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[SilentSpecter]

https://www.metacritic.com/game/hell-is-us/

Hell Is Us Reviews

Hell Is Us is rated 'Strong' after being reviewed by 25 critics, with an overall average score of 82. It's ranked in the top 11% of games and recommended by 84% of critics.

opencritic.com

Pros:

• Dark, dense atmosphere and strong immersion.
• Exploration without hand-holding is satisfying.
• Interesting, challenging puzzles and level design.
• "Impulse" healing system rewards aggressive play.
• Small side missions and NPC interactions add nice story details.

Cons:

• Combat is pretty shallow and gets repetitive quickly.
• Few enemy types, camera and targeting can be frustrating.
• Main character's story is weak and less engaging.
• Requires manually noting codes and clues – can be annoying.

Looks great atmosphere-wise, but combat is shallow and repetitive. I'll probably wait for a big sale before trying it.

 

[Stafford]

That's a shame about little enemy variety and the combat.

 

[Pey.]

Here's the review from a colleague (8.5/10) with some screenshots: https://www.pcmrace.com/2025/09/01/hell-is-us-review/

 

[Gonzito]

I liked very much the demo and I want to support these guys for their work, specially because one of the team leaders is the guy behind Deus Ex HR and MD

 

[radiant_ch]

Just preordered!

Love the "satisfying exploration" part in pretty much every review I've read about it. Am really looking forward to.

 

[TrebleShot]

I really liked the atmosphere in the demo, but I will wait for a sale.

 

[Denton]

Seems pretty good. Bit swamped with games and not a lot of desire to game atm, but maybe in the future.

 

[Nocty]

The demo was perfect because it gave me 100% confirmation the game was not for me.

I wish we got more demos, it should be an industry standard to have them like it was back in the videogame magazine disc days.

 

[SJRB]

O shit I totally forgot I bought the Deluxe Edition. Isn't this available later today?

 

[Sticks]

Game Pass filler

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

Don't need reviews, already have my physical copy pre-ordered, still haven't opened up my copy of Shinobi, busy with Delta, too many games lol

 

[Gonzito]

O shit I totally forgot I bought the Deluxe Edition. Isn't this available later today?

Yes

 

[Cyborg]

You love it or you hate it kind of game! Im a bit dissapointed devs weren't able to make the combat better.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Tried the demo.

Didn't really gelled with the combat. Otherwise a lot of good stuff seems to be in the game.

 

[Superposition]

Not bad scores considering the studio's scale and experience. The demo was a bit boring, but I absolutely want to try it for the atmosphere. It's in my second plan for now.

 

[Flabagast]

Looks very intriguing

 

[mèx]

Wait, it's another Souls-like?

Lost opportunity to have a Remnant-style combat with this setting instead of the same boring melee combat we have seen countless times.

If the level design is really that good I might get it eventually.

 

[Gonzito]

Wait, it's another Souls-like?

Lost opportunity to have a Remnant-style combat with this setting instead of the same boring melee combat we have seen countless times.

If the level design is really that good I might get it eventually.

Its not. The developers said this is not a souls like

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

The media need a map and Ubisoft-like indicators to not get lost.

Predictable scores. The game is good.

 

[Roberts]

The demo left an impression that it was made by nerds who have a huge boner for Miyazaki, Lake and Kojima, but talented nerds nevertheless. Will buy it when it drops to 10-15 EUR.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Loved the demo but September is too crowded with other games for me and also I don't wanna get another RPG until I'm done with Clair Obsure (which will take another while).
Will prolly get this down the line though.

 

[Yoshichan]

Awesome reviews. Just bought it!

 

[Lux R7]

lovevd the demo, day one for me

 

[SJRB]

Game: "We won't hold your hand, you have to use your brain for once"
Reviewer: "No handholding is a con"

lmao

 

[Sanepar]

What abou game length?

 

[DarkBatman]

Game: "We won't hold your hand, you have to use your brain for once"
Reviewer: "No handholding is a con"

lmao

Modern video game journalism in a nutshell.

 

[DenchDeckard]

atmosphere looks great.

 

[Judge Magister]

Looks solid, +20h experience and priced well at 50$.

 

[CellarDoor81]

I'm playing the early access right now (I know, I know, pay more/play early is bad but I can't help myself) and the game is really awesome! You're in this intimidating world and don't know where to go first and whom to talk to and it feels great! No map or markers really add to the immersion. You act purely out of instinct and orient yourself on what you see in the distance. It's like an ubisoft game for adults with brains!

