Hell Is Us is built around stamina management, spacing and target priorities rather than a single best weapon or mandatory parry system. Attacks, dodges, blocks and parries draw from the same stamina pool, and incoming hits can temporarily lower your maximum. Dodge-first play is fully viable, while parries are an efficiency tool for players who can read an enemy’s timing. Against Haze-linked creatures, remove the protecting Haze threat before expecting reliable damage on its host.
How Hell Is Us combat works
Rémi fights supernatural entities with melee weapons, a drone and Lymbic powers because ordinary modern weapons cannot defeat them. Every close-range action is tied to one resource: stamina. Light and heavy attacks, evasive rolls, guarding and timed parries all compete for the same bar.
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This makes stamina a defensive resource as much as an offensive one. If you empty it during a combo, you may be unable to dodge the next attack. Reviews also report that taking hits temporarily reduces the available stamina ceiling. A mistake can therefore hurt twice: you lose health and have less capacity for the escape that follows.
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- Read the wind-up. Keep the enemy in view and identify whether the attack is aimed at your current position or is likely to cover an area.
- Reserve an escape. Do not spend the entire bar on attacks. Leave enough stamina for at least one dodge; against groups, try to preserve enough for a second.
- Evade or guard the hit. Dodge when the timing or hitbox is unfamiliar. Guard is useful when an attack is difficult to leave safely, so check the weapon’s guard-protection rating.
- Punish recovery. Strike after the enemy’s swing has finished, rather than trying to win a trade during its active frames.
- End the combo early. Stop while you still have stamina to defend. Controlled damage is safer than a long sequence that leaves Rémi helpless.
Successful damage can also create a short healing opportunity. TechRadar describes particles produced by attacks forming a ring around Rémi; activating that pulse quickly restores some health. It is a reward for controlled aggression, not a reason to mash until stamina is empty.
#1 Best Overall
- A HOSTILE WORLD: In addition to the civil war dividing the country, the region is suffering from a mysterious calamity, which has given rise to supernatural creatures that no modern weapon can defeat. Your drone and sword from a different age are your faithful allies as you cut a path through lands infested with terrifying chimeras and try to unravel the mystery of their appearance.
- A UNIQUE EXPLORATION SYSTEM: No map, no compass, no quest markers. Following your instincts is part of the adventure. Enjoy a unique experience that uses innovative writing and level design to let you make your own decisions and follow your instincts as you explore. Your discoveries are yours alone.
- COMBAT AGAINST ORIGINAL CREATURES: Swords, spears and axes. A wide range of weapons forged specially for fighting these supernatural creatures is available. You must learn how to fight these monsters and use your drone wisely to stay alive.
- 'The central theme of Hell is Us is that human violence is a perpetual cycle fueled by human emotions and passions.'' – Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, Creative Director
Enemy weaknesses: what is actually established
There is no authoritative, complete table of enemy-by-enemy damage multipliers, and no verified universal color chart. In particular, the emotional colors—Grief, Rage, Terror and Elation—appear in weapons, abilities, items and enemy presentation, but available documentation does not prove that one color always deals extra damage to another.
Use a structural weakness that is consistently documented instead: Haze can protect a host. Bright, linked Haze offshoots may shield the main entity, so attacks against the host can appear ineffective until the linked threat is dealt with.
How Haze protection changes target priority
- Scan the arena. Look for bright or linked Haze entities around the apparent main target.
- Break the protection. Move to the linked Haze threat and defeat it before committing to a long host combo.
- Track the split. The PlayStation Blog explains that Haze can split after a kill. Do not assume the first defeated body ends the encounter.
- Finish the final transfer. The final Haze enters a Protector, which must then be defeated.
- Return to the host. Once the protection chain is cleared, damage the host while managing any remaining adds.
The official PlayStation Blog states that the game contains 27 enemies (2025). A separate HellIsUs.org review describes five Entity types with three tiers each, or 15 variants. Those figures describe the documented roster and variant structure; they do not provide a complete weakness or multiplier chart.
