Hell Is Us: A Surprisingly Accessible Soulslike With a Dark Story
▼ Summary
– Hell Is Us is a compelling action-adventure game that blends soulslike combat and dark world-building but lacks weapon and enemy variety.
– The game is set in a bleak, war-torn fictional nation called Hadea, inspired by real-world conflicts and filled with graphic depictions of violence.
– Players control Remi, a sociopathic protagonist searching for his parents amid a civil war and a supernatural creature outbreak.
– Combat features stamina-based mechanics, a unique healing pulse system, and customizable abilities, though some skills become overpowered later.
– Despite an underwhelming finale and limited boss fights, the game offers an accessible, well-optimized experience with adjustable difficulty.
Hell Is Us presents a fascinating hybrid experience that blends the punishing combat of soulslikes with a more approachable structure, set against a deeply unsettling fictional civil war. While it doesn’t fully commit to either genre, the result is a gripping and atmospheric adventure that stands out for its unique setting and engaging mechanics.
Developed by Rogue Factor, this action-adventure draws clear inspiration from FromSoftware’s iconic titles but carves its own identity through a more forgiving design and a distinct real-world inspired narrative. Players take on the role of Remi, a military veteran and diagnosed sociopath returning to the war-torn nation of Hadea in search of his missing parents. The game’s world is steeped in brutality, echoing real historical conflicts through its depiction of religious strife, mass violence, and human suffering.
Combat will feel familiar to fans of the genre, emphasizing timed dodges, parries, and stamina management. A unique healing pulse system replaces traditional health items, rewarding aggressive play by allowing health recovery based on damage dealt. Players can equip a variety of abilities through glyphs, relics, and drone programs, offering meaningful customization despite the limited selection of melee weapons. Enemy designs are creatively unsettling, particularly the Hollow Walkers and their linked Hazes, though variety remains a weak point throughout the experience.
The storytelling employs environmental cues, cutscenes, and dialogue with NPCs to flesh out its grim world. While side characters like journalist Tania and Abbot Jaffer add depth, protagonist Remi can feel emotionally distant, a trait explained by his backstory but which occasionally limits narrative engagement. The game avoids excessive handholding, relying on player observation and a built-in investigation log to track progress, a approach that channels the spirit of classic adventure games.
Exploration is central to the experience, with players navigating interconnected regions in a commandeered armored vehicle. Optional Timeloop objectives allow areas to be permanently cleared of respawning enemies, rewarding thoroughness with loot and safer backtracking. Puzzles vary in complexity but are frequently interrupted by combat, ensuring pacing remains dynamic.
Performance and accessibility are strong suits, with the Unreal Engine 5 delivering detailed, often beautiful visuals despite the bleak subject matter. The game includes robust difficulty customization, colorblind modes, and a directional audio indicator, making it one of the more inclusive entries in the genre.
Where Hell Is Us stumbles is in its lack of enemy and weapon variety, along with a rushed final act that concludes abruptly. With only a handful of boss encounters and repetitive combat scenarios in the later stages, the experience doesn’t fully capitalize on its strong foundation. Still, its compelling world, flexible difficulty, and inventive mechanics make it an excellent choice for those new to soulslikes or seeking a dark, narrative-driven action game.
This is a title that respects its influences while daring to be more accessible, and though it leaves you wanting more, what’s here is thoroughly memorable. If you can handle its heavy themes and sometimes harrowing imagery, Hell Is Us offers a journey well worth taking.
(Source: techradar)
