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[RafterXL]

I'm about 30 hours in and this game has been one of the best experiences in gaming for me, in years. Even the combat, which is the low point, is better than a lot of games and still has a visceral punch. The world building is up there with the best i've seen, the world is excellent. I actually care about the lore and backstory and some of the plot lines and what happens to people are absolutely brutal. It's the kind of game we don't get anymore because modern developers don't want to touch any remotely difficult topics anymore.

Handholding in this day and age is waypoints, markers, GPS lines to the exact thing that you're supposed to do or visit. that's not handholding, that is presenting the solution.

This game has plenty of handholding; it guides you to the solution by telling you what you need or where you need to go. That is what handholding is.

After 5 hours the only moment I actually had to actively use my brain is when some vault had a password input and the half the input was in one journal and the other half in another so I had to "memorize" a six digit code.

I worry for people who struggle with puzzles like that.

You vastly overestimate the average gamer. We're talking about people who need yellow paint to know you can, or even attempt to, climb a ladder. What is great about this game is that it's not completely obtuse. It gives you everything you need to solve the problems without explicitly solving them for you. It's what gaming used to be and it's amazingly refreshing. The problem is, even giving the players all the information isn't enough in 2025, which is why the majority of games have UI's that look like a fully modded WoW and have characters that tell you want to do five seconds after you come across anything that requires any thought at all. Hell is Us would probably sell significantly better with all the modern day trappings even if it would have made the game significantly worse.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I'm about 30 hours in and this game has been one of the best experiences in gaming for me, in years. Even the combat, which is the low point, is better than a lot of games and still has a visceral punch. The world building is up there with the best i've seen, the world is excellent. I actually care about the lore and backstory and some of the plot lines and what happens to people are absolutely brutal. It's the kind of game we don't get anymore because modern developers don't want to touch any remotely difficult topics anymore.


You vastly overestimate the average gamer. We're talking about people who need yellow paint to know you can, or even attempt to, climb a ladder. What is great about this game is that it's not completely obtuse. It gives you everything you need to solve the problems without explicitly solving them for you. It's what gaming used to be and it's amazingly refreshing. The problem is, even giving the players all the information isn't enough in 2025, which is why the majority of games have UI's that look like a fully modded WoW and have characters that tell you want to do five seconds after you come across anything that requires any thought at all. Hell is Us would probably sell significantly better with all the modern day trappings even if it would have made the game significantly worse.

I'm newly in the 3rd area, but I already think the hate of the combat is overblown. I mean it does have the L2 4 options and R2 4 options. The parts of the combat I don't like is that hitting the enemies doesn't interrupt their animations. So you kinda memorize when you get hit and when you can hit R1 to heal. I also don't get when you get to do a finishing move and when you can't. Seems random. What am I missing?

 

[RafterXL]

I'm newly in the 3rd area, but I already think the hate of the combat is overblown. I mean it does have the L2 4 options and R2 4 options. The parts of the combat I don't like is that hitting the enemies doesn't interrupt their animations. So you kinda memorize when you get hit and when you can hit R1 to heal. I also don't get when you get to do a finishing move and when you can't. Seems random. What am I missing?

The hate for the combat is definitely overblown. I think quite a bit of people were thinking this was a Soulslike and expected combat to be the main focus of the game. As an action-adventure, which is what this game is, it's actually pretty decent combat. As for what you are missing, let me know when you find out. I thought that you hit the button once and you'd do the finisher, and that works some times, but other times I have to hit it repeatedly. My best guess is that it has a very narrow activation area and if you aren't lined up almost perfectly it won't trigger. It's definitely something that should be tweaked in a patch.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

The hate for the combat is definitely overblown. I think quite a bit of people were thinking this was a Soulslike and expected combat to be the main focus of the game. As an action-adventure, which is what this game is, it's actually pretty decent combat. As for what you are missing, let me know when you find out. I thought that you hit the button once and you'd do the finisher, and that works some times, but other times I have to hit it repeatedly. My best guess is that it has a very narrow activation area and if you aren't lined up almost perfectly it won't trigger. It's definitely something that should be tweaked in a patch.

I meant more like, I can't tell when I kill an enemies Haze and they continue to attack vs I kill an enemies haze and they sit there for a finisher. I don't get the difference.

 

[RafterXL]

I meant more like, I can't tell when I kill an enemies Haze and they continue to attack vs I kill an enemies haze and they sit there for a finisher. I don't get the difference.

Oh, sorry. To get the finisher trigger you have to have depleted their stamina bar to put them in a stun state. I always beat them down until they are stunned and then attack the haze, and when it dies the white enemy will 100% have the finisher icon.

 

[Forth]

I'm about 30 hours in and this game has been one of the best experiences in gaming for me, in years. Even the combat, which is the low point, is better than a lot of games and still has a visceral punch. The world building is up there with the best i've seen, the world is excellent. I actually care about the lore and backstory and some of the plot lines and what happens to people are absolutely brutal. It's the kind of game we don't get anymore because modern developers don't want to touch any remotely difficult topics anymore.


You vastly overestimate the average gamer. We're talking about people who need yellow paint to know you can, or even attempt to, climb a ladder. What is great about this game is that it's not completely obtuse. It gives you everything you need to solve the problems without explicitly solving them for you. It's what gaming used to be and it's amazingly refreshing. The problem is, even giving the players all the information isn't enough in 2025, which is why the majority of games have UI's that look like a fully modded WoW and have characters that tell you want to do five seconds after you come across anything that requires any thought at all. Hell is Us would probably sell significantly better with all the modern day trappings even if it would have made the game significantly worse.

It really is and a great post.
As much as Sony are really disappointing me this gen with their lack of first party releases, it's been games like this and Expedition 33 that have kept me turning my PS5 on.
Sony owe these third party releases a lot of credit.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Oh, sorry. To get the finisher trigger you have to have depleted their stamina bar to put them in a stun state. I always beat them down until they are stunned and then attack the haze, and when it dies the white enemy will 100% have the finisher icon.

Ah! Everything I've seen always says you can't hurt them until you kill the haze. Not once did they mention this stun though.

 

[RafterXL]

Ah! Everything I've seen always says you can't hurt them until you kill the haze. Not once did they mention this stun though.

Yeah, watch their health bar. They don't take damage but the middle stamina bar will go down. Once you deplete it they stun and then you switch the haze. I dunno know why it never gets mentioned in the tutorials.