 

[Buggy Loop]

Game Pass filler

What a jerk

This is a new team that ramped up for their first major game

They are roughly 50 peoples, a real 50, not with 200 outside labour.

It's $50 to boot, cheap right out the gate. It oozes atmosphere and they put some incredible efforts in the levels and puzzles. Have some decency

 

[Tomi]

No bosses?

Too bad :/

 

[Buggy Loop]

Game: "We won't hold your hand, you have to use your brain for once"
Reviewer: "No handholding is a con"

lmao

Con : "I had to take notes!"

 

[Gonzito]

What a jerk

This is a new team that ramped up for their first major game

They are roughly 50 peoples, a real 50, not with 200 outside labour.

It's $50 to boot, cheap right out the gate. It oozes atmosphere and they put some incredible efforts in the levels and puzzles. Have some decency

Sometimes I wonder if some users here really like videogames. It's sad

 

[saintjules]

The demo was perfect because it gave me 100% confirmation the game was not for me.

I wish we got more demos, it should be an industry standard to have them like it was back in the videogame magazine disc days.

I believe from what I've seen over the years that making a vertical slice of demos take quite a bit of time to develop.

And I guess if I were a developer and saw that you didn't like my game after playing a demo I'd be hesitant on making future ones. That could be another reason why people wouldn't make them. Just a guess of course.

 

[Karak]

My review Rated a Buy


Game was a surprise to be honest. While its not perfect and some things will turn you off probably, it comes together really well even with some weaknesses. The world, the mystery, the exploration, and puzzle settings were way more than I expected.

 

[deeptech]

Requires manually noting codes and clues – can be annoying.

I actually love this, like way back.

 

[adamsapple]

I had fun with the demo, will check this out for sure but at a later date.

 

[missiles]

No bosses?

Too bad :/

No bosses?

Take my money.

 

[Skifi28]

I liked everything but the combat in the demo. Too bad I guess.

 

[Hugare]

The demo was the weirdest thing Ive played in a while.

You start the game looking for your parents and 10 minutes later you are fighting monsters with a sword, and the main character is not weirded out by it at all.

Game felt like playing a dream that didnt make any sense

 

[Ribi]

The enemy variety was clear from day one and the biggest reason I didn't bother. I can only kill a white humanoid who transforms a few times until I ask wtf else is there

 

[SJRB]

The demo was the weirdest thing Ive played in a while.

You start the game looking for your parents and 10 minutes later you are fighting monsters with a sword, and the main character is not weirded out by it at all.

Game felt like playing a dream that didnt make any sense

You get interrogated by this guy in the intro:

It seems to take place in some bizarre alternate reality where things are just a bit off (heavy Remedy influence, it seems).

 

[Lootlord]

Preorders? Guys what year is it??

 

[Duchess]

Shame. I expected it to score higher.

I enjoyed the demo a lot, though, so will still be getting this. It's not like the score is terrible.

 

[scydrex]

I liked the demo. Will get it later. Have to finish Clair and other things yet.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Shame. I expected it to score higher.

I enjoyed the demo a lot, though, so will still be getting this. It's not like the score is terrible.

The score is not terrible, but when it comes to games that don't hold media's hand, we have games in the past that got scored way lower than deserved. Prey 2017's 79 comes to mind. Rain world's 59 comes to mind.

I stopped looking at scores a while ago, the user score is more interesting. Or reading the reviews to find the tidbits that actually detail what's it about.

 

[mèx]

Rain world's 59 comes to mind.

I couldn't believe this is true, but it is, lmao. People reviewing these kind of games are truly clueless.

I do wonder why that was not a critique of expedition 33 either when you could just make a build that one shot almost 99.9% of the game

Because it hurts the narrative of a small no-name ragtag bunch Western dev owning established Japanese devs at their own genre.

 

[Toots]

Cons:

• Main character's story is weak and less engaging.

The dude who wrote this has no taste.
How come a story based on Nobody's boy Rémi can be weak and not engaging ?
A guy named Rémi looking for his parents in a war torn country, i mean how close can it get ?
I suppose you level up by giving Vitalis the pocket change you gather throughout the stages and Capi, Zerbino, Dolce and Joli Coeur are summons.

 

[AngelMuffin]

Looks pretty good but will wait for a sale, too many games this month.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Thought about it but I want Cronos. This does look interesting. It kinda feels like you're fighting KH's Heartless. Lol