Hell is Us News

Hi everyone,

We’re about to take the biggest step yet for Hell is Us.

After introducing the game’s concept, themes, and a first glimpse of gameplay, it’s finally time for the ultimate test: letting you play it.

From June 2 to June 16, Hell is Us will be playable via a demo on Steam.



We know many of you are eagerly awaiting the game, and we would have loved to offer the demo on consoles as well. Unfortunately, due to technical constraints, this isn’t currently possible — it’s simply much easier to release a demo on PC.
Please rest assured: Hell is Us will launch simultaneously on PC and consoles, with the same content and the same level of polish. Development is progressing equally across all platforms — this limitation only concerns the demo.



The demo begins right at the start of the game.
You’ll step into Rémi’s shoes, armed with only the limited information he has, and begin your descent into Hadea.
This introduction is meant to ease you into Hell is Us and its core gameplay systems.
It won’t show you everything the full game has to offer — it’s just the beginning.
Some of the key elements, like exploration and the player plattering experience, truly come into their own as the world opens up and the layers unfold.



The full release is set for September 4, nearly three months after the demo goes live.
While the demo represents a solid slice of the game, some features and content will only be available in the final version.

🗣️ Localisation:

The demo will be available in English only, including full English voice acting.
The full game will support the following languages:

Voice acting
English, French

Text & Subtitles
English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Turkish.



Hell is Us is not designed to be an easy game — but it is designed to be accessible.
The demo includes three difficulty levels as well as several customization options to tailor the experience to your play style.
We encourage you to experiment and find the setting that feels right.




If you checked the system requirements earlier on Steam, you might have noticed they seemed a bit high. That’s because we hadn’t completed our full optimization tests yet.
We’ve now finalized the specs, and you can find the updated requirements on our Steam page.
Additionally, we’ll put together a dedicated news post with more details very shortly.




This demo is our final opportunity to gather your feedback before launch — and we’ll be paying close attention.
You can share your impressions in the Steam Discussions, on social media, or directly on Discord, where we’ll be actively engaging with the community.
We’re also setting up dedicated channels for demo feedback, so don’t hesitate to jump in.

Join our Discord ➡️ DISCORD



It wouldn’t be Hell is Us if we told you everything, would it?

We hope you enjoy the demo — and we can’t wait to see how you experience the world of Hell is Us.

[h3]Follow us on our socials medias to take part in future community events.[/h3]

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Rogue Factor introduces a fresh RPG action game and their first original game: Hell Is Us. Much like its name, it gives the player a hell of a time, in good ways and difficult ways. CGMagazine was also able to sit down with some of Hell Is Us’ important team members: creative director Jonathan Jacques Belletête, founder and head of Rogue Factor Yves Bordeleau, and audio director Antoine Vachon. Belletête, Bordeleau, and Vachon were able to expand on the game’s development, with some witty personal notes around the production.

Hell Is Us is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective, with Rogue Factor emphasizing this is not a souls-like game. In the game, the player assumes control of a soldier named Rémi who returns back to his hometown Hadea, where his mother sneaked him out of the warzone as a child. When Rémi returns to Hadea, two warring factions—the Sabinians and Palomists—are fighting over territories.

As Rémi, players also fight against... Read more

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the very first Hell is Us Community Update!

With this new format, we want to take a little time—at least once a month—to talk directly to you, as Rogue Factor, the people behind Hell is Us. Not from Hadea (thankfully), but from Montreal. A much calmer place... most of the time.

Since this is the first edition, we’ll use the opportunity to go a bit beyond just “last month” and do a quick recap of where we’ve come from so far.

[h2]FROM REVEAL TO TRAILERS[/h2]

A lot has happened since our first reveal in April 2022. But let’s not rewind that far. Let’s start somewhere exciting: the two State of Play showcases.

We were lucky enough to be featured in two of Playstation’s biggest events lately:

First, with our Gameplay Reveal Trailer, where we introduced the world of Hell is Us — its tone, its world, and a few glimpses of what’s hiding beyond the Border.

And later, with our Release Date Trailer, which focused more on Remi, the complex human at the center of all this.

Watch the Gameplay Reveal

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The goal was simple: give you a sense of what Hell is Us is all about — without showing too much. Because this is a game that’s better felt than explained. That said… we also knew you’d want to see more gameplay.

[h2]EXTENDED GAMEPLAY EXPLAINED[/h2]

So we followed it up with the Extended Gameplay video — a 15-minute walkthrough with our Creative Director and Art Director, Jonathan Jacques-Belletête (that we will call JJB from now on).

