Even as someone typically skeptical of the subgenre, Hell Is Others manages to carve out a dark little place in my heart.

It’s this duet of brilliant presentation and meaningful hooks beyond grinding experience for the sake of experience that make it worth trying out. Sure, it’s a mechanically simple affair, but that works in its favor.

I mean, really - a top-down 2D survival game hasn't looked, sounded, or controlled this well since Darkwood. The attention to detail and worldbuilding is astounding, especially for a game that might otherwise leave you lowering your expectations. You’ll also receive sidequests from NPCs out in the city - a riskier prospect than meeting them in your ever-decaying apartment building. Doesn’t matter if it’s your blood or someone else’s.Īt the same time, you’re trying to supply a junk dealer with whatever garbage he needs, with the priority items changing each day of the real-world week. You’re given a bonsai plant by a mysterious benefactor promising some sort of payoff if you can manage to go 10 in-game days consistently watering the plant… with blood. It takes a full half-hour before you dive into a multiplayer match, instead seeing you navigate hallways straight out of Twin Peaks as you converse with demons and rabbit men. For one, there’s a dedicated story to Hell Is Others, with a customizable apartment and ominous, otherworldly horrors playing with your head.

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