Getting lost is, generally, not a pleasant experience. In video games, it is a waste of time at best and a frustrating feeling at worst. But Hell Is Us is taking big swings at all corners imbuing this premise into its DNA. Marketed as a hardcore soulslike in an industry notorious for handholding, one of its core principles is its “No map, no guide, just you” tagline. It is a risky bet, usually geared towards a certain type of player, but its recently released PlayStation 5 demo cleared up many doubts about how obtuse it is really going to be. To my pleasant surprise, it was just right.
Before it starts, Hell Is Us shows a brief message about how it is not taking elements from real life. This stands out as soon as the first cutscene shows a soldier wearing an extremely similar outfit to a UN peacekeeper. A second PSA informs that you need to pay attention in order to thrive in this game. I will always perk up when the developer straight up tells me it will be a challenging adventure. But I will not lie that I had my doubts about how it would be implemented here. The demo starts with a cinematic heavy with exposition that in other games of the genre would be frowned upon, but it is clear what Hell Is Us wants to be.
Taking control of your character from a third-person perspective, you are set free in the wondrous Senedra Forest. Once again reminded that there will be no quest markers to aid you, exploring every spot around you is a requirement more than an invitation. Luckily, the area of exploration in the demo is not that expansive, easily finding the NPCs necessary to get your bearings and make sense of the world around you. An Investigation Database is always accessible on a handy tablet, so although committed to the hands-free experience, it is not entirely rigid enough to make you have pen and paper in hand.
Helping a wounded soldier makes way for the first puzzle: three monoliths that need to match to unlock a secret door. The lack of a HUD is what keeps the mysticism of Hell Is Us throughout, as some mechanics might strike as mundane. Introduced after a flashy cinematic, the combat feels snappy enough in this first impression. The well-known basic & heavy attacks and dodging are there, with the promise of more powerful skills down the line. Performance-wise, no frame drops were noticed whatsoever. For a game due to release in less than a month, that is promising.
Although a daunting prospect, Hell Is Us’ idea of no map and no guide is much friendlier in action than on paper. Paying attention to each NPC conversation is not that difficult unless you can’t stop grabbing your phone as soon as a cutscene starts. Granted, I might have been guilty of doing this, but the whole concept of having to engage thoroughly with the game’s mechanics, lore, and gameplay to reap its rewards is quite enjoyable.
Impactful combat carries Soulslike games more often than not, but in the demo of Hell Is Us, it seems every element works in tandem to deliver a worthwhile journey. Real-world parallels can be swiftly drawn by looking at the situations shown on-screen, and it is a commendable effort by studio Rogue Factor for making such a defiant statement in Hell Is Us, from its unorthodox systems to an eerily prescient narrative. If the full game maintains this level of cohesion, I can’t wait to play come September 4.
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