"Hell is Us" tried out: Rebellion against classic open-world formulas

Contents

During our interview at this year's Gamescom, designer Simon Girard told us that "Hell is Us" is a game for adults who want to think for themselves. After more than twelve hours in the game, we can now confirm this. Developer studio Rogue Factor delivers an open-ended action-adventure that falls somewhere between dark sci-fi dystopia, war drama, survival horror and classic Zelda adventure. It is an extraordinary game that is mentally and playfully challenging and will therefore not appeal to everyone.

Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt

Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen.

YouTube-Video immer laden YouTube-Video jetzt laden

Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Google Ireland Limited) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.

A game for adults

"Hell is Us" begins with an interrogation. Protagonist Rémi sits chained up at a table, his face marked by gruff conversation. A mysterious man in a hat with a cigarette and an exaggerated double chin injects him with a truth serum, whereupon Rémi reluctantly tells his story – or rather: our story, because his story soon becomes the game. The backstory: As a child, Rémi was smuggled out of a fictional country called Hadea, which is in the midst of a brutal civil war. Years later, he returns as a 'peacekeeper' – the 'Hell is Us' version of the UN blue helmets – to find answers. His only memory is that his father was a blacksmith in the village of Jova. When he arrives in Hadea, he takes off his uniform and sets off on his own search. It soon becomes clear that Hadea is not only suffering from the horrors of war, but is also haunted by supernatural beings, the "Hollow Walkers".

As Girard explained in the preliminary discussion, there are three narrative levels in "Hell is Us": Rémi's personal story, the horrors of war and the mysterious "Calamaty" phenomenon. In the early hours, the realization of the civil war scenario is particularly impressive. The conflict, fueled by religious fanaticism and a blind will to progress, is bursting with emotional charge and populism. People are pitted against each other, know only for or against and do terrible things to each other in their blind rage. "Palomists" and "Sabines", once neighbors, brothers and sisters, slaughter each other, drive each other out of their common home and don't even stop at children.

On the way to the village of Jova, the sight of a mass grave is grueling. At its edge, a broken man mourns his wife and child. On an old tree on a hill, the lifeless bodies of unwanted inhabitants blow in the wind. In her run-down house, a woman tells Rémi how the soldiers punish her every night for taking part in a lynch mob. What this game tells apart from the main story is hard to bear. At the same time, it is a playable memorial to the horrors of war that is rarely found in this medium. Rémi repeatedly encounters refugees who need his help. However, he does not take sides. "Hell is Us" does not draw players into the war. They remain observers, perform "good deeds" in the form of side tasks, but never actively participate in battles or the underlying conflict.

Not too easy, but not souls-like either

Battles are fought exclusively against the supernatural "Hollow Walkers" – and this much can be said in advance: "Hell is Us" is not Soulslike. The battles can be quite challenging, but are never unfair and can also be mastered by less experienced players. There are also various setting options to adjust the level of difficulty, and not every monster has to be fought. The save points are also set fairly. In the event of failure, the character returns to the last activated save point, but the progress made up to screen death is retained.

In the course of the game, Rémi finds various mystical swords, axes, halberds or lances forged from a special material. They can be charged with rage, ecstasy or grief – Emotions thus become weapons. The melee weapons differ in their properties, feel different and level up when they are used. If you pay close attention, you can quickly see through the attack patterns of the "Hollow Walkers" and block, parry or dodge them with a jump. Two mechanics are particularly important here: when Rémi deals damage, his life bar – only fills up conditionally. Only when the swarm of sparks around him has formed a flashing circle and this is confirmed at the right moment with the shoulder button does the earned life energy materialize. So the game rewards offense.

Nevertheless, attack-happy players should be careful, as the life and stamina bars are linked to each other. If you lose too much energy, you can only attack and defend with difficulty. In addition, medi-kits are rare in Hadea. These small tactical components, in combination with the various special abilities that can be assigned to the weapons, make for fast-paced and varied battles. Rémi's drone also gradually proves to be an important tool. Not only can it decipher hieroglyphs and provide light, but it also helps in battle with passive and active skills, provided the corresponding modules are found.

If Rémi is surrounded, the drone boosts his attack power, triggers area damage, paralyzes enemies or lifts its owner into the air so that he can attack from the air. After the first twelve hours, we can't yet say for sure whether the battles will be fun throughout the entire game. That depends, among other things, on whether Rogue Factor introduces more different enemy types later on and what effect newly acquired special abilities have. In any case, the gamepad controls run smoothly and even in hectic moments the camera perspective poses no problem.

