Hell Is Us And The Problem With Formula Games

Video games are starting to look a lot like TV shows in the 2000s. Remember when every network churned out another hospital drama or another crime procedural that followed the same beats? Swap doctors for swords and detectives for dodge rolls, and that’s where gaming is drifting. Big studios polish the visuals, slap on new lore, then pack the map with side missions to give you the illusion of variety. Underneath it all, though, the loop is the same: fight, grind, collect, repeat. The industry’s comfort zone is safe, but it’s also suffocating. And that’s why something like Hell Is Us is worth paying attention to, even if it stumbles.

Side Quests Are The New Filler Episodes

Think about it: how many times have you been dropped into a gorgeous open world, only to spend hours fetching trinkets for NPCs you’ll never see again? Side missions have become the equivalent of TV bottle episodes. They pad out the runtime without adding much substance.

Take Black Myth: Wukong. Visually, it’s jaw-dropping. But once you get past the spectacle, you’re back in the same rhythm: parry, strike, grind for gear, repeat until the next boss cutscene. SteelRising? Different skin, same skeleton. The French Revolution setting is a clever backdrop, but once the clockwork enemies stop impressing, you realize the gameplay beats are familiar down to the stamina bar.

And don’t get me started on Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty or Lies of P. One leans into Chinese history, the other twists Pinocchio into gothic horror. Both are striking to look at, both ride the same loop we’ve already mastered.

Hell Is Us Tries A Different Playbook

With Hell Is Us, Rogue Factor pokes at the formula. No map markers. No breadcrumb trails. You don’t have a glowing arrow telling you where to walk next. You’re forced to actually listen, read, and pay attention. It’s unsettling in the best way, because it makes you feel like you’re exploring rather than checking boxes.

Combat still echoes the Soulslike mold — stamina, timing, brutal punishment for mistakes — but the developers added quirks that make it unfamiliar enough to keep you off balance. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it just feels clunky. But at least it’s an attempt at breaking the loop.

The narrative choice is bold too. Instead of spoon-feeding exposition, Hell Is Us uses atmosphere and metaphor. Enemies aren’t just monsters, they’re stand-ins for grief and conflict. That’s ambitious. It’s also divisive, because symbolism doesn’t land the same way for everyone. But again, the point isn’t that it nails everything. The point is that it’s not afraid to try.

The Comfort Of Repetition And The Cost Of Playing It Safe

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: repetition sells. Just like TV execs once relied on formula shows to guarantee ratings, game publishers lean on tried-and-tested structures to secure sales. It’s why so many action RPGs look different in the trailer but feel interchangeable once you’re a dozen hours in.

And let’s be honest, there’s comfort in that. Players know what to expect, and studios know what to deliver. But comfort doesn’t create classics. Nobody remembers the fifteenth copycat crime show. They remember the few that did something daring — even if it was messy.

That’s why experiments like Hell Is Us matter. They might not become instant hits, but they push the boundaries just enough to remind us that the medium isn’t locked into an endless treadmill of parries and side quests.

Beyond Hell Is Us: Where Games Go From Here

The good news is that stagnation never lasts forever. Indie studios are already shaking things up with smaller, riskier projects that don’t need 100 hours of side content to justify their existence. And sometimes, even the big publishers get bold. Think of how Breath of the Wild rewired the open-world template by trusting players to find their own fun.

The bigger question is whether more studios are willing to take those chances now, in an era when budgets are higher and risks scarier. Because the alternative is a glut of games that all look different on the box but play the same on the couch.

If Hell Is Us inspires others to color outside the lines — even imperfectly — that might be enough to spark the next real shift.

FAQ

• Why do so many modern games feel repetitive?
  • Because studios reuse successful formulas, adding side missions and collectibles to pad out playtime instead of reinventing core gameplay.
• What makes Hell Is Us different?
  • It ditches traditional maps and waypoints, forcing players to explore and interpret the world instead of following a checklist.
• Are games like Black Myth or Lies of P bad?
  • Not at all. They’re polished and enjoyable, but they lean heavily on established loops that make them feel familiar once you’ve played a few similar titles.
• Can the industry move past this repetition?
  • Yes. History shows it will. Indie studios are already experimenting, and mainstream developers will eventually follow once audiences demand it loudly enough.