Hell is Us
My preferences and how it relates to Hell is Us.
Things I dig in a game:
I love a great soundtrack. This has one. I don’t think this is a real scary game, but the ominous atmosphere that the music creates is one of my favourite aspects of the game.
The combat/gameplay is solid. Not the best thing of all-time, but serviceable and the many different abilities and the drone make it fun. Though I wouldn’t say this is one of the selling points. I wouldn’t market this game on its combat.
And the worldbuilding/story. There’s so much going on in this world, and it’s a treat to read/hear about it. I also enjoy the story. Mysterious, always wondered what was going to happen next, even if I don’t absolutely love the characters. Starts off strongly with a weird-looking fuck talking to you.
Things I generally don’t dig:
I actually like handholding. I don’t have the patience I once did when I was a kid, so the fact that this game (which I knew going in, but I was still intrigued) doesn’t hold your hand, and you have to explore and pay attention. Not a selling point for me.
Puzzles. It’s not that they’re that difficult, I just am not a puzzle guy. I play very few puzzle games, and puzzles in games that aren’t specifically puzzle games are usually things I just need to do that don’t add or subtract from the experience. I’m not really a fan of certain things requiring you to come back later once you get the right item, because I’m just not going to do that.
With all that said, I kept a walkthrough ready when available, so if I did get stuck, I just unstuck myself quickly. So neither of these things dampened my experience too much. And yeah, it’s a skill issue.
The stuff I like and that this game does well heavily outweighs what I don't prefer or what it doesn't do well, so that's why this is still rated quite high. With that said, had I not had a walkthrough available, I probably would have gotten annoyed at the game and I wouldn't have liked it as much. I'm not a professional critic so I'm not fussed about being "objective."
Things I dig in a game:
I love a great soundtrack. This has one. I don’t think this is a real scary game, but the ominous atmosphere that the music creates is one of my favourite aspects of the game.
The combat/gameplay is solid. Not the best thing of all-time, but serviceable and the many different abilities and the drone make it fun. Though I wouldn’t say this is one of the selling points. I wouldn’t market this game on its combat.
And the worldbuilding/story. There’s so much going on in this world, and it’s a treat to read/hear about it. I also enjoy the story. Mysterious, always wondered what was going to happen next, even if I don’t absolutely love the characters. Starts off strongly with a weird-looking fuck talking to you.
Things I generally don’t dig:
I actually like handholding. I don’t have the patience I once did when I was a kid, so the fact that this game (which I knew going in, but I was still intrigued) doesn’t hold your hand, and you have to explore and pay attention. Not a selling point for me.
Puzzles. It’s not that they’re that difficult, I just am not a puzzle guy. I play very few puzzle games, and puzzles in games that aren’t specifically puzzle games are usually things I just need to do that don’t add or subtract from the experience. I’m not really a fan of certain things requiring you to come back later once you get the right item, because I’m just not going to do that.
With all that said, I kept a walkthrough ready when available, so if I did get stuck, I just unstuck myself quickly. So neither of these things dampened my experience too much. And yeah, it’s a skill issue.
The stuff I like and that this game does well heavily outweighs what I don't prefer or what it doesn't do well, so that's why this is still rated quite high. With that said, had I not had a walkthrough available, I probably would have gotten annoyed at the game and I wouldn't have liked it as much. I'm not a professional critic so I'm not fussed about being "objective."
Mini Review: Hell is Us is a game that is probably about equally things I really dig in games and things that don’t align with my preferences. Great worldbuilding and music, solid combat. I don’t mind the lack of enemy variety and there is something endearing about how it all comes together. They accomplished what they set out to do. Some minor flaws exist. Not a favourite game by any means, but I really like it.
Watch the Trailer