A country torn by war and its mysteries. Hell is Us game review

The dim light of the lamp barely disperses the darkness. Somewhere in the corner, a tape recorder is spinning, recording every word. The voice of the one sitting at the table is dry and even, as if he has already heard hundreds of similar stories. The voice of the other is a little tired, but with a spark of emotion when it comes to what he saw. This is not just a conversation, this is the compilation of a protocol, where every word spoken becomes evidence. This is not about recording a crime or an investigation, but about a game that itself is built as a series of questions and answers. A game called Hell is Us.

I haven't reached the finale or seen the ending yet, so this testimonial is more of an inside look at the path the game has taken so far than a definitive verdict.

– Are you serious? They even took the map? How did you even know where to go?
– Just the words of people I met and scraps of notes.

Hell is Us refuses any convenient indicators. There is no map, no waypoints. There is only a compass that shows only the cardinal points. The player is forced to listen carefully to what NPCs say, reread dozens of notes, notice the inscriptions on the walls and traces in the architecture. This creates the atmosphere of a real investigation: every clue can turn out to be a key.

However, this concept also has a downside – the number of documents is so large that it is quite difficult to distinguish the plot from the secondary. And when there is no clear definition of the goal in the document, only the memory of what has been seen or intuition can help. That is why traveling around the world becomes not a journey, but a search among scattered fragments. But these fragments are organized very competently, and most of the time the journey feels organic and gives the impression that you skillfully found what you needed, or the circumstances just worked out well.

The system of story quests here is built as a series of investigations. One flows into another, or even into several new investigations. They have their own evidence, having examined which, you can determine where to go next, what to look for and where to look. Hell is Us still does not put dots on the map, all that is here is just a global map of the country of Hadea, divided in half by civil war.

"Okay, you were wandering around without a map... but what are these lands? What happened to them?"
"A disaster. It has torn Hadea apart. And a civil war between religious groups is adding to the devastation."

After a catastrophic event, the Catastrophe, Hadea resembles an open wound. The country is in total ruin, in places even authentically depicted. But the world has not frozen in silence. The world has been filled with strange and dangerous white creatures, Limbic entities. Along with monsters of unknown origin, a civil war is ongoing: people have divided into two religious factions and are fighting for the remnants of power and their own beliefs. In places, the game demonstrates the bleak everydayness of war and its consequences. After the experience that Ukrainians are experiencing right now, some moments can be surreal and even traumatic.

The hero finds himself caught between two threats at once – supernatural Limbic entities and human cruelty. Sometimes the danger from humans is felt more acutely than from any monster.

– Okay, but what did you fight with anyway? Aren't the weapons here the same as everywhere else?
– It reflects the emotions of the world. Instead of the usual elements, here is a reflection of human experiences.

Weapons in Hell is Us are closely related to the elements that embody human states. Several types of weapons familiar from other games, such as swords, twin axes, halberds, and so on, at first seem ordinary, and are distinguished only by their glow. But everything changes with the effects that can be applied to each instance during leveling.

Rage is a rage that explodes in aggressive strikes that can quickly break defenses. Grief is a grief that deals damage slowly but inevitably, exhausting the enemy. Ecstasy is an ecstasy, lightness and swiftness that allows for dashes and combos. Terror is a horror that oppresses and binds the enemy. When a weapon is bound to an element, it opens slots for glyphs corresponding to the element.

They are what shape her skills: shields, explosive strikes, damage over time, instant dashes. There are also neutral glyphs - rare, but versatile and useful for defense and tactics. What is the health recovery skill worth? Glyphs have ranks: basic, improved and elite, and each improvement makes the effect stronger or faster recovery after use.

Progression is not limited to weapons. The build is complemented by defensive ammunition - equipment that provides defense bonuses, stamina, and passive effects, which includes bracelets, armlets, rings, necklaces, etc.

Additional passive and active skills are given by relics. They are divided into passive and active: the former are always active, adding bonuses to stamina or strength, the latter can be used at a critical moment as an active skill alongside those given by weapon glyphs, for example, to stun enemies or completely restore all resources.

The game has three character parameter scales: health, stamina, and energy. Glyphs consume energy, relics can restore or spend it. Stamina is needed for dodges and blocks. If health drops, stamina also suffers. This creates a kind of balance: you can't use abilities thoughtlessly, because you always have to calculate what will be left after a fight with the enemy. There are no experience tables and levels in Hell is Us. There are artifacts that you find in the world, glyphs that strengthen weapons, and modules for the drone. Progression is felt through control over the situation: you know which weapon is more effective against which enemy, and what exactly to put into your build.

And the drone is another part of this system. It helps with tactics in battle, gives modules (distraction of enemies, additional abilities), and can also help in exploring the world. All this creates a complex system of choices, where development is not measured by numbers, but is felt in the process itself: in the choice of weapons and fighting style, in combinations of glyphs, in which relic to choose to have the best conditions for victory.

– And who did you use all this against? Who are your enemies?
– They have the same elements as your weapons.

Enemies in Hell is Us are divided into several types. In general, they are white faceless creatures of various shapes, Void Walkers. Some of them are humanoids of various sizes, others are something unusual with strange fans instead of limbs. The movements of each type are also very different, and the speed and damage are different. You have to adapt to each one. Some have a simple set of attacks that are easy to parry or dodge, while others require knowledge of complex timing and excellent reaction.

But there are more complex cases. Many enemies are Void Walkers, to which Shroud entities are attached. When an enemy has a Shroud of a certain element, they gain an aura and become invulnerable until the Shroud itself is destroyed. The different colors of these three-dimensional artifacts of the video card are the embodiment of a specific element, which is already familiar to us from the glyphs for weapons: Fury rushes forward, Sorrow exhausts and hits slowly, Ecstasy attacks in jerks, Horror paralyzes and breaks the rhythm of the battle. This forces you to change tactics: first deal with the entity, choosing the right tactics and weapons, and only then finish off the main body. As a result, each fight becomes a miniature puzzle, where you need to choose the right tool for a specific enemy.

– And the point? Is there any point here at all, or is it just a journey through ruins without a goal?
– This story drags on slowly, like an endless investigation.

Events unfold slowly. The plot develops more in an armored personnel carrier, which the hero successfully borrowed from a group of special forces that defeated the monsters. It is not just a car – it becomes a mobile base, and sometimes it seems like a trap, where voices are heard and new news appears. Through it, the hero is contacted by a mysterious woman who demands the return of her transport. But the further, the more she reveals details about what is happening: about the world, and about the hero's past, and about the catastrophe itself. The game does not give direct answers, only hints. So the plot is more like an investigation than a linear path. And the disclosure of secrets and mysteries awaits in the third act.

– And the atmosphere? Is it even slightly hospitable?
– The atmosphere here doesn't let go for a moment. It's cold and alienated.

Every second in Hell is Us is filled with a sense of mystery and anxiety. Even little things like consumables that need to be equipped in a slot in advance, otherwise they won't work, force you to plan every step in advance. The world is slow to open up, it pushes and tests, and the unknown past and incomprehensible future create a constant feeling of alienation. This is the case when the atmosphere itself becomes a driving force: it scares, but also does not let you tear yourself away, encouraging you to explore and find answers.

– So what is this, pleasure or torture?
– This is an investigation where every answer opens up even more questions.

Hell is Us doesn't offer easy solutions and doesn't allow you to relax. It requires attentiveness, patience, and a willingness to doubt. Every word of an NPC can be a clue, every note a clue, every crack in the wall a piece of evidence. And even after the finale, the echo of this conversation lingers in your head for a long time, as if the recorder is still working and the investigator is still asking his questions.