Hell Is Us, Review: The Metroidvania That Challenges Humanity

The arc of our world's history has always been marked by two great events: war and peace. Few people have savored the latter for long, many have experienced the former in some way. But what if peace isn't the tool to understand how to avoid war, but rather war itself teaches us ethics and the harsh reality to avoid repeating the same colossal mistakes? With this philosophical intro, I present to you the brand new game from Rogue Factor and distributed by Nacon: Hell Is Us.

Hell Is Us is a "peculiar" game:

To understand what Hell Is Us is, it might be enough to define its genre, but we would probably lose all the beauty in this game. We can certainly say that the game belongs to the Metroidvania genre, a portmanteau word composed of the games Metroid and Castlevania. In this genre of games, there are various interconnected and freely explorable maps, but with inaccessible areas that require special items to be unlocked during the game. In an era where players are asked to grapple with their difficulties and no longer with spoon-feeding (God bless the souls-like for this), Hell Is Us aims to bring us an intricate but well-developed, well-conceived story, albeit not without some imperfections.

The game is in third-person and from the tutorial, it makes us understand what it's made of: here you'll have to rely on your sixth sense, on your abilities: no indicators to lead you to your goal, no objective log. This alone would be enough to make the game fascinating, certainly not for a common audience, but for those looking for a challenge that is certainly not trivial. Exploration, as you can well imagine, thus becomes the beating heart of this video game experience. We find ourselves in the imaginary nation of Hadea, where civil war rages between two opposing factions:

• The Sabiniani represent the peace forces or an organized military group (one of the governmental factions) fighting during the civil war that devastates Hadea.
• The Palomisti, on the other hand, are the indigenous population, exhausted and caught in the chaos of the conflict, often victims of the abuses and violence established.

The Plot of Hell Is Us

The protagonist of Hell Is Us is named Remi. He is a man tormented by his past who returns to his homeland, Hadea, in search of personal answers, but finds himself embroiled in a devastating conflict and a mysterious supernatural calamity that infects the world. Remi is not a classic video game hero: he is an emotionally scarred character, whose journey reflects both external and internal war. The game's narrative develops around his search for truth, identity, and redemption, with strongly symbolic tones. It is precisely through the protagonist's eyes that we experience the dramatic effects of war with vivid realism. During his story, Remi will meet several characters, who in one way or another, will leave their mark on him.

Each character is meticulously crafted, and the stories of the various NPCs are interesting and multifaceted. We want to emphasize that a fundamental part of Hell Is Us is precisely its plot and the various backgrounds of the characters we will encounter. If you are not a fan of stories and want to forgo them, we assure you that you will miss a fundamental component of the game and it will not be the same experience. We also clarify that, as the game itself indicates, we cannot be superficial in our approach with the various NPCs; we could miss significant details not only in terms of lore but also for the progression of the game.

The Gameplay of Hell Is Us

We will find ourselves solving intricate puzzles and investigating a world filled with creatures that infest Hadea: the Hollow Walkers. If you want to survive, patience is essential in Hell Is Us; we will be completely abandoned to ourselves, which might discourage a good portion of gamers from purchasing the title. However, if you want a game beyond the average, you will have plenty to sink your teeth into and will receive satisfaction. What perhaps doesn't work within the game are precisely the creatures we will face, which are trivial and lack bite. We can understand that this might be a deliberate choice, as the game aims to favor investigation and exploration, but after a while, these creatures will be seen more as mere annoyances than as dangers. There are 3 difficulty levels; we recommend the balanced one to have an excellent combination of gameplay discovery and hostile creatures.

The combat approach, at least, is interesting. Some characteristics can be attributed to soulslike mechanics. In addition to having a good number of weapons at our disposal, including greatswords and spears, these weapons consume a certain amount of stamina based on their weight and characterize Remi's movement. All weapons are equipped with limbic energy, which is crucial for defeating the Hollow Walkers. We will have the classic quick attack and heavy attack at our disposal; the latter takes time to charge and consumes a significant amount of limbic energy (visible via a white bar), but clearly, the damage we inflict will be substantial. We can restore our health not only through recovery timing while inflicting damage but also recharge limbic energy through specific items. To this, we add the glyphs.

In Hell Is Us, glyphs are key elements of gameplay and narration, connected to both the combat system and the game's symbolic setting. They are emotional manifestations etched or linked to Remi's weapons. Each glyph represents a primary human emotion, for example, Terror, Ecstasy, Pain, Fury. We must not underestimate the power of glyphs, because many encounters will turn in our favor only with the correct ones equipped on our weapons. We will see that some enemies are vulnerable to certain glyphs, making tactical choice essential. Some glyphs can also affect environmental puzzles, adding depth to the game mechanics. Beyond their practical function, glyphs represent the repressed emotions of a world broken by war. The game uses these symbols to reflect on the emotional wounds of humanity: each glyph thus becomes a key to understanding collective and personal trauma. An additional ally for our Remi will be the faithful drone we always have with us, its name is Kapi, and its contribution is truly remarkable. Kapi illuminates dark areas, scans the environment, and reveals hidden details or interactive objects. Our drone will also be the best help in various combats; we can send it to distract an enemy, provide environmental hints, or activate mechanisms. We can mount various interesting chips on it to break enemy resistances. Finally, it also acts as an interface between Remi and the outside world, reading various writings in a language that would otherwise be indecipherable for Remi.

Hell Is Us Review: Conclusion

Hell Is Us is an enjoyable title, yes, but not for everyone. It is an absolutely interesting game, yes, but not for everyone. The fundamental component you will need to arm yourself with, as mentioned, is patience; everything revolves around how much you have. The game proceeds at quite measured and slow paces, exploration can be pleasant but dead times are inevitably many, the enemies are not at all interesting, and after not too long they will be overly repetitive. We also noticed some framerate drops in our PS5 test, especially in very vast environments. On the other hand, the constant unsettling atmosphere, a solid plot (for those who stay focused and in uninterrupted tension), with related side missions, a fluid and unwavering combat system play a primary and by no means negligible role. Finally, let's add a meticulous and detailed world-building. The desolation of Hadea's world is palpable and completely immerses the player in its universe.