(Too) free exploration?

The greatest joy we had in the first act, however, was the free exploration. "Hell is Us" is a classic adventure at heart and does not provide a map – either in large format or as a mini-map. It is therefore not possible to hunt for question marks or set your own markers as a reminder. However, there is a compass that can be switched on at any time to help with orientation. The only map in the game merely serves as a selection field for the fast travel points in the various areas. In contrast to major productions such as "Elden Ring" or "Assassin's Creed Shadows", "Hell is Us" does not have a gigantic, coherent world, but sends players into several compact but open areas. However, these are large and, above all, interesting enough to spend many hours exploring.

Similar to the popular "Zelda" series, there are numerous temples and dungeons in addition to the "overworld" into which Rémi can descend – and they are quite something. Large underground temples can take several hours to complete. Players encounter special enemies and numerous environmental puzzles, which are usually tricky but never overwhelming, sometimes obvious but rarely clumsy. Rogue Factor succeeds extraordinarily well in compensating for the lack of (obvious) help through clever level design and environmental storytelling. When Rémi enters a new section, the camera angle gives him an initial overview of where important places are located. Be it through rising smoke, a conspicuous tree or remarkable stone formations on a hill.

The view into the distance not only provides a beautiful panoramic image, but also useful information. Even in a small area, it is worth noticing conspicuous features on houses or paying attention to the background noise. Instead of dazzling color markings or the same scraps of fabric along the way, in "Hell is Us" delicate chimes in the wind or baby cries from afar lead you to your destination. We explored the areas of the first act extensively and never got stuck or wandered around lost. Only in the first large dungeon did we notice the absence of a mini-map. Although the winding, ancient walls are impressive, it is sometimes difficult to keep your bearings with all the back and forth between the floors. Concentration is required here.

Structure in dialogs and inventory

Just as important as the surroundings are the numerous conversations with the NPCs. Players should seek conversations with every inhabitant of Hadea. Although many characters are brief, the few words are usually all the more useful. For dialogues with important NPCs, the game switches to a frontal view in which the interlocutor takes center stage –, a perspective that is all too familiar from classic Bethesda role-playing games. Unfortunately, in terms of animation quality, "Hell is Us" is also reminiscent of the mostly rudimentary facial expressions of the characters from "Oblivion", "Fallout" etc. However, the very good voice actors quickly make up for the lack of realism in the characters' faces. Incidentally, voice output is only available in English and French, while text and subtitles are also available in German.

As old-fashioned as the dialog boxes may seem at first, their structure is very good. Lore options, which are used to build up the game world, are always to the right of the character. Dialog options relevant to progress can be found on the left. So if you want to concentrate on the main storyline, you can see at a glance where you need to ask questions. The conversations are not overloaded and usually get to the point quickly. So far, we have used all the optional dialog options and have not regretted it. Rogue Factor puts a lot of effort into the worldbuilding and provides exciting background information about the events in Hadea.

By the way, the all-clear has been given for all those who are afraid that "Hell is Us" can only be played with an open notebook. Yes, this game demands attention. Concentration on the action, the environment and the dialog is essential. However, Rogue Factor has also integrated an automatically growing mind map that clearly summarizes the most important facts. This allows players to easily return to the game after longer breaks, even without a conventional quest log. Apart from the mind map, however, the inventory menu is somewhat overloaded and requires a lot of maintenance. In order not to lose the overview, the rudimentary sorting system for important notes and items should definitely be used. Items that are no longer needed can be marked as "archived" and thus appear at the end of the list. Favorites remain at the top. Technically, "Hell is Us" has cut a good figure so far: we had no problems on the Playstation 5. Pop-ins occurred only occasionally, but there were never any frame rate drops.

First impression: A game that lingers

"Hell is Us" unfolds a pull that few open-world adventures manage. Without a map, quest markers or guidelines, adventurers can explore a world that paints an impressive yet disturbing picture of dystopia, melancholy and fragile beauty. War-torn Hadea is also surrounded by a soundscape that always creates a dense, threatening but also lively atmosphere with mysterious synth sounds, humming helicopter rotors and subtle wind chimes. No, "Hell is Us" is not a game for the masses, even if it has the potential to reach them. For those who embark on this intense journey will be rewarded and experience a game that stimulates thought and is more than just dull entertainment.

"Hell is Us" is rated 16+, will be released on September 4, 2025 for Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC (Steam and Epic Game Store) and will cost 50 euros (PC) and 60 euros (consoles). We tried it out on the Playstation 5.

(joe)