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.
FROM REVEAL TO TRAILERS
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
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.
EXTENDED GAMEPLAY EXPLAINED
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
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
INTRODUCING REMI
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
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.
INVESTIGATION AT THE HEART OF THE EXPERIENCE
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
What’s Next?
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…
MAY, A BIG MONTH FOR HELL IS US
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
