To Hell With The Ugly

To Hell With The Ugly immerses you in a stunning cinematic world straight out of 1950s film noir cinema. You play as Rock Bailey, a handsome young man on a journey for revenge after he is kidnapped from a jazz club. The story is engaging and keeps you guessing as you unravel the mystery behind Rock's kidnapping.

"Weird" doesn't even begin to describe the visuals of To Hell With The Ugly. It feels almost surrealistic in places; characters are drawn with exaggerated features, buildings look like they've been scribbled onto paper, and there is so much detail everywhere. And that's without getting too much into what the story has to offer.

If bizarre games like Disco Elysium are your thing, then To Hell With The Ugly might be just your cup of tea.

An Unlikely Hero

You play as Rocky Bailey, a handsome young man who seems uninterested in carnal affairs. However, his life changes when he's abducted outside a jazz club – and then, all hell breaks loose.

The gist of To Hell With The Ugly is the same as we've seen in titles like Grim Fandango and the aforementioned Disco Elysium. You'll have to navigate Rocky through the seedy LA underbelly to discover what happened to him and who are the ones responsible for his woes.

Not Your Everyday Adventure

While most point-and-click adventure games would be content with just showing your character talking with NPCs, To Hell With The Ugly lets you get close and personal with whoever stands in your way. Rocky lets his fist do the talking most of the time, and that's when the game truly shines.

Combat plays a pivotal role in your investigation. Some characters simply won't listen to reason, and only a good beatdown can help you progress in these circumstances. Every encounter plays like a rhythm mini-game where you'll have to time your punches with the prompts on the screen. It feels a bit basic at times, but it adds an extra layer of interactivity that helps the story progress a bit more easily.

All in the Looks

Just one look at To Hell With The Ugly is all it takes to understand why this game is so unique. Everything from the stylish 2D visuals to the funky jazz soundtrack comes together to complement the game's psychedelic plot. The sheer absurdity of the story is carried well by the disproportionate character designs, which truly let Boris Vian's satiric works come to life.

At times, I felt like the story of To Hell With The Ugly dared to touch some rather awkward concepts, but the sublime presentation helped to ease me into this bizarre experience. All in all, I believe there's a good number of players out there that would enjoy a game like this – as long as they understand that they're about to get involved in one of the weirdest adventure games they've ever seen.

Pros

• Incredible 2D visuals
• Outstanding OST
• Fascinating plot

Cons

• Some story elements could have been handled a bit better
• The plot can get a bit too dark for some players