Pulpy 80s horror with real bite
By Paul Hunter
If you like survival horror with a strong style, I Hate This Place on PS5 is an easy one to get excited about. Developed by Rock Square Thunder and published by Broken Mirror Games, it’s inspired by Skybound’s comic series from Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin. The striking 80s comic-book visuals immediately sets the tone, and the horror narrative comes with a streak of dark humour.
You play as Elena as she arrives at Rutherford Ranch, and her nightmare will have you scavenging, crafting, and staying ready for whatever terrors the day-night cycle throws at you. Your adventure takes you through haunted woods, a run-down town, and bunker-like spaces as you unravel the mystery of the deadly mutants that roam these lands. You'll also spend time upgrading your camp, locating blueprints, and discovering areas of interest to explore.
If you want survival horror where stealth, crafting, and planning are critical to survival, this one could be for you. Let’s see what this game has to offer!
From there, the narrative sends you to Rutherford Ranch, a place at the centre of the mystery. The place shows signs of cult activity and a troubled history that keeps surfacing in scraps of information and tense conversations. You also meet other people around the ranch who pull you into their problems, and those side stories always seem to circle back to the same threat. I liked how the story treats the ranch like a living problem, where every clue makes the next step feel riskier.
Elena’s push to find Lou widens into something bigger, and you can feel the story tightening its grip as you go. The horror is supernatural on the surface, yet there are clear hints pointing toward government experiments and local tragedies that got buried until they suddenly burst back into view. A mystery tied to Elena’s mom adds another personal anchor, and the search soon takes on a larger purpose.
Much of the narrative centres on The Horned Man, a god-like creature supposedly tied to the cults activities. That said, some of the strongest story moments come in short, ghostly detours tied to local tragedies, and they deepen the sense that the place itself has a long, dark history. The tone stays pulpy and comic-horror punchy, with dark humour that fits the situation and keeps the story entertaining.
Combat focuses on melee and ranged weapons. You can pelt enemies with baseball bats when you need to, but more often than not you'll rain bullets with your growing arsenal of pistols, shotguns, rifles and SMGs. Grenades, nail bombs, and molotovs give you powerful throwing options and are great at taking multiple enemies down at once. Most weapons are acquired by first finding a blueprint, and then crafting the weapon at a workbench, and the same goes for ammo. It's crucial to scavenge for ingredients, which are plentiful if you search every trash can, storage box and locker found in the underground bunkers you explore.
You also craft items that open paths, like planks to repair bridges, dynamite to explode blocked routes, and rope for drops into deep holes. While ingredients can be found in the open world, your homestead quickly becomes your go-to spot for resources like water, wood, vegetables and gunpowder, which are all essential for building the supplies you need to survive this harsh world. In fact, by about the mid-point of the game you barely even need to scavenge in the open world as your ranch will provide everything you need to survive.
At night, the flashlight beam and shadows do the heavy mood-setting. Trees become dark shapes that block your sightlines, and the dark gaps between branches feel like places something could jump out from. Creepy crawlings love to hide, like spiders that leap up from underground or gooey tentacles that suddenly latch onto you and start reeling you in.
The audio amplifies the rural ambience with your footsteps making crunching or squishing sounds based on the terrain you're walking on. The music also knows when to simmer and when to spike, and usually does so after you've disturb an enemy nearby. There are tons of background sounds that make the world feel alive, and the audio tension cues helped sell dangers before you see them. Voice acting goes for B-movie delivery, and that campy style fits the game’s dark humour.
What's neat is your open world map fills in with drawings of key points of interest as you explore. Moreover, your sketchbook and quest log also constantly update, keeping objectives easy to track when you’re juggling quests. Crafting menus are also simple to navigate, with separate tabs for weapons, ammo, and food.
Final Score: 7.5/10 - Good
Developer: Rock Square Thunder
Publisher: Broken Mirror Games
Genre: Survival Horror, Isometric Action
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
If you like survival horror with a strong style, I Hate This Place on PS5 is an easy one to get excited about. Developed by Rock Square Thunder and published by Broken Mirror Games, it’s inspired by Skybound’s comic series from Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin. The striking 80s comic-book visuals immediately sets the tone, and the horror narrative comes with a streak of dark humour.
You play as Elena as she arrives at Rutherford Ranch, and her nightmare will have you scavenging, crafting, and staying ready for whatever terrors the day-night cycle throws at you. Your adventure takes you through haunted woods, a run-down town, and bunker-like spaces as you unravel the mystery of the deadly mutants that roam these lands. You'll also spend time upgrading your camp, locating blueprints, and discovering areas of interest to explore.