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How to compare elemental or emotional effects
When a glyph or weapon offers a color-linked effect, judge it by the control or burst it provides in the specific encounter: range, stagger, area coverage, stamina demand and interaction with Haze behavior. Treat claims that a color is a universal counter as unverified unless the game itself or an authoritative current table demonstrates it.
Dodging, guarding and parrying
Dodging is the baseline defense
Dodging works against every documented enemy and is the safest first response when you do not know an attack’s timing. Keep the camera on the attacker, point the movement input toward an open escape route and avoid rolling into another enemy. In a group, preserve stamina for a follow-up dodge rather than spending it all on offense.
Spacing is part of the dodge. Back away from wide swings, circle toward the enemy’s exposed side when there is room, and use terrain to prevent several entities from reaching Rémi simultaneously. A dodge that technically avoids one hit but leaves you inside a second attack is not a successful defensive exchange.
When guarding is better
Guarding helps when an attack is hard to evade because of limited space, a large area of effect or overlapping enemies. Weapon families have different guard-protection ratings, so compare that value before treating a weapon as a defensive upgrade. Guarding is a way to stabilize a difficult exchange; it does not remove the need to watch stamina and positioning.
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Parry timing and reward
Red attack pulses are reported as parry telegraphs. Press the parry immediately before the strike connects, not when the enemy first begins its animation. A successful parry negates the damage and opens a punish window. A missed attempt costs health and tempo, so practice it after you can already survive the encounter with dodges and occasional blocks.
No documented enemy requires parry-only play. GamesRadar reports that every enemy can be handled without parry mastery. That makes parrying optional but valuable: use it to shorten a fight when you can read the timing, not as a prerequisite for progress.
Weapon families and their trade-offs
The official product description names swords, spears and axes. Practical reviews further distinguish dual axes, greatswords and polearms. All families can be upgraded, and glyphs add active or passive effects.
| Weapon family | Primary advantage | Cost or limitation | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dual axes | Fast startup and repeated pressure | Lower impact and shorter reach than heavier options | Players who prefer mobility, quick punish windows and sustained close pressure |
| Swords | Balanced handling | No single extreme advantage in speed, reach or impact | General-purpose play while learning enemy patterns |
| Greatswords | High impact | Slower attacks and greater commitment during recovery | Players who can read openings and want decisive punish damage |
| Spears and polearms | Safer reach and crowd spacing | Can be less comfortable when enemies collapse into point-blank range | Controlling distance, probing groups and attacking from outside short-weapon range |
Do not rank these families by damage alone. Compare startup and recovery, reach and crowd coverage, stamina cost, guard protection and how well the weapon’s glyphs, relics and drone modules cover its weaknesses.
A practical selection method
- Choose dual axes if you reliably create short openings and can disengage before the stamina bar empties.
- Choose a greatsword if you are comfortable waiting through enemy recovery and want fewer, heavier commitments.
- Choose a sword when you need a neutral option that does not force a specialized rhythm.
- Choose a spear or polearm when reach lets you keep multiple entities from attacking at once.
Upgrade the weapon family you can defend with, not merely the one with the largest displayed attack value. A slower weapon that repeatedly leaves you out of stamina can produce less real damage than a faster weapon that lets you dodge and trigger healing pulses consistently.
Glyphs, relics and Lymbic combat
PC Gamer identifies three combat channels: combo/parry melee, drone combat and Lymbic combat. Lymbic powers are accessed through glyphs attached to weapons, adding ranged, area or burst options to the basic melee loop.
Glyph choices
Use glyphs to solve a problem your weapon creates. A slow greatsword benefits from control or area coverage that prevents enemies from interrupting its recovery. An aggressive dual-axe setup can use stamina, defense or burst support to survive close pressure. A reach-oriented polearm can add effects that punish enemies approaching from the sides.
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Because the documented sources do not establish a universal color-counter chart, evaluate a glyph by its actual control effect, activation cost, range and interaction with the encounter’s Haze targets.
