war. 

It’s an intriguing world that successfully combines the personal stories of Remi with the story of its world and inhabitants in a seamless manner. Remi’s hunt for the truth about his family eventually leads him on a journey to learn more about The Calamity and how to stop it. Right from the get-go, you will be pulled right into the story as a mysterious faction is interrogating you. 

However, it’s not perfect, and with its focus on discovering the world’s history, it sometimes feels like the main plot doesn’t progress for a long time, and many of the characters end up being somewhat forgettable. It has a weak ending that doesn’t provide any resolution. The real star is Hadea and its rich history that you will uncover over the course of Remi’s journey, and all the secrets it hides.

Investigative Gameplay 

Hell is Us is really split into two distinct parts: the soulslike combat system and an investigative gameplay. You aren’t given a map (well, kinda, maps of zones do exist) or quest markers to deal with, just some dialogue and a tablet that tracks notes. If a character tells you that there’s something west of a town, you’ll have to find that spot yourself. It starts simple enough, but will quickly evolve into multiple zone quests, with cryptic clues to guide your way. And the times you are given a map, it’s mostly blank.

The game is set in a semi-open world. Large and open maps with plenty of secrets to find, without falling into the typical open-world tropes and moving away from the generic map markers to something more organic. You will explore open fields, marshes, various towns, liberties and ancient ruins around the country of Hadea. Each one has its own unique look and feel. Filling out this world, you will often see things in the world that lead to side-quests, dungeons and much more. It’s an excellent approach that feels so much better and more rewarding than a simple “go here and do this” that a lot of games rely on. 

In many ways, it does feel like the unguided mode in games like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, where a lot of objective locations aren’t given to you at all. But here it’s taken to the next level. One of my biggest pet peeves is when you activate a switch and a cutscene shows you what you just did, or a game circles an area on the map so small it’s basically giving you the answer. There’s not really any of that here. Outside a few pop-up tutorials that explain specific game mechanics, Hell is Us lets you loose on the world. You will often find items, talk to NPCs or discover puzzles that won’t be solved until much later in the game.  

Puzzles themselves are plentiful; just about everything you do in this game feeds back into a larger puzzle. You will need to pay attention to a wide variety of items that flesh out the world. They range from simple cyphers to something a bit more complex that can span multiple zones. However, they are all logical, with clues provided in the environment and various notes placed throughout the world. If there’s something that doesn’t quite make sense yet, you can come back to it later. In my 30 Hour playthrough, I never got stuck on one problem for too long, and even when I wasn’t playing the game, it was always stuck in the back of my mind. Eager to jump back in to solve the next mystery. 

There are also some “good deeds” which are minor quests that have you finding items for the different civilians around the world. You can even fail a fair few of them, which surprised me when I returned to a town and found a side character dead (Admittedly, this was a result of my own inaction and my having somehow forgotten that this quest existed). But it is a small detail that makes it feel like your actions have some impact, rather than a generic quest log with no urgency.

On top of this, you have time loops and mysteries in the occasional puzzle to solve. Mysteries are, as the name implies, mysteries that scatter the world. Timeloops are small, concentrated areas that are stuck in a repetitive cycle, doing the same thing over and over again. It’s a good idea, but it feels wholly underdeveloped, as it boils down to simple interactables and doesn’t interestingly evolve the narrative or gameplay, despite having the potential to do something extraordinary. 

Whilst Hell is Us is mostly free from player guidance, that’s not to say that there aren’t any quality-of-life features to make your time easier. Remi’s tablet updates quest information with key dialogue, giving you a hint of where to go next. If you’re done with a note or clue, you can archive it, which moves it to the bottom. I highly recommend keeping on top of this manually, as your various journal entries can become extensive and overwhelming. Whilst side quests will be marked as completed. Not everything is marked, but there’s a good balance between helpful tracking and obscure progression. It’s not perfect, and it can certainly do a better job tracking some side content, as you will occasionally be running around aimlessly. 

However, those moments of discovery when things click are magical in this game. Picking up an item and realising “Oh, I know who was looking for this” or “That door that I saw 10 hours ago can finally be opened” makes for an engaging gameplay loop. One where the lack of direction the game gives you really comes into play. As a whole, I found this part of Hell is Us one of the most engaging and enjoyable moments of the year so far. It can occasionally feel repetitive and padded out, but at the same time, it respects the player’s time and ability with the cryptic clues it gives you. 

Soulelike Gameplay

As for the action component, the developers have clearly taken some notes from the likes of Elden Ring and Dark Souls, but I’m hesitant to call it a true soulslike. You can dodge, block, and parry attacks as usual, as well as perform light or charged-up heavy attacks. It’s all standard stuff you’ve seen a thousand times, and probably at least a dozen more times before the year ends. But marrying it with the investigative gameplay makes Hell is Us feel more distinctive. 

It’s a competently crafted action experience, but also one that won’t blow you away. Performing attacks will fill up your health gauge, and if you time the right bumper button correctly, you’ll get all that health back. This trivialises the early game but also encourages a level of aggression. Encouraging you to push further into combat than retreating to use health items. Attacking enemies also fills up your Lymbic Gauge, which allows you to unleash much more powerful charged attacks and special abilities. 

