Hell is Us PS5 Review. I’m a sucker for developers that don’t shy away from some of the worst things that humanity is capable of. Developer Rogue Factory has gone to great lengths to create a world that not only showcases the true horror that humanity is capable of, but also against a backdrop of a demonic invasion and religious cults set to battle the forces of evil.
Hell is Us PS5 Review
A War Of The Body And The Spirit
The story of Hell is Us follows Remi, A United Nations Peacekeeper who sneaks into the fictitious country of Hadea, which is in the middle of a Civil War. A Civil War that has been raging on and off for over a thousand years. Remi is looking for his mother, who, as a child, smuggled him out of Hadea.
As Remi soon discovers, Hadea has been overrun with what the locals refer to as Demons. These pale, white entities have a hole in their face and torso and are a mystery to most locals. However, the region is rich in lore and ruins from Hadea’s past that refer to these demons and a mysterious religious sect that has been battling them for centuries.
The story takes many twists and turns as you learn more about Hadea and its past. It’s the worship of ancient warriors that felled demonic forces, and how both sides of the civil war blamed each other for the demonic calamities of the past, with each side having its own heroes who battle these forces.
Hell Is People
Hadea is the Hell that we all want to avoid, and it’s also the best storyteller. Hell Is Us has quite possibly the best environmental storytelling I’ve experienced in a game. Everywhere you turn, you find something that depicts life in this civil war. Rogue Factory doesn’t shy away from the depravity of humanity, and the game’s title is fitting for this world.
Hell is humanity and what it’s capable of. Throughout the various regions you get to explore, you’ll find the worst of the worst of humanity from both sides of the war. Mass graves, executions of men, women, and children lined up against walls, people hanging from light posts, and signs.
Even indicators of gang rape and human trafficking, with NPC’s laughing about how they turned an elementary school teacher into their personal sex slave. It truly shows just how low people can sink.
Unmatched Environmental Storytelling
Hell Is Us doesn’t provide any quest markers to follow. Everything you learn, you must write down or remember. Quest givers will provide the basic information you need to continue your quest.
“Follow the wind chimes in the forest to reach your destination,” one quest giver will say. While another will tell you to “look for the hangman tree to find a key.”Leaving you to figure out what the hangman tree is.
I absolutely loved figuring out where to go. Those who go exploring may even uncover these locations and know precisely what quest givers are talking about.
There are numerous regions in the game, and although the game isn’t open-world, the areas are large with plenty of paths and hidden paths to explore.
Something Around Every Corner
Side quests, or Good Deeds as the game refers to them, are quests that you have to pay attention to. People in this world won’t always ask you for anything, and just talking to them, they may say they are looking for something or someone, but won’t give out any more details.
One priest was talking about his father’s ashes and how he would love to scatter them in his favorite place. Four hours later, in a completely different location, I found an urn containing ashes.
Thanks to my eighteen pages of notes I took, I remembered this priest and delivered these ashes to him, which he was very grateful for.
Exploration And Puzzles At The Top Of Their Game
These are the type of quests you’ll find from people living in this world. There are also Mysteries to solve, these are longer quests that span multiple locations, but are absolutely worth doing. There is always something to find, people to help, and dungeons to explore. Everywhere you turn, you’ll find something new.
There are plenty of puzzles to find and solve, and just like its quests, you won’t get any hints. Many of the clues to these puzzles can be found in notes scattered throughout the world or clues given out by talking to random NPCs.
Again, this is something you must remember or keep track of yourself, and I absolutely loved and adored it. It’s not for everyone, and I’ve definitely seen many people losing patience and looking for a guide.
Unique Glyph And Rune System Adds Variety To Combat
Combat may appear to be a Soulslike, but it borrows elements from the genre rather than emulating it. The soldiers in this civil war, just as Remi discovers, are defenseless against these demons. Modern firearms have no effect, but Remi discovers that ancient melee weapons can hurt these creatures.
These are Limbic weapons, crafted from the very essence of demons. The Religious Sect in this region found a way to craft these weapons and hide them in ancient tombs.
