Although it's at risk of being tragically overlooked thanks to Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hell is Us is pretty terrific in many ways and deserves more attention. Set in a demented, war-torn world, Hell is Us bets all its chips on immersion, offering a semi-open-world gameplay experience that prides itself on being obtuse, aloof, and more or less indifferent to the player; Hell is Us isn't holding anyone's hand.
It's not just Hell is Us' lack of common open-world and adventure game tropes that make it good: what the game replaces these tropes with is just as important.
Hell is Us presents a lovingly detailed, rich world to explore, leveraging both subtle and overt environmental cues to guide players in the right direction. In short, it's a remarkably well-designed semi-open-world experience, littered with organic points of interest and opportunities for fun gameplay, and the absence of traditional features like waypoints and maps just makes these strengths shine ever brighter. Even better is how simple and elegant Hell is Us's world design is, and how such elegance could conceivably be translated to another kind of game entirely.
If Resident Evil Ever Does Go Open-World, Hell is Us Will Be Good Inspiration
Hell is Us Has a Surprising Amount in Common with Resident Evil
It may not feature Resident Evil's campy, zombie sci-fi narrative, nor does it have that series' great gunplay and colorful cast, but Hell is Us borrows more than a few elements from Capcom's famous survival horror franchise. For one thing, it's firmly rooted in horror themes and tropes, with supernatural enemies that are deliberately creepy and unsettling, and an apocalyptic setting where virtually nowhere is safe. Hell is Us certainly leverages some survival horror staples on the gameplay side as well, featuring small squads of high-HP enemies and environmental puzzle-solving that relies upon item-gathering, pattern-recognition, and the like.
Hell is Us is not a Soulslike, and arguably has more in common with the survival horror genre, especially in terms of gameplay.
As many fans of the franchise are likely already aware, the internet was once awash with rumors of Resident Evil 9 going open-world. Following the official reveal of Resident Evil Requiem, it immediately became clear that Capcom would not, in the end, be adopting the tenets of the open-world formula. It would seem that these rumors stemmed from earlier, now-scrapped plans for RE9, which envisioned it as an open-world multiplayer title. Capcom's about-face here is understandable, but it's still fun to wonder what a proper open-world Resident Evil game might look like. After playing Hell is Us, such a game isn't as hard to imagine.
Why a Theoretical Open-World Resident Evil Should Follow Hell is Us' Footsteps
Hell is Us' exploration is effective on its own, but it's remarkably impactful within the context of its tone. Plainly put, it's scary to enter a new area and feel totally unmoored, without maps or other grounding conveniences. It's scary to take leaps of faith with every rounded corner or opened door, and this sort of uncertainty is precisely what an open-world Resident Evil could take advantage of.
If there were to be an open- or semi-open-world Resident Evil game in the future, Hell is Us' freeform exploration would be a natural fit. Such a design approach would synergize with Resident Evil's horror conventions, while also keeping the franchise from falling victim to assorted open-world clichés. Hell is Us already proves that methodical combat and RE-like puzzles work well within said template, so Capcom could capitalize on those facets as well.
Hell Is Us
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 79%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Rogue Factor
- Publisher(s)
- Nacon
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
