Developed by Rock Square Games and published by Feardemic, I Hate This Place is a survival horror title that blends tense gameplay with a striking comic-book-inspired visual style. After previously experiencing a small preview of the game, the full release builds on that foundation by expanding its haunted swamps, eerie bunkers, and unsettling enemy encounters. This review focuses on the PC Steam version of I Hate This Place, where players must survive twisted monstrosities while uncovering the secrets surrounding their family ranch.
I Hate This Place takes place on and around Rutherford Ranch. You arrive at your family’s ranch with your friend, and she goes missing after a forbidden ritual. Now your mission is to find her, manage your family ranch, and survive the haunted swamps, forests, and bunkers around it. I Hate This Place is a single-player survival horror game with an isometric perspective. You play through different story missions, learn about the game’s lore through pickups, and meet some twisted NPCs at key locations. Each location in the game is filled with different types of enemies that you have to ignore or kill.
Since the enemies respond to sound, you can use this to your advantage. There are a few items in the game that can be crafted or looted and used as distractions. Since I Hate This Place gives you the freedom of choosing between stealth and gunfights, you can either stock up on ammo and go in all guns blazing, or you can use these distraction items to move enemies to a certain location, away from their path or location, and then sneak around them. However, things do not always go according to plan, and this unpredictability is one of the game’s strongest aspects.
During an early part of the game, I was inside the very first bunker, and near its end, I had to navigate a dangerous area with three gigantic enemies. I managed to distract the first one, and while sneaking around it, I accidentally stepped on some glass scattered on the floor, causing the enemy to detect me and run back to snatch me. While the game is a survival horror, it is not overly difficult, and often, it gives you a second chance to fight back, even if you fail at sneaking around enemies.
Certain larger enemies, such as bosses, can kill you instantly, but most encounters leave room to recover, escape, and fight back. This makes preparation crucial, as even careful stealth-focused players can accidentally alert enemies and be forced into combat. When that happens, having the right gear and resources can mean the difference between survival and failure.
Similar to the levels and the environment, the enemy design is cool to look at as well. Ranging from humanoids to larger creatures, the enemies look terrifying, especially if you are low on ammo. If you are not careful in combat scenarios, even the smallest enemy can quickly ruin your day. There is no difficulty selection in I Hate This Place, so you have to work with the default setting. Considering all mechanics, combat, stealth, crafting, and exploration, the game is not overly difficult and can be played with a little bit of strategy and planning.
Strong visual design is one of I Hate This Place’s greatest strengths. Taking a heavy inspiration from the 80s comics, you will find a lot of nods to the classic style. As you move around and things are happening around you, you will find small sound bubbles next to them. For example, a campfire will have its own sound bubble, enemies have their own sound bubbles, and your character has her own sound bubbles.
These not only look cool, but they are also functional and can help you out in different ways, like letting you know if nearby monsters have spotted you or not, and also highlighting whether they can hear your footsteps or not. Depending on your walking speed, the colour of the text is different. While hidden, it stays yellow, but when loud, it turns red, alerting nearby enemies. The UI of the game also feels pretty old-school with three different-coloured bars at the top-left side of the screen showing your health, stamina, and food requirements.
Sticking true to the survival aspect, you have to find or craft food and keep yourself fed. You will also need a good amount of health refills at hand because the enemies hit hard. Running out of food means that your stamina will take a hit, and you will start struggling with basic elements like moving around and aiming your weapons quickly. The game also features manual saving, similar to those of Resident Evil games, where you have to find a specific item and interact with it to save your progress.
Crafting is a vital element of the game as well. Throughout the game, you will find crafting stations at various locations of the game where you will use the tons of resources you find in the wild and craft some useful items for your survival. These range from weapons to ammo, to alterations, throwables, and health items. While crafting is vital to survival, it remains simple and accessible, allowing players of all skill levels to engage with the system comfortably.
You also have access to your farm, where you can craft and place stations to prepare for upcoming missions. Rutherford Ranch serves as the central hub where building materials can be used to construct useful structures. You can craft a variety of stations here, like stoves, gardens, weapon stations, and more. These allow you to grow your food, prepare meals, upgrade weapons, and craft ammo and items before you head out into the wild. The ranch is surrounded by massive semi-open areas, so you can explore to find more resources and items. The base features a modular design, allowing you to move placed stations and adjust the layout at any time.
I Hate This Place also features a day and night cycle, with the nighttime making exploration a little harder because of less light. During this time, you have to depend on your flashlight to look around and find your path and everything else. Daytime makes it easier to explore the forests and swamps because you encounter fewer enemies and everything is visible too. While you can choose to explore during the day and rest at the ranch at night, certain missions require nighttime exploration, forcing you to prepare accordingly.
I Hate This Place may not replace Resident Evil or other genre-defining titles on your survival horror list, but it remains a strong experience well worth trying. The game features solid combat mechanics complemented by striking visuals, while its core gameplay loop remains consistently engaging. Sound design is another highlight, helping to elevate the atmosphere across its moody environments. From tense, atmospheric levels and bunker-like dungeons to its impressive enemy design, there’s plenty here for survival horror fans to appreciate. The only notable drawback is that the cutscenes feel underdeveloped and could have benefited from stronger presentation and direction.
Final Verdict:
I Hate This Place is a bite-sized survival horror game that pairs striking comic-book-style visuals with solid combat mechanics. Its flexible approach to encounters, allowing players to choose between stealth and all-out gunfights, creates a satisfying blend of chaos and strategy. While the game world is relatively small, it makes effective use of its space and delivers a consistently fun experience. Crafting is straightforward without feeling shallow, and the simple base-building systems make it accessible to players of all skill levels. If you’re a fan of survival horror, you’ll find plenty to enjoy while looting, crafting, and fighting to survive in I Hate This Place.
Final Score: 8.0/10
Disclaimer: A PC Steam review code for I Hate This Place was provided by Pirate PR on behalf of Feardemic. Read our Review Policy.
