Hell Is Us Creative Director reveals an extended look at gameplay!
Hell Is Us recently got an extended gameplay overview, showcasing many different elements from it’s action combat to its environment exploration with a focus on player discovery. Let’s go over what we know about this upcoming title!
Hell Is Us Release Date + Platforms
Hell Is Us, developed by Rogue Factor and published by Nacon, is scheduled for release sometime in 2025, coming to Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
What Is Hell Is Us?
Hell Is Us is a third-person action adventure that combines hard-hitting combat with exploration, encouraging player investigation and interaction. Originally announced in 2022, Hell Is Us went dormant for a while, resurfacing this year at a PlayStation State of Play.
Creative director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête (previously working on titles such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution & Guardians of the Galaxy) is leading the development for Hell Is Us. In this recent gameplay reveal, Jonathan touches on many elements of Hell Is Us that aim to set this game apart.
You take on the role of Remi, a peacekeeper who has returned to the fictional country of Hadea to find his parents. Hadea is no longer the same, having been torn by war, and is now crawling with supernatural beings thanks to an event known as the “Calamity”.
The Story of Hell Is Us aims to tell a mature story in a complex world blending reality with mysterious phenomena, exploring deep themes such as civil war, human emotions, and connections with family. Hell Is Us almost has a horror flair to its art style, mood, and presentation, heightened even more with the many enemies shown, such as a Hollow Walker; faceless, almost slenderman-like creatures that screech as they approach.
Environment + Exploration
During the showcase, Jonathan made a point of saying that nowadays, modern games can be too focused on player assistance, showing a player where to go, what to do, and how to complete a task almost immediately without allowing for player investigation, otherwise known as “silver plattering.”
Hell Is Us aims to strip away this hand-holding nature in what they call “player plattering.” Removing the map, compass, and quest markers. Instead, having players focus on points in conversation and environmental land marks such as artwork on a building for player navigation and awareness. For example, dialogue from a particular NPC indicates to “follow the windchimes” providing nothing else to the player apart from this visual/auditory clue to look for when navigating a dark forest environment. Jonathan explains, “We want the player to regain full control of their adventure by exploring, discovering, and deciding for themselves.”
There are a number of puzzles in Hell Is Us; one shows an investigation of an underground temple door, utilising your drone to translate an ancient language in order to understand how this particular door functions and what players must do to proceed.
Remi will also have access to a data pad—think an investigation wall—but in a digital 90s-inspired device. Containing clues and leads to what you have encountered and heard, but it is still up to the player how to act on this information and decide what the next step is.
Many environments we see are fairly open, with many different points of interest that may provide more information on leads or side discoveries. One example is a large tree with many hanging corpses that has a number of items that can lead into other side discoveries.
Hell Is Us will also have a number of dungeon-like areas that are focused on exploring the history of Hadea. Allowing the player to discover more about the world and surrounding lore. These areas were not touched on too much but will likely connect the dots when it comes to the story and background of Hadea.
Combat
Hell Is Us has hard-hitting action combat, with various different tools at the players disposal, like weapons such as swords, spears, and axes. These weapons will have their own abilities; think magic, but in a more scientific sense rather than traditional magic. Remi will also have a number of abilities, such as a typhoon, where you spin in a circle doing melee damage.
Jonathan makes a point to say that Hell Is Us should not be considered a souls-like when it comes to its combat and surrounding systems. Players can expect a “well-seasoned difficulty level without being overly punitive. Players will have to learn to master a range of different moves and adapt to enemy attacks.”
One other note is that Remi will have KAPI, a drone companion capable of distracting enemies or setting up for special attacks. This drone is not considered a sidekick in the traditional sense; the drone will not be a talking sidekick offering investigation assistance. Instead, KAPI will play a role when it comes to combat, allowing for crowd management and taking the heat off the player in the thick of battle.
Hell Is Us is aiming to balance these two core pillars of combat and exploration, with Jonathan saying that each should amount to 50% of the game’s experience. Hell Is Us looks like a promising title, aiming to bring back the old-school player-driven discovery, combining with a modern combat system to create a unique experience in the world of Hadea.
Be sure to stay tuned to GamesNight as we cover more of Hell Is Us, leading to its release sometime in 2025.
