The first thing that struck me about I Hate This Place is that the main characters (Elena & Lou) both looked like they might be inebriated or suffering from vertigo as they constantly swayed in a bizarre fashion. This state seems to be common throughout the game, which is based on Kyle Starks' comic.
A believer in the occult, your friend Lou conjures up all sorts of bad things when trying to summon “The Horned Man” and then vanishes. So obviously, rather than going home, swearing to choose less nutty friends and getting on with the rest of your life, you set out to find her.
After reaching the first location, crafting some bandages and not being able to unlock any doors in order to progress I decided to take a break…
…The solution to my problem was a partially hidden crawlspace in a wall that faces away from the camera – dead easy to find once you know it’s there!
You’ll soon be aware that this is no shoot-em-up; ammo is at a premium and not hugely effective anyway. Running away from or stealthily avoiding enemies is your best bet.
You have 3 status gauges to keep an eye on (as if a health gauge wasn’t enough): HP (Health Points), ST (Stamina) and FD (Food). Using food items, either found or crafted, raises health and stamina.
That resource juggling becomes the real backbone of the experience once you leave the opening bunker and step into the wider (but still fairly compact) ‘open world’ of Rutherford Ranch. Daytime is for scavenging materials, crafting gear and upgrading your little campsite; night-time is when the mutated wildlife, cultists and assorted reality-warping nasties come out to play.
The comic-book art style (which copies original artist Artyom Topilin's style faithfully) features bold colours, thick black outlines, the occasional onomatopoeic “KAPOW!” – all look great and sells the pulpy ’80s horror vibe hard. Sound design is equally strong: every snapped twig or carelessly kicked tin can could summon something unpleasant, so the game does a solid job of making you feel vulnerable. The mostly dark settings can however get deperessing and samey.
Unfortunately the systems never quite gel. Combat is clunky and imprecise; aiming feels floaty and the isometric camera often hides the very traps or obstacles that give your position away. Crafting and base-building are heavily signposted yet rarely feel essential – most of the production-line busywork can be safely ignored if you just want to push the story forward. Side quests and “ghost missions” offer a few clever puzzle moments, but many fizzle out or suffer from the same issues that affect the main path. Voice acting is stiff, the script is frequently awkward, and those swaying characters never stop looking slightly seasick.
There’s a short, atmospheric survival-horror experience buried in here, and when the stealth and scavenging click it can be genuinely tense. But the lack of polish, undercooked mechanics and occasional glitches mean it never rises above “promising but frustrating.” Fans of the original comic or anyone desperate for more isometric horror with a retro comic sheen might still find something to like. Everyone else will probably end up feeling the same way Elena does about her family ranch.
Thanks to Broken Mirror Games and Pirate PR