If you want survival horror where stealth, crafting, and planning are critical to survival, this one could be for you. Let’s see what this game has to offer!
Story and Narrative
The story kicks off with Elena and Lou performing a summoning ritual in the woods that they clearly should not, and the consequences hit right away. Lou vanishes, and Elena is left alone in the woods with no idea where her friend went.From there, the narrative sends you to Rutherford Ranch, a place at the centre of the mystery. The place shows signs of cult activity and a troubled history that keeps surfacing in scraps of information and tense conversations. You also meet other people around the ranch who pull you into their problems, and those side stories always seem to circle back to the same threat. I liked how the story treats the ranch like a living problem, where every clue makes the next step feel riskier.
Elena’s push to find Lou widens into something bigger, and you can feel the story tightening its grip as you go. The horror is supernatural on the surface, yet there are clear hints pointing toward government experiments and local tragedies that got buried until they suddenly burst back into view. A mystery tied to Elena’s mom adds another personal anchor, and the search soon takes on a larger purpose.
Much of the narrative centres on The Horned Man, a god-like creature supposedly tied to the cults activities. That said, some of the strongest story moments come in short, ghostly detours tied to local tragedies, and they deepen the sense that the place itself has a long, dark history. The tone stays pulpy and comic-horror punchy, with dark humour that fits the situation and keeps the story entertaining.
Gameplay and Mechanics
I Hate This Place nails the survival horror stealth gameplay with its isometric view and gameplay built around sound. The game uses comic-style sound text to show how loud you are, so you can see the difference between crouching movement and a full sprint. That feeds straight into enemy behaviour, since all threats track sound more than sight. I spent a lot of time crouching, watching patrol paths, and using lures to pull a creature off a doorway so I could slip past.Combat focuses on melee and ranged weapons. You can pelt enemies with baseball bats when you need to, but more often than not you'll rain bullets with your growing arsenal of pistols, shotguns, rifles and SMGs. Grenades, nail bombs, and molotovs give you powerful throwing options and are great at taking multiple enemies down at once. Most weapons are acquired by first finding a blueprint, and then crafting the weapon at a workbench, and the same goes for ammo. It's crucial to scavenge for ingredients, which are plentiful if you search every trash can, storage box and locker found in the underground bunkers you explore.
You also craft items that open paths, like planks to repair bridges, dynamite to explode blocked routes, and rope for drops into deep holes. While ingredients can be found in the open world, your homestead quickly becomes your go-to spot for resources like water, wood, vegetables and gunpowder, which are all essential for building the supplies you need to survive this harsh world. In fact, by about the mid-point of the game you barely even need to scavenge in the open world as your ranch will provide everything you need to survive.
Presentation and Audio
Thick outlines, bold colours, and comic-style shading give I Hate This Place a distinct look I've never seen before in a horror game. I also like that the gore is stylized, because it keeps the horror pulpy instead of turning into dreadful misery. The menu screen backs up the theme with its 80s VHS mood, setting expectations instantly.At night, the flashlight beam and shadows do the heavy mood-setting. Trees become dark shapes that block your sightlines, and the dark gaps between branches feel like places something could jump out from. Creepy crawlings love to hide, like spiders that leap up from underground or gooey tentacles that suddenly latch onto you and start reeling you in.
The audio amplifies the rural ambience with your footsteps making crunching or squishing sounds based on the terrain you're walking on. The music also knows when to simmer and when to spike, and usually does so after you've disturb an enemy nearby. There are tons of background sounds that make the world feel alive, and the audio tension cues helped sell dangers before you see them. Voice acting goes for B-movie delivery, and that campy style fits the game’s dark humour.
What's neat is your open world map fills in with drawings of key points of interest as you explore. Moreover, your sketchbook and quest log also constantly update, keeping objectives easy to track when you’re juggling quests. Crafting menus are also simple to navigate, with separate tabs for weapons, ammo, and food.
The Verdict
I Hate This Place gave me exactly what I want from survival horror: tension, ambience, and gameplay that keeps you hooked. The comic-book 80s look is a blast, and the soundtrack and environmental effects really elevate the mood. Story-wise, the Elena and Lou setup is strong, and the wider mysteries keep stacking up and made me invested in the answers. All in all, the experience comes together nicely and gives you a solid 8-hour horror trip.Final Score: 7.5/10 - Good
I Hate This Place details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo SwitchDeveloper: Rock Square Thunder
Publisher: Broken Mirror Games
Genre: Survival Horror, Isometric Action
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.