I Hate This Place

About

I Hate This Place is a single player survival shooter game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by Rock Square Thunder and was released on January 29, 2026. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A craft-based, isometric survival horror game with twisted monsters and warped reality. Scavenge and build to survive terrifying days and nights while using stealth and noise to fight enemies that stalk by sound. All styled with bold comic art and an '80s horror vibe.

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 62 reviews

story17 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Stunning and unique 80s comic book-inspired art style and sound design create an immersive and atmospheric horror experience.
Engaging survival mechanics with balanced stealth gameplay that makes every encounter tense and rewarding.
Voice acting and narrative elements add character depth; side quests and ghost story investigations enrich the lore.

Combat and melee controls feel clunky, with enemies being damage sponges, often making fights tedious and frustrating.
Lack of tutorials and UI guidance leads to confusion; controls are awkward with no key remapping options hurting accessibility.
Resource and crafting systems can be unbalanced, with base building trivializing survival; game length and content feel short and sometimes repetitive.

story
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
66%
5%
The story is described as engaging, atmospheric, and intriguing with a quirky, comic book-inspired style, featuring fragmented narrative and memorable lore moments. However, it is often seen as somewhat confusing, scattered, and occasionally incoherent, with some quest and progression issues that can hinder the storytelling flow. Despite these flaws, many find the plot and side quests compelling enough to recommend the game, especially for fans of survival horror focused on exploration and atmosphere.
- “The game plays with perception, sound cues, and environmental storytelling.”
- “There are enough documents, wall graffiti, dead bodies, and NPC side quests to make it more than presentable, and even spine chilling at some moments.”
- “The story is strong, the puzzles are enjoyable, and the atmosphere keeps you constantly on edge.”
- “❌ Story delivery feels scattered - the ideas are interesting, but the way they’re presented feels a bit clunky, making it harder to stay fully in it.”
- “Unfortunately, the story does not come together at all and I had quite a few bugs for a 10 hour game.”
- “There are also some rough design edges, like unclear quest progression and moments where missing one interaction can leave you wandering without knowing how to progress.”
gameplay
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
74%
9%
Gameplay offers an engaging core loop with enjoyable survival, crafting, and base-building elements, though many find mechanics like stealth, food, and combat underdeveloped or imbalanced. While exploration and atmosphere are praised, issues such as clunky UI, slow pacing, weak combat variety, and a confusing tutorial hold back the overall experience. The game appeals to survival fans but could benefit from refinement and clearer mechanics to elevate it from good to great.
- “The core gameplay is strong, and with a bit of refinement in the inventory and controls area, this could easily move from good to great. I’d still recommend it, especially to players who enjoy playing survival games; I think you will love this game.”
- “The core gameplay loop works, exploration is engaging, and the world is intriguing.”
- “Gameplay plays like an action-focused survival game in an isometric view.”
- “The base building was cool but it didn't have much effect on the gameplay.”
- “Crafting and survival mechanics feel underdeveloped.”
- “Once the open world gameplay begins the game is a bunch of slow moving meandering across the map with little to no encounters outside of zombie deer every now and again, and the tension is gone.”
graphics
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
40%
10%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their striking, bold comic-book art style that effectively captures an 80s horror aesthetic, creating a unique and immersive atmosphere. The visuals are both cute and creepy, enhancing the game's retro vibe and overall mood, while thematic sound effects integrated into the graphics add to the experience. This distinct art style is a standout feature that sets the game apart and deeply resonates with players.
- “The comic-book art style is excellent and gives the game a unique identity that immediately stands out.”
- “The art style is bold, creepy, and full of personality, and the atmosphere nails that retro horror vibe perfectly.”
- “I love the overall look and feel of the game, especially the comic book-style graphics and the way the sound you make is indicated by different coloured thuds, very thematic.”
- “The graphic doesn't show the letters on the keys, and also shows your number keys at the top and bottom of the screen.”
- “[td]graphics?”
- “I hate this place is a craft-focused, isometric survival horror game that leans hard into an 80s comic-book horror aesthetic.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
35%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its strong, immersive, and stylish horror vibe, enhanced by art style, lighting, music, and effective worldbuilding. It successfully creates a spooky, engaging, and on-edge experience reminiscent of classic horror, appealing especially to fans of atmospheric and exploration-driven survival horror. While some note minor drawbacks, the atmosphere consistently stands out as the game's strongest aspect.
- “The atmosphere, pacing, and overall concept pulled me in quickly, and I found myself wanting to keep playing to see what was next.”
- “A very cozy and atmospheric horror game especially due to the art style and the music.”
- “The art style is bold, creepy, and full of personality, and the atmosphere nails that retro horror vibe perfectly.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The music is widely praised for its 80's-inspired, synth-heavy soundtrack that evokes a strong Stranger Things vibe, enhancing the game's atmosphere and tension. It complements the comic-book art style and overall tone brilliantly, contributing to a cozy yet unnerving horror experience. However, some users noted occasional audio issues where the music and ambience unexpectedly cut out, creating a jarring effect.
- “The soundtrack and environments are both heavily inspired by the 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 comic-book presentation is fantastic, the synth-heavy soundtrack fits the tone, and areas like the bunkers deliver real tension.”
- “The game looks great with its comic book graphical style. The score and music featured throughout is really well done and fits the tone of the game brilliantly.”
- “And then I noticed after a while the game loses most audio from Elena's steps going mute and not having the visual thud in place; the music and ambience go quiet, making the moment jarring.”
- “A very cozy and atmospheric horror game, especially due to the art style and the music.”
- “The soundtrack and environments are both heavily inspired by the 80's in general, but the OST definitely has Stranger Things vibes, which is good; I love the score and soundtrack in that show.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game's optimization is inconsistent, with notable performance issues such as stuttering and unsmooth gameplay, especially on the Steam Deck. While still playable, many users report serious optimization problems that require patches for improvement.
- “Worth waiting for performance patches if Steam Deck is your main platform.”
- “Performance-wise, the game, for me at least, had no issues whatsoever.”
- “This game is still playable, but definitely has serious optimization issues which I hope they fix soon.”
- “On Steam Deck, performance is inconsistent.”
- “My biggest complaint is the horrendous performance.”
- “The game is still playable, but it definitely has serious optimization issues which I hope they fix soon.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game can become tedious and frustrating, particularly during extended sequences involving repetitive bunker exploration and puzzles. However, regular farming and cooking are beneficial for managing stamina, adding a helpful resource management element. Notably, an hour and a half of grinding can easily break the game's balance.
- “It became tedious - enter a bunker, crouch, solve the mystery, find the exit.”
- “I also became frustrated with the last hour and a half of the game because it wasn’t necessary to make the character go through another tedious bunker, puzzle, and boss just to meet a character beyond the forest gates.”
- “Worth mentioning that it's very easy to break the game with like an hour and a half of grinding.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is characterized by quirky, goofy dialogue and unexpected, amusing moments that enhance the fun and enjoyment of the story and gameplay. Players appreciate its lighthearted and playful tone throughout the experience.
- “I absolutely adored the art style of it, the funny and goofy dialogue, and even the gameplay itself.”
- “I had one NPC triple himself, but my first thought was that it was intentional because of weird things happening in the story, which was hilarious.”
- “Quirky humor, great action and stealth, super fun story and all things around, really enjoyable in every way possible.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game lacks replayability, with users indicating it does not offer much incentive to play again.
- “The replayability isn't there.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is compromised by a buggy final sequence that detracts from the overall experience, contributing to an unsatisfying and abrupt conclusion.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional experience of the game was overwhelmingly negative for some users, with feelings of discomfort or sickness reported.