An innovative horror experience
- Overview
I Hate This Place is a survival horror experience inspired by a comic series. It features a visual style drawn from the comics with dark atmospheres and terrifying creatures. While the game presents innovative ideas, its execution flaws make the gameplay less engaging than expected.
Story
The game follows Elena, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying world after her friend Lou‘s summoning ritual goes wrong. The storytelling suffers from poor execution, with ambiguous cutscenes and inconsistent dialogues.
The comic-book aesthetic could have been better leveraged with drawn panels or animatics, especially since the game is based on a comic series.
Gameplay
The gameplay mixes survival mechanics similar to Don’t Starve with horror elements. Players use the daytime to explore and gather resources, while nighttime brings deadly creatures.
A key mechanic is that enemies detect players through sound rather than sight, forcing careful stealth. While innovative, this results in slow, sometimes frustrating gameplay due to fast enemies and weak weapon effectiveness.
Gameplay Preview
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Innovative level design: Combining survival mechanics with horror adds a strategic challenge.
- Atmospheric horror and soundtrack: 80s-inspired synth music and dark environments create a visually and aurally engaging experience.
- Strong comic inspiration: The game preserves the visual identity of the source material with a consistent artistic style.
- Stealth innovation: Sound-based enemy detection adds a unique tactical layer to the horror gameplay.
Cons
- Weak storytelling: Incomplete cutscenes and inconsistent dialogues reduce immersion.
- Lack of polish: Minor technical flaws make the game feel unfinished.
- Slow and frustrating pacing: Continuous stealth and slow progression diminish horror tension.
- Unbalanced weapons: Firearms feel weak relative to risk, limiting player options and increasing frustration.
Conclusion
I Hate This Place has innovative ideas and a promising artistic foundation, but execution flaws make the experience less exciting than expected. Comic fans may enjoy it, while most players may find it underwhelming.
Final Score: 7.5 / 10
