I Hate This Place

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6142328/][b] With 1,500+ reviews, please consider following The Cpt Froggy Club Curator Page for plenty more![/b][/url][/quote] I Hate This Place: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to the Rutherford Ranch and its surroundings! A place that our protagonist Elena knows very well, as she used to play there with her friend Lou in her youth. But it's also a strange place, to say the least. Near the ranch, an odd cult with followers who seem to have fallen on hard times worship a god known as the Horned Man. Also, there are rumours that illegal experiments are being performed on people in military bunkers, most likely on the cult followers. And to put icing on the cake, the entire area is infected with terrifying monsters and ghosts. For Elena, what matters is to find out what happened to her mother, who disappeared many years ago. What would you say if you were in her shoes? Probably . . . I Hate This Place! I Hate This Place is an isometric survival horror game with stealth elements and a touch of investigation, developed by Rock Square Thunder and published by Feardemic on the 30 of January 2026, on the Steam platform. I take this opportunity to thank both the developer and the publisher for providing me with a free key through my curator's Steam groups. The game starts with Elena and Lou in the woods. After insisting on showing Elena a place nearby, both arrive in an area where a large symbol is displayed on the grass. Lou initiates a ritual that doesn’t go to plan, vanishing into thin air in the process and leaving Elena alone from that point onwards. The fun starts as Elena enters the first bunker. As Elena does not have many weapons at this point (a gun with limited ammunition and a baseball bat), and the bunker houses a fair few monsters, stealth will probably be your best bet. Most of the monsters will react to sounds, so they'll hear her if she runs or walks on broken glass. Thankfully, she can squat and move slowly. If she makes a little sound, and it will over quickly. Make sure to check her inventory; if she carries cans, she can use them to lure the monster away by throwing them in the opposite direction. After clearing the bunker, you'll be able to access a map of the area and start multiple quests. This brings me to the exploration aspect of the game. The area is of average size. As you meet NPC's, new quests will arise, and Elena will discover new places which will appear on the map as she reaches them. If you decide to follow a specific quest, red question marks will appear on the map to give you hints as to where you might find a person or where to go next. There are plenty of things to find in the world, such as safe houses where you can save your progress and blueprints. You need the blueprints to build stations where you can craft all sorts of items to help Elena survive this ordeal. Make sure to check the bins and destroy the wooden crates, as they contain goodies to collect. However, she needs to be careful about how many goods she carries at any given time, as it will slow her down in the early stages of the game. It becomes irrelevant later on when she can craft the military bag. It's a bit of a shame because I like the fact that she was impeded by carrying too much. I like the day and night sequences all the way through the game, which increase the spooky atmosphere. Most of the crafting stations will take place at the Rutherford Ranch. Make sure to pick up all the blueprints as Elena visits places; you’ll need them to create stations, then craft food, weapons and other goodies. It will take one day in gaming terms to erect a station. You can also craft certain items in the safe houses as long as you have the right number of required elements to do so. I find the combat system mostly adequate, especially with the firearms (gun, rifle, submachine gun, shotgun) and throwing items such as grenades, Molotov cocktails, and dynamites. But I don't like the feel of the melee weapon (baseball bat), as I had a bit of a hard time adjusting the direction; maybe because I used the mouse and keyboard only. I enjoyed the monsters I encountered during my gameplay, but I must admit that they were not difficult to kill, especially in the later stages of the game. There were only a couple of serious encounters with so-called bosses, and only one was a decent foe! I found the story engaging from start to finish. I also enjoyed the few puzzles and riddles thrown at me. The investigation was a surprise, and it came when Elena needed to find out what happened to some of the characters. She revisited the location where the character was killed. Then, the room or area turned red, and, armed with a lamp to destroy the incoming ghosts, Elena needed to collect several pieces of evidence and deduce what happened. The visuals and the eerie feel of the game are very good. I also liked the voice acting, and I must admit I enjoyed my time playing that game, which I finished in 12 hours. Does this game offer good replayability? I am glad to have had the opportunity to play it, but I won't play it again. Twelve hours of gameplay doesn’t warrant the 44 Australian dollars. Positives: ~~~~~~~ + Great visuals + Good voice acting and story + Good selection of weapons + Simple and easy-to-use crafting system + The game runs very well + Achievements Negatives: ~~~~~~~~ - Needs a bigger variety of monsters - Fights with both bosses were too easy - The asking price is a bit high - Quite a short game - No trading cards as yet I Hate This Place has great visuals and runs beautifully. It’s a bit short for the asking price and it needs to be more challenging. 6/10 Key provided by the developer/publisher through my Steam Curator groups for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

