Hell Is Us is the newest title from the developer Rogue Factor, they had previously developed Necromunda Underhive Wars and Mordheim: City of the Damned. It is the newest title from the art director behind Deus Ex Machina: Mankind divided, it was initially unveiled in 2022 and was stated to come out in 2023 but didn’t and the studio went silent after that.
What This Game Will Feature
The trailer is showing a barren world that is filled with mass graves and humanoid, faceless monsters who move in deformed ways. Really hitting on the monologue stating that the greatest horrors are the ones that are inside us as humans.
As per the video description on Youtube it is a creepy, third-person where the protagonist has to face against these roam the desolate cityscapes and forests while battling these humanoid horrors with different weapons.
The protagonist also has a drone with him that helps when performing combos like overhead sword dives and such. As per a Playstation Blog post by Jonathan Jacques-Belletete the art director for Deus Ex, the game will explore themes of civil war and human emotions and familial connections.
What they blog also states is that the game will NOT feature any maps, quest markers or anything of the sort, they want the player to explore and remember where to go back once they undertake a quest.
The post explains that they want to offer the experience where everything isn’t presented on a silver platter with guides, quest markers, compasses and mini maps just pointing you where to go, instead the player has to rely on himself or herself thus creating an incentive to explore.
Investigations And Tracking
Progressing in Hell Is Us is taking on an investigation and trying to solve puzzles or pass obstacles whose solutions won’t appear clear from the beginning. It involves deeply exploring the general environment to uncover clues or hints that will eventually help the player.
They explained that they designed it this way to provide a full sense of immersion and demands the player’s attention to detail to forge the path forward. The investigation clues seem to be of multiple types allowing players to solve the puzzles in whatever way they see fit.
They know that this is a bold choice but at the same time it is a feature that can ultimately hurt the player if it isn’t executed correctly. For example if a player is stuck for a while at a certain puzzle he or she can’t seem to figure it out then the solution would ultimately end up being is go on the internet which just breaks the immersion and the entire point of removing markers or such.
The Theme And Flavor
The blog post also showcased a lot of dystopian vistas such as patterned holes and crumbled faces carved out of walls in abandoned caves. It also featured a lot of ruins that look like entrances to forgotten temples or gateways to underground areas.
All of these will be scattered across the open world of the game thus hitting home the initial point of emphasizing player exploration. The trailer also showcased lots of areas that looked like abandoned facilities which are haunted by these faceless monsters who our protagonist needs to fight past.
The trailer and pictures on the blog post so far show our protagonist wielding a giant sword, sort of berserk style, a halberd and dual hand axes, this indicates that there could be a large range of weapons to choose from as we play through the game.
Remain Cautiously Optimistic
While the footage and the pictures shared showcase a complete game we should still wait until reviews, we have seen other “good looking” games before release such as Cyberpunk and The Day Before, the footage made it seem like a complete game but in the end players did not receive what they paid for.
It is slated to come out sometime around 2025, hopefully more information and marketing will be done on Rogue Factor’s part as the industry has seen with Concord’s lack of marketing how unbeknownst that game really was although lack of marketing cannot be stated as its sole reason for its current state.
