Hell is Us - 3rd Person Action Adventure

[Zivouhr]

Hell is Us - Demo Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube

Free Demo apparently now for PS5. I'll have to test it out.

[Steelmaker]

I played some of the demo last night. I'm not crazy about the mechanics. They feel a little "loose", almost like your character is gliding on ice, rather than walking. Kena Bridge of Spirits kind of had the same feel, though not as bad as this. The combat feels that way too. I felt the attacks weren't as responsive as I would like them to be and it could use an enemy lock on feature. It was kind of a letdown to be honest, as I was really looking forward to this game. Graphics were...decent. Not mind-blowing, but not bad in an Indy sort of way.

Also, maybe it's just me but I could NOT figure out how to heal up! I would go into the menu and highlight food or first aid kits, but there was no way to actually select them.

[dyne]

You're not wrong. There's a MASSIVE disconnect between the camera, character and terrain. I lasted five minutes.

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

I played some of the demo last night. I'm not crazy about the mechanics. They feel a little "loose", almost like your character is gliding on ice, rather than walking. Kena Bridge of Spirits kind of had the same feel, though not as bad as this. The combat feels that way too. I felt the attacks weren't as responsive as I would like them to be and it could use an enemy lock on feature. It was kind of a letdown to be honest, as I was really looking forward to this game. Graphics were...decent. Not mind-blowing, but not bad in an Indy sort of way.

Also, maybe it's just me but I could NOT figure out how to heal up! I would go into the menu and highlight food or first aid kits, but there was no way to actually select them.

This was one of the few games that grabbed my attention. A Souls type with modern looks in a way. Hopefully they use all the feedback to fine-tune the game before release as apparently there's already been adjustments before this demo released and yet it sounds as if it hasn't quite made things right.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Also, maybe it's just me but I could NOT figure out how to heal up! I would go into the menu and highlight food or first aid kits, but there was no way to actually select them.

You have to go to the loadout tab and add it there. It’s the section that holds the compass. You also heal up when you attack an enemy and the white ring comes up.

[Zivouhr]

The game's music gives it a creepy horror style, which is nice.
I was captivated by that opening interrogation story, but ran out of time and had to skip ahead.
It has an interesting style to the graphics and characters.

My only real question is, when the character approaches a knee-high fence or block, why is there no jump button to hop over it? Why make the player walk all the way around the barrier just to get there? I feel almost like this is a maze or Pac-Man type game design in that way.

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

I played some of the demo last night. I'm not crazy about the mechanics. They feel a little "loose", almost like your character is gliding on ice, rather than walking. Kena Bridge of Spirits kind of had the same feel, though not as bad as this. The combat feels that way too. I felt the attacks weren't as responsive as I would like them to be and it could use an enemy lock on feature. It was kind of a letdown to be honest, as I was really looking forward to this game. Graphics were...decent. Not mind-blowing, but not bad in an Indy sort of way.

Also, maybe it's just me but I could NOT figure out how to heal up! I would go into the menu and highlight food or first aid kits, but there was no way to actually select them.

I wasn't able to progress that far as I was still trying to solve some of the lighter puzzles. They really live up to the idea of no map or guidance other than what the player finds on their own.

When the character turns, he can spin in circles really fast. They could slow that down I think and allow the movements to lag slightly, but not as bad as GTAV's style where you let go of the direction but the character is still walking another few paces before responding to the new direction. This was instant. Too fast. Reminds me of No Man's Sky's turning. It probably is a benefit during combat though.

I'll give it another try later on. I am glad they offered a free demo to see what this was all about.

[Zivouhr]

The demo is interesting, but still haven't completed it fully. Got the Truck opened (but I don't think it's driveable).

The inventory menu is confusing and reminds me of Death Stranding's convoluted menu system. Health items should instantly go into an automatic slot in the player's tools, not something I need to figure out how to assign with the X button in the inventory. Or just let me heal right away as soon as I contact the health item. If I have enough health, save it for later access. But the game doesn't offer that common option.

For the Health pulse with R1, I guess that's achieved during combat only to heal. Couldn't get that to work yet.

To block, L1 is helpful and kept me alive in combat. It is a little clumsy in combat as the enemy is right on top of the player almost and the player is no longer facing the enemy when slashing.

The sword is useful, more than those double axes IMO.

Music is a bit repetitive but it's only a demo. There should be a more action paced score for combat but it seems mostly the same. I'm still hearing "Dah, Dah, Dah" in my mind from the repeating theme.

After adjusting the lag options, the game has potential. The default controls were too loose IMO. I hope they improve the inventory system but unlikely.

The puzzles were not bad so far. Clues within range. Reminded me of Skyrim's puzzles, read the clues, turn the objects to match.

Originally Posted by NARMAK

This was one of the few games that grabbed my attention. A Souls type with modern looks in a way. Hopefully they use all the feedback to fine-tune the game before release as apparently there's already been adjustments before this demo released and yet it sounds as if it hasn't quite made things right.

To further add to fine tuning, I gave this game another try and in Settings: Controls, was able to improve the movements and camera so they're not so rapid.

Movement Lag: set full to 2.0.
Camera Lag: set full to 3.0 (about).

Then I set camera sensitivity to 20 for vertical and horizontal.

The game improved right away but they really should slow down the game's movements by default like that, so it doesn't feel so twitchy. No human can spin in circles that fast like this guy can. It seems too arcade-like for this more serious tone game.

[Zivouhr]

This is Hell is Us | PS5 Games - YouTube

Latest trailer:

The game got better after manually reducing the camera and movement controls. Still way too much momentum movement on the camera though. It keeps moving instead of stopping and gives a seasick sense of things, slightly out of control of the player.

The game is interesting and has some new ideas.
I'm not sold on the guy being unable to simply hop over a knee high fence though. To me, that's questionable game design. The fence is not climbable is what the developer is saying. But then put sharp spikes on it and make them taller than the player. Problem solved...

Hell Is Us - What You Didn't See In The Demo - YouTube

New gameplay details Hell is Us.

[QuasidodoJr]

Been enjoying this a LOT. This is easily in my top 5 for the year. It’s best played keeping around a notepad and pen. And just explore! The areas never get too big to where you’ll feel overly lost. The game gives you reason to explore. The world is well crafted. I’ve put about 25 hours into it and I think I’m getting close to the end, but just figuring out ACTUAL puzzles rather than just the “search for the glowing button/switch to shoot” puzzles (that aren’t really puzzles) that have become all too common in current games, and getting drawn into the world, the awesome soundtrack, the dialog, voice acting, etc. For an obvious AA-budget style game, this game delivers.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by QuasidodoJr

Been enjoying this a LOT. This is easily in my top 5 for the year. It’s best played keeping around a notepad and pen. And just explore! The areas never get too big to where you’ll feel overly lost. The game gives you reason to explore. The world is well crafted. I’ve put about 25 hours into it and I think I’m getting close to the end, but just figuring out ACTUAL puzzles rather than just the “search for the glowing button/switch to shoot” puzzles (that aren’t really puzzles) that have become all too common in current games, and getting drawn into the world, the awesome soundtrack, the dialog, voice acting, etc. For an obvious AA-budget style game, this game delivers.

Good to hear. Thanks.
I ended up liking the demo more after adjusting the controls heavily to be less reactive and more slowed down, and completed it despite some mild frustration at first. The camera still lingers beyond my input but it's more within control now along with the player compared to the default.