Dunno where all the negative reviews are coming from. The only actual issue I had with this game was the overwhelming amount of items being thrown at you combined with the lack of inventory space, or better said: weight system constantly bogging you down, but even that could be dealt with by going to the camp and leaving materials there. It's a fantastic, short, close to 8 hour survival horror game with a neat, cute story and cool comic book graphics at a fair price. Runs well, plays well, is fun. What more can a man want?

В общем мимо. Камеру нельзя вертеть, она постоянно выбирает неудачные ракурсы, карты нормальной нету, мобы спавняться каждый раз когда ты выходишь из комнаты и заходишь обратно, нет смысла их убивать. На стимдеке работает плохо на минималках с просадками и фср. Визуал классный, но сама игра не очень. Менюинг неудобный на геймпаде.

I do like this game and its vibes. I enjoy the sound design and the overall art direction of it making look like a comic book. The voice acting does leave a little bit to be desired, the combat can be a bit clunky and the enemies could be more varied. I recommend it, but it is alright at best for me. The stuff I mentioned before hold it back from being a truly great game. https://youtu.be/-QNGOXMpBG8?si=NFOGBM-aTOGrPEOp

Good things first. The elements of the game is great, the music is wonderful. Especially the "Visualized Sound System" make the whole game looks a lot like an American style comics. However, the gimmick of the Visualized Sound System isn't well use in game. The game has no "Stealth" tactics actually. You may only use this technique in bunker, which does not take part in the game so frequently. Once you gain the fire power, no more stealth needed. So basically, this may be ignored after the first bunker. The story doesn't sounds logic. Especially in the "ghost mode", the evidence and truth can't match. I can't see the logic in it. Main story is mythical, but the action of the NPC cannot stand there ground after explain. And, this game has tooooooooooooooooooo much bugs that can actually make you crazy or stuck in the main story. I actually feel disappointed, because it does not meet the expectation of what I've seen in the trailer.

haven't finished so can't really comment much on the story but its interesting so far. The arts cool, its fun to play, and its creepy. great vibes and atmosphere

The graphics and atmosphere are fantastic. The soundtrack and environments are both heavily inspired by 80's in general but the OST definitely has Stranger Things vibes, which is good, I love the score and soundtrack in that show. The color coded foot step indicator is pretty cool and fits the comic aesthetic. The murder mysteries are interesting, and I'm interested to see if they effect events somehow in further playthroughs. The crafting and homesteading is pretty simple but good. Though, I'm not sure if I just found the blueprint early, but the flare gun almost trivializes the game once you get it and can mass produce the ammo. It's thus far the most powerful weapon I've found and I have a decent amount of them. You can mass produce the ammo for it before the other weapons, as well. That definitely threw the balance of the survival aspects off. Healing items and cooked food are also easily mass produced. So once you get a few hours into the game the stealth aspect becomes unnecessary, as you can blow through most enemies with ease. Elite enemies can still provide a challenge though. Overall I'm enjoying the game, despite how far the difficulty fell off once I had the base built up. all the the systems work well and smooth. Game doesn't eat up much in regard to resources.

