Mordheim studio's new game is putting out Annihilation vibes

I can’t tell you if Hell Is Us, the newly announced next game from developers Rogue Factor, is actually like the movie Annihilation, because they haven’t really shown the game yet. But I can tell you that they’re clearly trying to evoke Annihilation vibes, with the trailer channeling that blown-out synth sound and scattering humanlike inhuman mineral figures across the landscape. Annihilation is a good mood to channel. I hope the third-person explore-o-melee game does turn out a bit like that when it arrives in 2023.

Hell Is Us is a third-person explore-o-action game set in a “semi-open world” in a country threatened by both civil war and a strange situation spawning supernatural beings invulnerable to most harm. Handily, we can murder ’em with our pet drone as well as swords, axes, and spears. And yep, I have no idea what it actually plays like, but I appreciate their attempts to invoke Annhilation.

“Our goal with Hell is Us is to bring back true adventure and exploration,” said creative director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête. “There’s no need for a detailed quest log or precise waypoint on the map: we want players to feel the thrill of adventure, guided by their feelings and instincts.”

Jacques-Belletête was previously art director of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, executive art director of DX: Mankind Divided, and a concept artist on Guardians Of The Galaxy. An artman as creative director might lead to some interesting vibes.

This is Rogue Factor’s first foray outside the worlds of Games Workshop. Their first two games were turn-based tactics ’em ups, Mordheim: City Of The Damned in the fantasy Warhammer setting and the WH40K follow-up Necromunda: Underhive Wars.

It’ll be on Steam, at least. It’s published by Nacon (formerly Bigben Interactive), who own Rogue Factor these days.