Watch the Extended Gameplay

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In it, JJB dives deep into a longer sequence that better shows what the game is really like to play — the mood, the pace, the tension, the danger. You responded better than we could’ve hoped, and that gave us even more motivation to keep refining what matters most.

You also got a first taste of how the game balances two key pillars: Exploration and Combat. In our minds, it’s 50/50 — and the way you navigate between those two will shape your experience.

Around the same time, we released a blog explaining one of our core philosophies: Player Plattering.

This one’s close to our hearts. It’s a design idea born from our love for games that lets players figure things out for themselves — games that don’t over-explain, don’t hold your hand, and trust you to create your own meaning. That’s what we’re aiming for with Hell is Us.

Read the Player Platerring Blog

[h2]INTRODUCING REMI[/h2]

Then there’s Remi — our protagonist.



He’s… complicated. And we like him that way. He’s not a savior, not a chosen one, and definitely not invincible. He’s human. And throughout the game, he’ll evolve.

We introduced Remi more properly in the Release Date Trailer, and announced he’s voiced by the incredible Elias Toufexis — the one and only voice of Adam Jensen in Deus Ex. It was a reunion with JJB (they’ve got history), and honestly? We can’t imagine anyone else in the role.

You can follow Elias on X: https://x.com/EliasToufexis
And yes, more content with him is coming soon!

Release Date Trailer

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We’re also working on a dedicated blog about Remi, so you can get a deeper sense of who he is — and who he isn’t.

[h2]INVESTIGATION AT THE HEART OF THE EXPERIENCE[/h2]

Most recently, we released the Investigation Trailer, which focused on an essential part of the game: how you make sense of what’s happening around you.

We’d shown the world. We’d shown combat. But investigation is where the game opens up — where Player-Plattering really shines.

Naturally, JJB returned for a 7-minute breakdown of how investigation works, how it connects to the world, and how it avoids feeling like a checklist.

Watch the Investigation Trailer

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]What’s Next? [/h3]

If you’ve been following us, a lot of this might already sound familiar. But we’re not here just to recap the past. Here's a peek at what’s next:

Two upcoming dev blogs — including the one about Remi. They’ll dive deeper into the world,characters and share some of the thoughts that shaped the project.

Behind-the-scenes content — meet more members of the Rogue Factor team, see how things have evolved, and get to know the minds behind the game.

And of course, we'd love you to follow us on our socials (links at the bottom) not only we will continuously share new content, but we love to discuss theories, make some challenges, and some might make you get your hands so some cool stuff, just saying…

[h2]MAY, A BIG MONTH FOR HELL IS US[/h2]

With some Press and Creators coming to Montreal to have a first experience of Hell is Us, and BigBen Week coming up in Paris in just a week, we're starting to show the game to more and more people, and things are becoming much more concrete every day.

We’re just four months away from release — and things really start to accelerate.

We couldn’t skip over everything we’ve done so far in this first Community Update, but future editions will focus more on the present: what we’re working on right now, what’s changing, and how the game is shaping up as we head toward launch. You might even pick up on a few behind-the-scenes secrets along the way.

Thank you again for your continued interest in Hell is Us. Seeing players connect with our vision is what keeps us going every day.

We can’t wait for you to finally get your hands on it.

Until next time,
— The Hell is Us Team



[h3]Follow us on our socials medias to take part in future community events.[/h3]

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Hadea is strange. And dangerous.

In just a few months, you’ll walk its scorched soil through Rémi’s footsteps. He chose to be there. He has a purpose.

But what if you didn’t choose?

What if you simply woke up… in the wrong place?

That’s the question we asked you last week on X. And here is the story you told.
________________________________________

You awaken in Hadea, with no memory of how you got there. The sky is unfamiliar. The land is barren, but not dead. A civil war burns in the distance. You don’t belong here. And nothing about this place suggests you’re welcome.

Whoever put you here apparently wanted to give you a chance. Before you lies a choice. Four weapons—each pulsing with a light you don’t recognize, forged from a material you’ve never seen. All meant for close combat.

• One-handed sword – 40%
• Two-handed sword – 25.5%
  
• Double axe – 20.6%
  
• Polearm – 13.2%
  

You reach for the one-handed sword.



Not because it’s the strongest. But because it feels familiar. In a world that defies everything you know, that’s all you can cling to.

This sword is yours now. It may not be the best. It may not even be enough. But it’s yours.
And with it, you walk.
________________________________________

The land grows stranger. No one crosses your path. No sound but the wind.
And then: a gate. Sealed, ancient, whispering.
No lock. No handle. But four pillars surround it—each one humming in rhythm with your blade. Each marked by an emotion.