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Relic slots
Rémi can equip one passive relic and one active relic. Treat the pair as a correction layer for the weapon:
- Slow weapon: favor crowd control, interruption or defensive stability.
- Fast weapon: favor stamina support, survivability or effects that convert pressure into a safe reset.
- Group encounter: favor reach, distraction or area control so that the target you are attacking is not joined immediately by every nearby enemy.
Using the drone in a fight
The drone begins as a distraction tool. Later modules can stun or damage enemies. Its value is measured in openings rather than raw damage: an interrupted wind-up can give you time to heal, separate a group or reach a Haze protector.
Three high-value drone uses
- Interrupt a dangerous wind-up. Deploy the drone when an enemy is preparing an attack that is difficult to dodge safely.
- Split a group. Draw one or more entities away so you can fight without overlapping hitboxes.
- Create a healing window. Use a stun or distraction to activate the short-lived healing pulse generated by recent damage.
Drone modules should complement, not duplicate, the weapon. If your melee setup already controls a single target, a drone effect that creates space or handles a second target usually adds more practical safety than another small source of direct damage.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Encounter plans for common problems
“My attacks do almost no damage to the host.”
Search for the linked Haze threat first. A protected host can absorb or resist dependable damage until the offshoots are removed. Follow the split and Protector sequence rather than repeatedly attacking the shielded body.
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Shorten combos, stop attacking before the bar is empty and reserve one dodge. If you have been hit, remember that the temporary reduction to your stamina ceiling makes the next exchange more dangerous. Use spacing, guard or the drone to reset instead of forcing another attack string.
“Parries are making the fight worse.”
Return to dodge-first defense. Watch for the red pulse and practice parries only during recoverable attacks. Since no documented enemy requires them, progression does not depend on risking every exchange for a timing reward.
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“A weapon feels powerful but unsafe.”
Check startup, recovery, reach, guard protection and stamina demand together. Pair a high-commitment weapon with control from glyphs, relics or the drone, and attack only after a clear recovery window.
What is and is not known about the numbers
Published material does not provide an authoritative stamina formula, frame data, damage multipliers or a complete enemy weakness chart. That means exact claims such as “this color always deals 25 percent more damage” or “this attack has a fixed parry frame” should not be treated as established facts without current in-game testing.
The dependable conclusions are behavioral: stamina governs offense and defense; hits can reduce its ceiling; dodging works for every enemy; parries are optional but rewarding; Haze protections must be cleared; and weapon families trade speed, reach, impact and safety. Build comparisons should stay within those documented limits.
A repeatable combat checklist
- Identify Haze links before committing to the host.
- Keep one defensive action affordable at all times.
- Use dodges as the default until you know the attack timing.
- Guard attacks that cannot be left safely and check your weapon’s guard-protection rating.
- Attempt parries on red pulses only when the timing is familiar.
- Attack during recovery, then stop before stamina is empty.
- Use the drone to interrupt, separate or create a healing window.
- Choose glyphs and relics that cover your weapon’s specific weakness.
- Judge colors by demonstrated effects, not an assumed universal counter chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to parry every enemy in Hell Is Us?
No. Available reviews report that no documented enemy requires parry mastery. Dodging, spacing and occasional guarding can carry a fight; parries add damage-negation and punish opportunities when your timing is reliable.
What should I attack first when a Haze entity protects a host?
Defeat the linked Haze offshoot before committing to the host. Haze can split after a kill, and the final Haze enters a Protector that must also be defeated.
Which weapon is best?
There is no universal winner. Dual axes favor speed, greatswords favor impact, swords are balanced, and spears or polearms provide reach. Choose according to the encounter and how well your glyphs, relics and drone cover the weapon’s stamina and recovery demands.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIs there a complete enemy color weakness chart?
Not in the authoritative material available here. Emotional colors are used across weapons, abilities, items and enemy presentation, but a universal damage multiplier chart has not been established.
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