Hell Is Us: Resident Evil meets Dark Souls

After the success of Clair Obscur, many games seem to be breaking the mold, going beyond imitating successful games of the past. Instead, they seem to be creatively mixing and matching different genres and gameplay styles to try and build something new.

In the case of Hell is Us, it manages to deliver mixed results with some unique takes on game mechanics that are definitely bold. The question is, is it enough to keep its head above the water sharing the same launch week as Hollow Knight: Silksong and Borderlands 4?

Rémi Letam wakes up in shackles and is in the midst of being interrogated by a mysterious man with a lot of chins. As a Peacekeeper with the Organised Nations, Rémi is forced to disappear into his war torn country of Hadea in search of his lost parents. Caught in a holy war, Hadea is torn apart, however, that is the least of its problems as supernatural entities emerge from its depths to wreak havoc.

A stranger in his own land, you guide Rémi in finding his parents and uncovering the secrets of the entities and navigating the various factions that are out to hurt or help our hero. 

Rogue Factor is a studio comprising talent that worked on Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, and you can spot that influence in the game’s art style and direction. The story draws deep breaths of inspiration from the various conflicts happening in the world today, leaving humanity in these war-torn areas in shambles, hungry and beaten down.

There are two distinct gameplay styles also at work. On one side, it is a Resident Evil inspired survival loop, with its familiar grid-like inventory trappings, item collection and usage and horror elements. The other side is a puzzling Dark Souls-like combat system, complete with the familiar dodge roll, with none of the heavy difficulty mechanics that make the Souls games what they are. This makes Hell is Us’ combat easier to get into, lightly challenging and a lot of fun with a good amount of enemy variety, that is genuinely scary. 

According to the marketing messaging and several in-game messages, Hell is Us’ selling point pivots around the game not hand holding you, offering up a more organic experience of finding your way across the map without any quest markers or map helpers of any sort. Instead you find clues, orient yourself with the compass and search for unique environmental markers.

It is a unique and fun way of getting around. This forces you to document and note a bit more. The maps are large, and they are not fully open world, but instead designed as a bunch of pathways and corridors. A good choice in limiting freedom, because getting around can be tough, especially since the game back tracks so often. 

In addition to its Souls-like combat and navigation challenges, the game throws a lot of puzzles at you. Many of these are well thought out, but ultimately riffs off matching codes and moving ancient runic tumblers to open certain things. It is fun finding the solution hidden around the environment, adding a bit of Indiana Jones into the mix. The world of Hell is Us is filled with a lot of content, peppered with non-player characters to talk to and trade with. 

Hell is Us is an impressive looking game, with excellent art styles, gorgeous landscapes and large set pieces. It is a world that keeps wanting you to explore, taking a darker tone with some interesting horror elements and creatures. While the game boasts a no-objective marker approach, it does use sound and environment design to gently push you along the right path. That is some good level design there.

I like that Hell is Us does not hold your hand, and you will too, but it takes time. While the game is a bit rough in certain aspects, it does hold your attention. There are certain fun aspects and the action is good, hopefully the developers keep updating and patching things to add a bit more consistency in the experience. If you are looking for a good Souls lite, then Hell is Us could be scratch that itch.