You’re Rocky, a 20 year old young man with a certain charm that doesn’t go unnoticed. After a night out at the Zooty Slammer, you wake up in a strange hospital, kidnapped and drugged.
Whatever they did to you last night, they did it. And now it’s too late for apologies, you need to get to the bot...
You’re Rocky, a 20 year old young man with a certain charm that doesn’t go unnoticed. After a night out at the Zooty Slammer, you wake up in a strange hospital, kidnapped and drugged.
Whatever they did to you last night, they did it. And now it’s too late for apologies, you need to get to the bottom of this…
Rocky style.
Finalist in the 2023 IGF awards in “Excellence in Visual Arts” and showcased in the 10th anniversary day of the devs, To Hell With the Ugly is an adventure game set in a 1950s LA film noir setting.
Play as Rock Bailey, a blond and handsome young man who systematically refuses all advances made to him. To the dismay of everybody around him, he stubbornly saves himself until the day he turns 20.
Everything changes when he is drugged and kidnapped outside the Zooty Slammer jazz club and wakes up in a strange hospital. They stole something from him, something very personal, and he wants revenge. Help Rocky get to the bottom of this mystery and find out the truth behind it.
To Hell with the Ugly is an adventure game with a focus on narration. Rocky has already lost part of his pride, he won’t shy away from combat if it takes him closer to the revenge he seeks. With his journalist partner Gary, they will have to gather clues from crime scenes and use them to make assumptions and solve puzzles, explore all the nooks and crannies of 1950s LA and let their fists do the talking in turn-based combat.
To unravel this mystery, you must:
Investigate Los Angeles in the 50s, explore its darkest corners, meet the locals and immerse yourself in this film noir atmosphere
Fight for your freedom, let the fists talk in turn-based combats based on timing, precision and amazingly beautiful hair
Gather clues and information, investigate crime scenes, and make the right choices to solve mysteries.
A film noir set in 1950s LA
Explore 1950s LA like you’ve never seen it before, in this homage to noir movies. Discover the hidden side of the city, a sordid / gruesome investigation centered on the disappearance of the most beautiful inhabitants and human experimentations.
A stunning art direction
A breathtaking 2D world combined with fully animated cinematics and an incredible, bold art direction that bring the city of Los Angeles to life.
It’s jazz all the way down
What best describes 1950s LA than jazz music?
Carry out your investigation to the smooth rhythm of the jazzy soundtrack of To Hell With the Ugly!
Boris Vian reimagined To Hell With the Ugly is an adaptation of Boris Vian’s satiric work of the same name, reimagined for the 21st century. Delve into the absurd and acclaimed work of the famous French author, brought to you by La Poule Noire and ARTE France.
Mature content :
- Explicit nudity
- Hand-to-hand and weapon combat
- Light sexual content
- Experimentation on humans
To Hell with the Ugly provides users with the following options :
adjust text size
adjust the color of each different category of text : dialogues, thoughts and highlighted words (subtitles/captions are not yet adjustable).
reassign keys (on keyboard only)
adjust the speed of the virtual cursor
activate or deactivate the ""hold for running"" option
Good art. Story is a bit bogged down by how 'gamey' the gameplay is, has a couple of fetch quests added to extend the playtime. Wish there was a way to play the battles without having to skip through the dialogue, as though easy the battles are fairly fun and have good music. Would wait for this to go on sale or to enter a bundle.
Don't expect great writing. Or for the threads to come together. Or for a satisfying ending that makes any sense.
I like the fight mechanic of timing your reactions to block or land hits. I love the art style.
But the story feels like they cut the second half. It was building toward an interesting climax, and they totally blew it. Very disappointing end.
Aesthetically beautiful.
The gameplay is very simple and sometimes repetitive, which I didn't mind because I thought the story would polish away any rough edges.
Unfortunately, what I thought started out as a pretty compelling narrative soon revealed itself as either too rushed, too simple for its own good or too...french.
Something feels lost in the translation and the whole experience just left me confused and unsatisfied.
I got this -50% off. If you're interested in getting this I advise you to wait for a bigger sale, cause as cool as this game is, you better save your money on something else.
2 stars for gameplay and music + 1 star for the visuals (naked men) = 3 stars
A noir P&C game with an intriguing (and a bit spicy) story, fitting aesthetics, funky music, T-B combat, and even QTEs.
Despite it being quite short (and with some minor sequence breaks and translation/text errors) the game really has a unique charm.
Recommended for a nice quick experience.