a good game but maybe I will recommend them when the game got discount

Review of I Hate This Place A stylish, brutal love letter to survival horror that actually earns its name. I Hate This Place is one of those rare indie horror games that understands something many big-budget titles forget: fear is most effective when you feel vulnerable, confused, and slightly underprepared at all times. And this game leans hard into that philosophy. Atmosphere & Art Style The first thing that grabs you is the comic-book aesthetic. Inspired by the I Hate This Place series, the game uses bold outlines, halftone textures, and saturated colors that look ripped straight from a graphic novel. But don’t mistake the stylization for softness—this world is hostile, surreal, and deeply unsettling. Daytime offers a false sense of control. Nighttime strips that illusion away. The shifting environments and strange supernatural rules make exploration tense rather than relaxing. You’re not just walking through the woods—you’re navigating something that feels aware of you. Gameplay & Survival Mechanics Combat is intentionally unforgiving. This isn’t a power fantasy. Ammunition is scarce. Enemies hit hard. Running is often smarter than fighting. Crafting and scavenging are central to survival, but the game avoids overcomplicating systems. Instead of bloated menus, it keeps things focused and urgent. You’re constantly weighing risk vs. reward: Do I explore one more building before nightfall? Do I waste ammo or try to escape? Do I trust what I’m seeing? The answer is often: regret. Tension & Horror Design What makes I Hate This Place work isn’t just monsters—it’s unpredictability. The game plays with perception, sound cues, and environmental storytelling. There’s a lingering paranoia that the world doesn’t follow stable rules. That uncertainty keeps the tension high even when nothing is actively attacking you. It’s less about jump scares and more about dread. Narrative Without spoiling anything, the story unfolds in fragments. It respects the player’s intelligence, letting you piece together what’s happening rather than delivering long exposition dumps. The tone balances pulp horror with psychological unease surprisingly well. Strengths Striking comic-inspired visuals Strong survival tension Meaningful resource management Atmospheric worldbuilding Weaknesses Combat can feel punishing early on Some players may find the difficulty spikes harsh Not ideal for those wanting fast-paced action Final Verdict I Hate This Place succeeds because it commits fully to its identity. It’s uncomfortable, tense, and occasionally frustrating—but always intentional. If you enjoy survival horror where preparation matters, every bullet counts, and every mistake has consequences, this game absolutely delivers. Rating A

Das Spiel basiert auf einer Comic Vorlage und diese bunten Farben und komisch lustigen Dinge wurden übernommen. Unter anderem auch die onomatopoetischen Ausdrücke :D Und 80er Horror ist einfach super! Es hat leider einige Bugs, die nicht game breaking sind aber durchaus nerven können. Wobei der Charaktergeräusche-verschwinden-bug wohl noch sehr angenehm sein kann. :D Außerdem ist die Tastenbelegung sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig und es kommt mehr als einmal vor, dass man aus Versehen etwas benutzt was man nicht wollte und abbrechen kann man das auch nicht soweit ich weiß(?!). ABER durch die isometrische Ansicht und die bunte Welt kann sogar ich Horror Angsthase ein Horror game spielen. Ganz nebenbei mag ich das isometrische (Kontrollzwang? Omnipotenter Beobachter!) :) Anfangs habe ich mich oft erschreckt. Mit der Zeit als ich merkteß wie das Spiel läuft und die Ausrüstung besser wurde, habe ich eher einen hit and run Spielstil angenommen. "Bossgegner" sind trotzdem noch knackig! Das Geräusch System ist gut umgesetzt die Schritte, aufgeteilt je nach Untergrund, auch farblich einzuordnen. Die Quests sind auch interessant, zumindest die meisten. Bei den Geistern weiß ich manchmal nicht mal ob ich das jetzt richtig gemacht habe, aber Belohnungen gab es also alles gut. :D Das Spiel wird so um die 10 Stunden lang sein je nach Spielstil, aber ich erkunde schon gerne ein wenig. Ich mag es bisher! Nur die „Schlange“ bekommt mich immer noch VIEL ZU OFT! xD