Hell is Us Creative Director: "We're Going Back Old School"

A little is known about Hell is Us, the upcoming game from the Rogue Factor studio, which was also responsible for the shooter Necromunda: Underhive Wars. The only things that the developer revealed about the title so far are that it's a "semi-open world" game, a "true adventure", and that it'll be "third person".

In a recent interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, however, the game's creative director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête revealed some details about what Hell is Us is going to look like. 

Speaking of the "semi-open world" structure, the creative director explained that it implies an inter-connected approach where players move in-between zones. He compared Hell is Us with Metro Exodus which has large open areas which are separated from each other. He went on to say that the game's areas will be "varying sizes, some can be quite small and some are much bigger."

"But they're contained. So, it's not like you see a mountain in the back and you're going to traipse through the mountain. It's never been our intention to make an open world," he said.

To move between different locations in the game, players will have to use a vehicle, select destinations from a map, and "then it loads and you get there".

As for the exploration of these locations, the developers got rid of the map with markers and other navigation elements so that players pay more attention to the environment and make the game closer to real life "before cell phone and GPS."

"We're going back old school, like really old school. I'm talking like, even more than Elden Ring, because Elden Ring has to have a map, you can still put objective beacons down, markers, and stuff like that. There's none of that [in Hell Is Us]," Jacques-Belletête said.

In Hell of Us, according to the creative director, players will have to listen carefully to the directions that NPCs tell them in order to find the location that is being discussed in the dialogue. Developers understand that they need to pay special attention to ensure that the dialogues are kept to a minimum so that these instructions are understandable.

Jacques-Belletête also clarified that the comparison with Elden Ring is only about the structure of the game but the combat system in Hell is Us is not at all like Soulslike. He said that it is more like a classic action game in which the character gains more and more abilities over time.

You can learn more by reading the full interview with Jonathan Jacques-Belletête here. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.