Hell is Us Reviews

Hell Is Us has a unique tone and setting that complements a deep combat system and exploration puzzle elements, but its complex layout and crisscrossing sidequests may have you begging for a map that the game proudly withholds

Hell is Us is an ambitious game, both in its presentation and subject matter. Exploring a dour setting without waypoints may not be for everyone. But for those looking for something different and experimental, Hell is Us offers a unique experience granting a sense of achievement.

Hell is Us has a blend of exploration, puzzles, and combat that, while familiar, pushes you to really pay attention to the world around you in a way that’s both compelling and occasionally frustrating.

Hell is Us is a game that offers something unique, but that same challenge might turn away a lot of players looking for something with a more streamlined experience.

For many triple-A video games, appealing to a wide audience often means ensuring players can see a game to its conclusion. That sometimes translates to sanding down combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving to make it as approachable as possible. But this can also veer into making games too guided for their own good. Hell is Us tosses all of these conventions out of the window. Goodbye quest logs, maps, and objective arrows telling you where to go. By trusting players to figure things out, Hell...

Armed with little more than a stolen drone and initially rudimental melee weapons, the player has to cross a war-torn country that, for good measure, has also been swarmed by scary and deadly creatures. This is the basic premise of Hell Is Us, a brand new triple-A third person action adventure, published by French publisher Nacon. We played through this single player campaign on Xbox Series X, and boy – there is tons to talk about. Here’s the XboxEra review for Hell Is Us!

Hell is Us knows what it wants to be, and if you're willing to take the ride, it may surprise you with its lore and approach to exploration. Just be prepared for plenty of awkward bumps along the way.

I've been intrigued by the third major release from Montreal-based developer Rogue Factor, Hell is Us, ever since I first saw its debut in 2022. The teaser trailer didn't give away much, and frankly, there's a lot about that original trailer that looks very different now, even if I can look back on it and recognize what every element of it refers to now that I've hit credits on it days ahead of its full release. But I've kept the game in the back of my mind for years now, which has its own layer of expectation building, even though I realistically knew very little about the game.

Hell Is Us is a rare gem that we don’t normally see in the gaming industry. It’s more than a game that simply “doesn’t have waypoints or quest markers.” Instead, it’s an engaging experience that truly trusts the player’s intelligence, curiosity, and active listening skills. Figuring out how to progress the main story or its side quests through pure investigative work is immensely satisfying and constantly rewarding, to the point that I couldn’t put the controller down. It feels as if Rogue Factor has created its own genre in a way, similar to how FromSoftware spawned Soulslikes. The game’s only true disappointment is the lack of enemy variety and minimal bosses, which can result in the combat growing stale pretty quickly.

Hell Is Us is one of the most unique gaming experiences of the year, bringing some of the most intricate and memorable puzzles in recent memory, accompanied by superb exploration mechanics.

Rogue Factor have created something truly special in Hell is Us, combing head-scratching puzzles with fun, challenging combat. This is an unexpected treasure.

The defining design pillar of Hell is Us is a refusal to guide the player. There are no waypoints, no quest markers, and very little in the way of an actual objective to follow. Instead, you’ll have to listen, observe, and puzzle your way through a brutal civil war that has torn apart the fictional nation of Hadea.

Hell is Us is an exciting game thanks to its player-pattering system and otherworldly enemies. Exploring Hadea is often player-driven, so discovery feels natural & earned. Combat rewards patience & commitment to stopping the terrors plaguing this war-torn country.

Hell is Us starts strong, but quickly falls into a tedious loop of collection and delivery, with an uninspiring combat system and a story that loses its initial promise. The superb place-setting and unnerving tone can’t save this action RPG from stumbling across the finish line.

No maps. No markers. No mercy. Hell is Us trusts you to listen, to feel, and to get lost. And in doing so, it offers something truly rare: a soul.

Outside of its fairly derivative, sometimes repetitive, and not quite finely-tuned combat, Hell is Us has a unique identity. Its emphatic insistence on patient and meticulous puzzle solving and careful exploration creates a satisfying experience, even if its obtuse execution can frustrate on occasion. The game’s narrative, characters, and setting feel darkly surreal. Its ultimate message about humanity caught in endlessly repeating tragic loops has some weight. For gamers willing to take on its challenges and solve its mysteries, Hell is Us has a lot to offer.