Your hand hesitates. Rage pulses in your veins. But something in you leans toward something else. Not joy, exactly. But release.

• Ecstasy – 27%
• Rage – 26.5%
  
• Grief – 24%
  
• Terror – 22.5%
  

Ecstasy.

You strike the pillar. The gate opens.
On the ground: a sword—like yours, but changed. Its shape refined, its light glowing golden. You pick it up. You feel it: not just power… but confidence. A dangerous kind. And yet, welcome.


________________________________________

This place… it doesn’t feel like any known age. No culture you’ve learned about. You’re walking through the remains of something not meant for you.
Hadea is ancient. Lost. And you’re alone.
Still, you walk.
In the distance: a grand hall. Four corridors.

Another choice. Another test.

Each path promises something. But each is guarded. Not by man, nor beast—but by creatures you can’t explain. Shapes twisted just enough to be wrong.

• Twister humanoid (43.5%)
• Crawling tailed being (16.3%)
  
• Brute with wing-like arms 17.7%
  
• Floating ghostly shape 22.4%
  

You follow your instinct—and face the most human-looking one.



It’s a brutal fight. But you survive. Just barely.
Any of the others, and you wouldn’t have. You know it.
In Hadea, instinct is the only thing that hasn’t lied to you yet.
________________________________________

Past the corpse of your enemy, a door awaits. This one is… unlocked.
Even here, sometimes luck exists. Or so you think.
Inside: a word etched into the stone wall—Vigil.
It means nothing to you.

On the table: a key. And four locked chests. Each marked with a word:
Strength. Knowledge. Wealth. Escape.
Your final choice.

• Knowledge – 53%
  
• Strength – 28%
  
• Escape – 13%
  
• Wealth – 5.6%
  

Surprisingly, this was your clearest decision.

You’re not ready to leave. You don’t crave gold. Power means little without understanding.
You choose to know.
The key turns—but remains stuck in place., sealed, not to be used again.

The lid opens.

Inside, a single document:



What is Jova? No matter what is it, that is your next destination.
________________________________________

You are the first to arrive here in a very long time.

But maybe—just maybe—someone else, coming from outside, looking for answers, will follow your footsteps. Maybe you’ll cross paths and together, find the answer you seek.

Welcome to Hadea.

[h3]Follow us on our socials medias to take part in future community events.[/h3]

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Hadea is not just a country, it is a mystery.

A fractured land where the known and the unknown collide, haunted by the aftermath of civil war. For its inhabitants, it is both home and torment — a place that watches in silence as they struggle to survive its relentless trials.

To understand Hadea is to step into the very heart of Hell is Us.





Hadea still pulses with culture and history, its people proud of their homeland. It has always been a harsh place to live, but now, it stands at its lowest — transformed into a realm of desolation and anguish. The skies hang heavy, and the land itself seems to resent those who tread upon it. Yet, even amidst the devastation, Hadea holds a haunting allure. Its remnants of the past offer fleeting glimpses into a forgotten era, while its scarred landscapes invite exploration. From its eerie forests to its silent ruins, Hadea is unlike anywhere else, drawing the curious and the brave to uncover its secrets.



Hadea does not explain itself. Its ruins, forests, and towns hold remnants of lives erased by the civil war and the events that followed. Monuments crumble in silence, their stories left to the imagination. The land is both a puzzle and a reflection of the past.
Each step forces you to confront truths you might rather leave buried, blurring the line between victim and participant. Hadea compels you to grapple with its mysteries and reckon with your own.





Each step shapes your relationship with the land, whether you seek its truths or simply fight to endure its hostility. The entities that roam its terrain are as enigmatic as the world itself.
Facing them is not just a test of strength but a journey into the very essence of this fractured world. And yet, amid the dangers, Hadea’s tragic beauty persists, urging you to explore its depths and marvel at its singularity.





In Hell is Us, Hadea is more than a setting—it is an active force in your journey. Its treacherous terrain and haunting beauty shape every decision you make, testing your resolve at every turn. The land remembers its pain, its history, and its trespassers. It holds answers, but only for those willing to confront its layers of truth and torment. As you uncover its secrets, you may find that understanding Hadea means understanding yourself.



The story of Hadea is far from complete. In the months to come, we will reveal more about its history, its mysteries, and its role in Rémi’s journey. But remember, Hadea does not give up its truths lightly. To walk its paths is to face the unknown—and to marvel at the beauty hidden within its darkness.


[h3]Follow us on our socials medias for more updates.[/h3]

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