2026 receives the survival horror with a quite original proposal
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The idea of “I hate this place” comes from a comic written and drawn by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin, currently under the umbrella of Image Comics (the same ones behind Spawn). Although the last issue dates back to 2023, this year the series will be presented in the world of video games with a more than interesting indie development.
The game takes from the comic a mix of horror and black humor very characteristic and dares to incorporate stealth, action, and construction mechanics from a not-so-common perspective these days, such as the isometric one.
As for the story, it’s not necessary for anyone to be a hardcore fan of the comic books, which, although very good, are not very popular outside of a certain niche. In this adventure, players will take on the role of Elena, an orphan raised by her uncles at Rutherford Ranch, an old estate that has the peculiarity of attracting all kinds of paranormal phenomena: ghosts, aliens, mutants… To make matters worse, a secret organization and a sect have also taken it upon themselves to carry out all sorts of experiments and activities throughout the region, which complicates things a bit.
The title begins when Elena and her friend Lou try to invoke the Horned Man (a local legend that has nothing to do with a man being unfaithful, I clarify) something that ends up going wrong and Lou ends up disappearing, so she’ll have to go looking for her.
Torch in hand and courage in heart, join me on this journey through the forests and structures of a cursed rural area to unravel all the mysteries of this different adventure. Here we go.
Technical Section
The game’s art goes straight to the point, without being dazzling, but it perfectly understands the idea of the game and doesn’t stray from the 80s atmosphere that surrounds the production, tinting it with a, in my opinion, correct use of cellshading. The interesting thing is that several onomatopoeias from the comic sneak into the on-screen action, something that I particularly love if done well and here it’s been done to perfection.
The dialogues (represented with speech bubbles to reference the comic even more) are very well done, but they feel like they were taken from a B-movie, which I think was done intentionally, but maybe not everyone will understand the reference or, even so, receive it well. On the music side, the soundtrack includes different rhythms that seek to highlight the on-screen action, which varies from one moment to another between suspense and action.
A negative aspect is the presence of some bugs that I found and that forced me to reload the game, as my character would get stuck in places with no way out. The first time this happened was in the forest at the exit of the first laboratory and then in two encounters with ghosts, where in one case I had to eliminate an enemy that never became visible and in the other a wall that didn’t dematerialize as it should. I hope they apply a quick patch when the game is released.
The title is localized in Spanish in its dialogues and interface, although the voices are only available in English.
Gameplay
The game presents very interesting mechanics, such as stealth. Many of the enemies that roam around everywhere have no visibility, but they are sensitive to sound, so any sudden movement like running, opening a door, or activating a switch can mean a dangerous confrontation, so it will be necessary to calculate risks and benefits almost constantly.
I hate this place encourages the player to think of alternative paths to avoid danger, develop traps, or create distractions to achieve the proposed objectives, although you can always wield a baseball bat against different adversaries or shoot them indiscriminately, taking into account the amount of ammunition available at certain times.
Progression is achieved through exploration and crafting items on workbenches, which, although very deep due to the combinations that can be made, is also very easy to understand. The materials to create weapons, objects, and food can be collected at different points or produced in structures built for specific purposes, such as farms. However, to create new things, it will be necessary to find the blueprint first.
The game features day and night cycles with the idea of exploring and equipping objects during the day and surviving at night, where enemies are more and generally become much more aggressive. Time can be advanced by sleeping, and it’s even possible to select the exact time to wake up. It will also be necessary to reinforce the paths with traps or fences so that the return to the ranch from any point on the map is much more tiring and dangerous.
Elena, the protagonist, has three indicators to pay attention to. The first is the vital energy, the second is resistance, and the last is hunger that will begin to show an empty stomach as the bar decreases. The inventory system is very extensive, and although the character has a maximum weight capacity that makes resistance decrease constantly and mobility reduce, inventory management is very simple and reminds me of Fallout 2, perhaps due to the game’s perspective.
Initially, the isometric perspective can create some difficulties when aiming with weapons, as it requires using both sticks on the controller, but after a certain period of adaptation, there won’t be major problems. What did seem a bit tedious is the selection between the list of objectives to fulfill and opening and closing the map, which requires pressing two buttons simultaneously and becomes absolutely impractical and annoying almost immediately.
It’s not possible to save the game at any moment; to save progress, you’ll have to find TVs where, via a VHS tape, the record of what’s been advanced will be saved. These TVs are located in isolated areas of the main map and in some rooms in the places to explore.
Duration
The game offers an average of 12 hours of fun to explore and obtain the achievements it includes. This average of hours depends, of course, on how many times the player dies and where they saved the game. There are times when distances can be long and having to travel a path several times because of losing without saving, even because there’s no place to do so, can be annoying.
Conclusion
An ideal title for investigating, building, creating items, and unraveling various mysteries through your own research. The combination of stealth with action and construction with the camera angle makes the action much more challenging and adds to the atmosphere of mystery and surprises that appear in each room or on the map itself.
With what’s been seen of the upcoming Resident Evil and this particular release, I think this 2026 can be an excellent year for survival horror fans. Dare to try something different within the genre, and maybe you’ll also be encouraged to read the comic that gives life to the game.
Translator and video game localiser with a passion for retro titles and simulators. He has never let go of a controller since he was given an Atari 2600. He collaborates with different developers in the localisation of their titles into Spanish through Camelot Translations.
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