Hell Is Us is a game that wears its ambition proudly. This third-person action-adventure doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. There are no maps, no quest markers, no glowing icons to guide you—just you, your instincts, and the will to survive in a hostile, war-torn land haunted by supernatural horrors. We spent time with Hell Is Us for the game review, and while its vision is undeniably bold, its execution can feel uneven, frustrating, and at times, outright felt clunky.

Hell is Us is an absorbing, nightmarish meditation on the horror of war, but divisive design choices prove tedious.

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 ...

Hell is Us promises a narrative adventure without the handholding, and mostly delivers on that through rewarding exploration and experimental combat.

We first got a glimpse of Hell is Us’ gameplay in a 2024 State of Play. On display was a dark action game with cool-looking weapons and an eerie atmosphere. Hell is Us delivers that, while also providing an extremely lore-rich world, rooted in mystery.

An amazing immersive experience that has been lost with the art of hand-holding maps and quest markers. The game makes good use of puzzles, both easy and ones that get you thinking. However, the combat is extremely lacking, which stops it from reaching greater heights.

All in all, Hell is Us remains the strongest where it matters the most in this kind of game: the story. Remi’s narrative, his background, and the world of Hadea are some of the most intriguing story beats I’ve ever played through, with the latter in particular standing high and proud among the greatest of video game nations, on par with Tomb Raider‘s most fantastic cultures. With overall solid gameplay, occasional frustrations, and interesting puzzles, Hell is Us is nonetheless a nice game, wrapped in a gritty, gruesome, and intriguing package.

With little glitches and a substantial time investment, Hell is Us has a solid foundation in the action adventure and RPG genres. Given the mature storyline, however, it should be played by those willing to encounter multiple dark themes.

The story and haunting world of Hell is Us overshadow most shortcomings, and Rogue Factor’s message is a powerful one. The team’s refusal to hold the player’s hand may frustrate, but it also creates a unique sense of immersion and discovery. Hell is Us is meant to unsettle and provoke thought, not just entertain, and where it stumbles in one area, it succeeds in another. For players willing to overlook missing variety and conveniences, and who value atmosphere over a perfect presentation, Hell is Us offers a journey well worth taking.

Hell is Us is an experience that won't appeal to everyone, particularly those who prefer clear objectives. You will spend a lot of your time figuring out what to do next, piecing together what clues you might have missed. But, the game also represents something increasingly rare in modern gaming: a title that respects your intelligence and isn't afraid to make bold design choices. Now, get ready to take some notes!

Hell Is Us takes some bold strides towards player agency, but nudges you a bit too much toward solutions

Hell Is Us is a pretty fascinating game, but one that has me struggling to figure out if I really like it. I mean, I do fundamentally like it, and I think it does a good job of letting you explore and discover things on your own while offering puzzles that are simple enough that you’ll get all of the important ones done with very little issue. I also think it’s a game that respects your time by not being too long, but it then fails to respect your time by making some parts of the interface needlessly clunky. It’s a game that you’ll absolutely want to play with a notepad and pen nearby, and one where you’ll rapidly overcome the initial feeling of horror in favour of something closer to monotony at times.

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Hell Is Us is a game about the depravity of humanity and the consequences of our actions. Almost everything about Hell Is Us is crafted to perfection, from its incredible environmental storytelling to its characters and world. Though some may find it difficult to progress due to a lack of direction, its exploration becomes a key to its success. Its combat is fun with plenty of mechanics to mess around with, but it could have done with a little more enemy variety.

With its sometimes chilling civil war setting and general lack of guidance, Hell is Us isn't a game for everybody. Those who embrace its hands-off approach, however, will likely find it an incredibly compelling experience provding they can tolerate its occasionally frustrating combat. And it's ever so rewarding being a force of good in such a dark world.

Hell Is Us is a darkly engaging adventure puzzle game that blends the uncanny character vibes of David Lynch with exploration elements found in Fromsoftware games without its punishing difficulty.

Hell Is Us makes bold choices: no hand-holding, no maps, no shortcuts. That design philosophy is both its biggest strength and its biggest frustration.

Sadly, those retreads often mean more combat. It’s exciting at first, this scrabbly Soulslike stamina-baiting movement against eerie phantasmal hollow-face demons, wielding a Ki-Pulse-like rally mechanic straight out of Nioh that precludes the need for healing items once you get the timing right. Weapons are strictly melee-only, a collection of upgradable gleaming blades rotted over by colored status-effect elements, though Rémi himself lacks any proper level-ups or skill trees. Beyond the blade, an assistant flying drone offers a few special modules that trigger dash attacks and other functions.