It’s a common saying that war never changes, but what if the terrible things that happen during a conflict become monsters that ensnare people in a cycle of their worst actions? Hell is Us uses its fantasy near-future scenario to take a grim, realistic look at the horrors of war, yet even then, it turns out that human depravity is still worse than any supernatural disaster. Hell is Us kept me engaged during my 38-hour excursion, even though the actual act of fighting your way through the monsters of this ravaged nation isn’t doing anything novel for the action-adventure genre.
The campaign is full of intrigue, grief, and perhaps a little irritation because of its straightforward but enjoyable fighting and its universe, which is full of mysteries that force you to pay close attention.
Combat, puzzle solving, and exploration are all equally important in Hell is Us. It’s a well-known pattern if you’ve played video games like Resident Evil , but exploring the made-up nation of Hadea as Remi, a juvenile exile who was smuggled out of the country, presented a unique challenge.
The fact that there isn’t a map, a waypoint system, or a hint of where to travel next is made clear up front. During the early hours of Hell is Us, I had to retrain my brain to function as if I were riding a bike for the first time without training wheels. Although initially annoying, that irritation seemed to subside by the middle of Act One, and I saw that I was able to identify the hints I needed to go forward more rapidly.
What begins as a search for information on Remi’s lost family and the cause behind his return to Hadea swiftly turns into a series of riddles and scavenger hunts that unveil a larger picture. The absence of a conventional map or waypoint system, combined with that mystery and the sheer volume of objects to gather, made taking written notes on what I had observed all but necessary. This was particularly true when I put together a long list of puzzles and NPCs that needed particular objects that I still hadn’t located, some of which wouldn’t even be accessible until later in the narrative.
Initially, I was taken aback by how prominent the puzzle element is in Hell is Us—not because I didn’t like it, but rather because it wasn’t what I had anticipated. With all the typical suspects represented, there are several puzzles to solve, such as matching symbols to open doors, delivering particular objects to NPCs, figuring out safe codes, locating color-coded keys, stepping on pressure plates, and more. Although I have only solved roughly three-quarters of them so far, the majority of the answers have been straightforward or minor brainteasers. This is a good area for them to land because there are several things to manage independently at once, but I never spent too much time in one spot.
If you don’t take thorough notes, you can wind yourself going in circles.
The only somewhat annoying aspect of some puzzles is that, because many items don’t appear until you advance in the game, you may not always know up front whether you have all you need to accomplish them or even if certain essential pieces are still available. Normally, that would be such a small annoyance that it wouldn’t even be worth mentioning, but since Hell is Us takes pride in not automatically recording the details of things like quests and puzzles, it can cause you to run around in circles trying to figure out an unknown solution if you don’t keep thorough notes or if you take a few days off from playing.
Speaking of running in circles, after a few hours, I started to lose my bearings, even though the first act is very simple at first. It was difficult to determine where I had and hadn’t been without a map. Around the middle of Act One, I started to lose interest because you can’t advance to other areas without finding specific clues or NPCs that provide you with knowledge about those zones. However, the addition of more people who consistently provide information about the mission and my personal adjustment to how I was supposed to interpret the story’s clues caused this pain point to entirely disappear in the next two acts.
As Remi, you have direct experience with the themes of violence, cruelty, hatred, and humanity’s worst enemy in Hell is Us. They appear in every NPC dialogue, setting, and bit of lore you come across while looking for Remi’s family. You would think that the Hollowed monsters that haunt Hadea’s streets and countryside would be the worst thing you have to deal with, but history has repeatedly shown us that our biggest adversaries are always ourselves. The images of the planet, the horrific events recounted by its survivors, and the animosity characters frequently harbored for one another were what stayed with me as the credits rolled, not those eerie foes.
The unique method of healing used by Hell is Us has drawbacks.
Remi rapidly accumulates a collection of various weapons with unique characteristics, such as swords, twin axes, polearms, and more, each with unique advantages and disadvantages, after discovering early on that ordinary weapons are ineffective against the Hollow foes. Glyphs that can be added to weapons to give them attributes like Rage, Ecstasy, Terror, and Grief are unlocked as you explore, solve riddles, and assist Hadean inhabitants. Weapons with diverse qualities can be upgraded to change not just how they look but also what abilities they can equip.
I was a huge fan of Rage because it enhanced my aggressive playstyle by giving me some range options and enabling me to stagger adversaries. Since it enabled me to deplete adversaries’ health while they were at a safe distance, terror ultimately served as an augment for my second weapon.
Hell is Us also employs a novel strategy for healing during combat: if you cash in after landing an attack or combination without receiving damage, dealing damage will restore your health.
Verdict
While familiar, Hell is Us’s mix of exploration, puzzles, and fighting forces you to pay close attention to your surroundings in a way that is both captivating and sometimes annoying. The puzzles scattered throughout the landscape kept me more alert than action-adventure games like this usually do, and its bleak approach to quest and map tracking requires you to use your own observational skills and take notes to tackle its problems. Although the action sequences don’t stack up as well due to its rather simple gameplay and lack of variety in enemies, Remi has enough tools in her arsenal to at least enjoy herself while defeating the game’s creatures.
Hell is Us isn’t afraid to depict the grim reality of a war-torn nation while also demonstrating how the darkest aspects of human nature are ultimately more horrifying than our most horrifying fears. It pushes the limits of its own audience’s discomfort in a way that will stay with me beyond any of its arguments, serving as a mirror to ourselves and the world we live in.
