* Developer: Destructive Creations   * Engine: Unreal Engine 4 * Release Date : June 1, 2015  

* Platform : Microsoft Windows * ESRB Rating : AO (Adults Only)  

Concept
Most gamers will agree that video games help them channel their real life frustrations into a virtual world and do things they cannot do in real life. Hatred is a game that is supposed to be about satisfying this savage urge of ours. This is the only department where Hatred can be deemed successful.

Graphics
The developers opted for a Sin City-esque palette where everything is in grayscale except a few things (such as blood, police sirens, computer screens and so on). This decision is praiseworthy as it sets a fitting atmosphere. The game uses Unreal Engine 4 yet it's not as good as other titles using Unreal Engine such as Life Is Strange, DmC, Batman Arkham series.

Gameplay
The most crucial part of any game is gameplay and this is where Hatred fails miserably. The game has an isometric view which makes the game frustrating to play and also affects the visuals of the game vastly. As a result of bad optimisation, your GPU is being more stressed than it should be. The frame rate drops intermittently making the game experience suffer a lot. When you start playing the game, you will feel pure satisfaction but only until the unforgivable drawbacks of the game start kicking in. The unclear instructions have you end up running around in circles for hours.

Story
It has no story. 

AI
The AI in this game is just horrible. Instead of running away, people run towards you and when someone around them gets killed, instead of panicking they savour every moment of you bashing the victim's skull in. 

Animations
The animations in this game do not feel next-gen at all. Using better technologies would have definitely enhanced the experience.

Dialogue and Voice Acting
The dialogue and voice acting in this game is disappointing to say the least. They should have left the script writing and voice acting to the professionals.

In a world filled with futuristic sci-fi first person shooters and zombie games, we badly needed a game that came up with fresh ideas. We thought Hatred would be that game but unfortunately, it wasn't. We can only hope that someone with better infrastructure makes a spiritual successor to this game someday.