Remi will get access to a small number of weapon archetypes throughout his adventure, from regular swords to twin axes and greatswords. Each of which provides distinctive play styles. However, it’s the customisation and runes that make it stand out. Each weapon can be imbued with various emotions, giving Remi access to some of the most potent abilities. You also have access to a drone called KAPI, which has support abilities to help Remi control the battlefield. There’s a lot of build potential here, and with the plentiful upgrade resources, the game actively encourages you to experiment with different loadouts. 

Very soon, you will encounter enemies connected to a Haze with an umbilical cord. These will be displayed in different colours, which serve as the game’s elements in “Emotions”. Something I won’t get into here, as it plays a narrative role. In order to deal damage to the Hollow Walker, you will first need to deal with the Haze connected to it. It’s an interesting idea that adds a uniquely strategic element to the combat. Especially when dealing with a group of enemies connected to a singular Haze. 

It’ll also be a long time before you even face off against a boss fight. And this is the biggest problem with Hell is Us. The enemy variety feels rather lacking. Within the first 5 – 10 hours, you’ve pretty much seen most of what is on offer. And after the first 15 hours, I encountered my first boss, who had some fascinating ideas, but it pretty much fell flat. There was no real buildup to this boss fight. Despite the mechanics being reasonably well fleshed out in Hell is Us, not as much thought went into the enemies. 

I said I wouldn’t call it a true Soulslike, that’s for a reason. The game’s default experience is not particularly challenging. Also, when you die, you return to a save point without enemies respawning. It’s a more deliberate experience that prioritises exploration over challenge. There are options to make the game more challenging, including higher enemy aggression and damage, as well as the option to enable death punishment. However, I left it off, as it doesn’t seem to be the intended experience. 

Things do get a little bit spicier once you get to the Tier 3 enemies, as they come in larger numbers with more interesting variants of the tether that can be absolutely brutal. Once I reached this spot, I found myself using the game’s tools more frequently and focusing on strategy and positioning to overcome the surprising difficulty spike that had initially caught me off guard. However, the core issue of limited enemy variety persists; most of the time, they are simply stronger. It’s the Haze enemies that become more interesting.

If you are here looking for a Soulslike experience that will challenge you at every turn and punish every wrong move, then this may not be for you. Whilst the combat system has a surprising amount of depth and build variety, the minute-to-minute combat doesn’t make full use of it until much later into the experience. It feels a bit underdeveloped compared to the investigative gameplay loop. Regardless, it is still a solid enough companion to add variety to the exploration and puzzle-solving. Making Hell is Us a more cohesive and unique experience.

Sound and Visuals 

The first thing you will notice is that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided lead actor Elias Toufexis voices Remi. The immediately recognisable actor makes Remi an immediately likeable hero. Whilst the rest of the cast does a good enough job.

On top of this, composer Stephane Primeau delivers a hauntingly excellent soundtrack. Inspired by the likes of some of my personal favourite movies, like Annihilation and Alien. Every moment, dripping with atmosphere, is elevated to the next level thanks to the soundtrack. Bringing a sprinkle of horror into otherwise quiet moments as you explore the depths of Hadea. Or booming synths as Hollow Walkers attack you in swarms. It’s all wonderfully done and one of the bigger surprises in a game full of surprises. I need this soundtrack on Spotify. 

The open zones of Hadea all look incredibly unique, with some absolutely Jaw-dropping vistas and haunting backdrops that add a great deal of variety to the world. Mix this in with some unique enemy designs and incredible animations, and we’ve got a visual style that is unlike anything else. 

I played the game on PC, and I’m thrilled to report we’ve got native 21:9 Ultrawide support for gameplay and most in-game cutscenes. However, there are still cutscenes that play in the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio with black bars on either side. As for performance, I’m playing on an RTX 4070 at a 3440×1440 resolution and with High settings, and DLSS set to Quality mode. I was achieving above 60fps almost all the time, with no significant dips, crashes, or other issues. It’s a solid port with no glaring problems, and considering it’s running Unreal Engine 5, I was surprised I wasn’t stuttering all over the place. Not completely gone, but it’s much better than other releases these days. 

Verdict

Since its announcement, Hell is Us was shaping up to be a game to keep a close eye on, and now that I’ve played it, for the most part, ended up being even better than I expected. It felt like a slight breath of fresh air that removes most of the handholding, entrusting players to progress at their own pace. It’s a wonderful and unique experience, but one that occasionally stumbles with repetitive enemy design and a story that falls short of its full potential. Regardless, these issues felt like mere setbacks, and don’t stop Hell is Us from being one of the biggest surprises of the year. 

Graphics: 8.5 The world of Headea is weird and wonderful, with some wonderful designs in dark and depressing world. Elsewhere, I appreciate the inclusion of 21:9 support.	Gameplay: 8.0 Competent soulslike action wrapped up into a great exploration and the occasional puzzle-solving section. Doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does everything it needs to.
Sound: 9.0 An excellent soundtrack that elevates each moment. With some great voice acting.	Fun Factor: 8.0 Hell is Us is not a perfect game by any means, but it’s easily one of the biggest surprises of the year..
Final Verdict: 8.5

Hell is Us is available now on PC, Xbox Series and PlayStation 5.

Reviewed on PC with an RTX 4070, Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 32GB RAM. 

A copy of Hell is Us was provided by the publisher.