The art of crafting them was passed down from blacksmith to blacksmith, and the one you encounter can upgrade them and craft runes to give them unique abilities.
Remi can find and use four different weapons, each with its own advantage. You’ll have access to a sword, dual axes, a polearm, and a greatsword. With the blacksmith, you can equip them with one of four Gliphs. Rage, Terror, Ecstasy, and Sorrow.
Fun Combat That Could Have Used A Little More Variety
Each one allows you to equip three runes that provide different abilities to your weapon based on the Glyph it has equipped. Terror, for example, will enable you to use Area of Effect skills that can stun enemies with fear or drain their health. Rage, on the other hand, turns you into a berserker with skills that substitute your health for more damage output.
Remi is also equipped with a drone that he can use to assist him in his fight. He can command his drone to distract enemies or have it attach itself to his back, allowing him to pull off some cool attacks.
For instance, the drone can lift him into the air to perform a falling smash attack or propel him forward to execute a dash attack.
Combat is straightforward and can be as difficult as you want based on the difficulty of the game. You’ll, of course, need to learn the attacks of your opponents to survive their encounters. You’ll pull off combos that drain your stamina and use skills that consume Lymbic Fluid.
Barrowing From The Best
Enemies can be dodged and even parried, which decreases their stun bar. You can’t parry every attack, but when an enemy has a red glow around them, that means timing your block with their attack will parry them.
Once stunned, you can execute them with some cool finishers, one of which you get to watch from the perspective of the demon.
For those who played Nioh, Hell Is Us features a burst you can pull off much like a Ki burst in Nioh. After an attack, you’ll see white particles appear around Remi.
If you press R1 right as those particles close in on him, you can restore your stamina and regain health. It’s a mechanic you have to master if you want to survive on any difficulty other than normal.
Demons Come In All Shapes And Sizes
The demons themselves are more terrifying when you see them standing in the distance or moving around. Their animations are more like ballet dancers than anything else.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a large variety of them. There are only five demon varieties, not counting the bosses, and once you learn how each one of them fights, the game shouldn’t be too hard to get through.
Though one-on-one, the game is relatively easy, but when you begin to encounter multiple demons at once, things get hairy quickly. You can find yourself surrounded if you aren’t paying attention. One aspect of these demons is that some of them come with an attachment, like an umbilical cord.
Once you encounter these variants, they summon a crystallized manifestation of one of the four Gyph elements, and you must destroy them before the demon itself can take any damage. The crystals will also attack you, and they can do some heavy damage.
Finding The Beauty In Depravity
Visually, the game is grim, but within that grimness lies beauty. The character models look great, and the demons, as I mentioned, can be quite haunting at times. Each location is different from the last.
An entire town is engulfed in flames, shrouded in smoke and ash. In comparison, another is a church with a massive cemetery surrounding it.
All these locations are full of details and horror. A playground full of dead children is haunting to see, while an underground chamber full of thousands of human bones piled on top of each other leaves a very different impact. While another is a massive lake with a gorgeous view and flowers that line the coast, it offers a much more refreshing sight.
Great Voice Work And Errie Soundtrack
The game’s soundtrack is haunting in the same way that Silent Hill is. The various ambient music reminded me of tunes walking down the streets of the foggy town itself. Voice work is also excellent, with the majority of the cast speaking with an accent one would expect people from this region to have.
My only issue with voice work is with Remi himself, who sounds very monotone, as if he doesn’t care about things, even though he’s out there helping everyone he can, by my will, of course. However, even his monotone and heartless demeanor is actually explained in the story.
There is something special about a studio that takes comfort norms and changes them to make them uncomfortable. Hell Is Us is one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve had playing an action-adventure title in quite a while.
Utilizing a unique questing system and some of the best environmental storytelling I’ve ever experienced. Although its themes may upset some people, its depiction of humanity’s horrors is something I praise and hope others will see as something they shouldn’t shy away from.
Hell Is Us Releases on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC on September 3, 2025.
Review code kindly provided by PR