The game has strong close-up fighting and lets you explore the world freely. I played an early version and think it’s worth paying attention to.
Remi is the main character. He is looking for his parents. After many years he comes back to his home a place called Hadea. Hadea is fighting a big and bloody war. At the same time strange creatures and weird buildings have appeared. I don’t know much about this new Hadea just like Remi. The story makes you feel curious and a little scared as you learn more.
When I arrive Rogue Factor gives a warning: Our game has no map or markers to show where people or things are where to go next or who to talk to. We won’t tell you exactly what to do or how to do it. All I have is a notebook and pen hoping they will help me on my journey.
At first this was very scary. Many open-world games show maps, markers and help on the screen to guide you. But this can take away the fun of exploring on your own. Some games like Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring don’t do this as much. But most open-world games now give a lot of help.
Hell is Us is different in a good way. It does not have a permanent map or quest markers in the game. So I had to use two things my own guesswork and a datapad. The datapad shows all the people I talked to and what they said in a simple chart. It tells me the important facts but does not tell me what they mean.
Rogue Factor doesn’t leave me lost. The game gives me important places, directions and helpful info to guide me. Characters tell me where to go using landmarks. Maps and items show possible paths. The datapad keeps all this info together but I have to figure it out myself.
I’m not ashamed to say this can feel confusing fast. Jova is one of the first places I go and there are so many people and clues that it made me dizzy. But with my datapad and notebook I slowly understood the main idea of Hell is Us. I didn’t need to find every clue just enough to plan my next move. I could talk to everyone and look everywhere but it wasn’t necessary. One person gave me a general direction and I found a map with a red arrow on it. After exploring Jova a bit more and getting my bearings I found a landmark and continued on my way.
I kept finding strange puzzles written in a language I didn’t understand. They seemed like keys to doors I hadn’t found yet and little clues about what was happening around me. The datapad saved my talks and clues for missions but many puzzles still confused me. So I often looked back at my notes to help. Some game heroes write in their journals but writing my own notes made the game feel more real. My notes are messy and my puzzle drawings look like a kid made them but that’s okay because the effort matters.
This makes the game feel more real and fun. I liked Breath of the Wild more when I turned off the screen info and just explored by looking at places around me. Hell is Us feels like the next step in that idea. It is like old puzzle games such as Myst but with new technology using a datapad.
Rogue Factor did a good job showing conversations in the game. When you talk the right side of the screen shows questions about the story side characters or the world. These talks help you learn about Hadea’s past. On the left side you get important questions that give you key information. This information is saved in your datapad and new questions appear when needed.
Hell is Us is a game about exploring and fighting. I met many different creatures in the world and they reminded me of games by Kojima and Remedy. The fighting is like the style in recent Fromsoftware games. I used close-up weapons, special moves, dodged attacks, blocked hits and fought several enemies at once. The fights are tough but not too hard and they are not the main part of the game. They just add variety and a different kind of challenge.
I still find the fighting in Hell is Us surprising. When I fight or explore I carry a drone on my shoulder. The drone can stun enemies use special powers and scan places to help me learn more about the world. Like my datapad the drone feels real and makes the game world and the character Hadea feel more believable.
I really respect what Rogue Factor is doing with Hell is Us. I like how the team wants players to find things on their own instead of giving help in the usual ways. I also like that fighting is not the main part of the game.
I only played Hell is Us for a short time. I don’t know how good the exploration is in the whole game but from what I saw I believe Rogue Factor can make it work. The game has a cool setting and fun exploring. If you didn’t like other open-world games you might want to try this one.
Rogue Factor and Nacon will release the game Hell is Us on Steam on Thursday, September 4. A demo will be available on June 2.
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