Hell is Us promises not to hold your hand in its first gameplay trailer

If you were dropped into the middle of Hell is Us’ first gameplay trailer (past the part where the little girl is narrating the state of her country), you could easily confuse the title as Death Stranding 2. Hear me out, you have a modern setting and your protagonist is clad in black, wearing a hood, has a drone hovering over him or perched on his shoulder, fighting humanoid beings that are definitely not human. At a quick glance, you would easily confuse it with something from Kojima Productions. However what distinguishes Hell is Us is there’s actual combat…and I don’t mean slinging shit grenades.

To supplement what we saw on State of Play, developer Rogue Factor posted on the PlayStation blog to discuss the game’s design philosophy. Creative director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête stated the game will not be overly hand hold-y and even coined the term “player-plattering” which is supposed to be the juxtaposition of “silver-plattering”. In removing modern aids such as in-game maps, quest markers and certainly yellow paint, the studio hopes to make players rely on their instincts to push forward in the title. The concept certainly isn’t new, but nonetheless it can prove to make for a refreshing experience.

If the trailer and the blog has piqued your interest, the studio will share more about the title on publisher Nacon’s YouTube channel on September 30th at 11am EST/8am PST. Hell is Us is due to arrive on PC, Xbox Series X|S and the PlayStation 5 sometime in 2025.

Hell is Us screens:

Hell is Us | Gameplay Reveal