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Green Hell is an immersive first-person survival game with an optional story mode. Both game modes can be played solo if desired or with up to 3 other players of your choice giving you freedom to play with your friends. You can play an optional tutorial that will explain the basic controls and functions of the game. 

The story mode will put you in the shoes of a man and his wife (Mia) who are alone in the jungle on a mission to communicate with the natives while researching exotic plants. Whilst playing through the story Mia goes missing and you are attacked, barely escaping and severely injured with no way to call for help. You must survive and find Mia while fighting off the forest’s obstacles. These obstacles include multiple native tribes, vicious animals, parasites and lack of necessities. Before Mia goes missing you receive a new watch for your birthday that can track your protein, carbohydrate, fat and hydration levels. This watch will be your lifeline and means of survival data. Survival, on the other hand, is more of a sandbox game mode, which means you are free to do whatever you want without the need to carry out specified missions (like story mode).

Green Hell has an abundance of content. The world map is absolutely massive, with beautiful waterfalls, dense forests and complex cave systems. Spread throughout the map are native tribes, these tribes have a high probability of being hostile. With this knowledge you will want to build your camp with caution. Different areas of the map have different resources, such as: bamboo, wood, water, minerals, and food. The assortment of bamboo and woods can be used for many different structures. Though forests are filled with danger like cougars, ant hills, bees, natives, worms, poisonous frogs and snakes. Along with water needed for hydration, mud from rivers can be mixed with ash, thus creating mud bricks. Bricks can bolster framed structures. Rivers and lakes supply fish, but can contain parasites if drank, piranhas, leeches, and crocodiles. Although most things previously listed are deadly, you can cook and eat a majority of them, along with non-hostile animals and plants/fruits. 

Crafting is a large part of Green Hell as anything done needs a structure or tool. Your supplies are limited until later in the game when you harvest minerals to make stronger tools. Tools can include weapons such as knives and bows to harvesting like axes and pickaxes. Certain plants can also be used as medicine for the health mechanics in game. When playing Green Hell your health can drop for multiple reasons. These reasons range from sickness to wounds. For example, when sleeping on the ground you may wake up with worms, which not only look nasty, but slowly drain your sanity. Sanity can affect your energy levels, rendering you useless to acquire resources. And in-game action done by your character requires energy. Thankfully you can get rid of worms by making a bone pick from a bone found in the carcass of dead animals. You use this pick to painfully remove the worms. When bitten by a rattlesnake detoxification is needed or your health will slowly drain over time. Getting attacked by a cougar though can permanently limit the max amount of health available to you if not treated quickly. Although there’s a lot to watch out for, every problem has a solution or fix.

The game has one special feature I haven’t seen in many others – sanity. Physical harm like attacks will drain your energy. If your energy drains too low, your sanity starts to drop. On the other end of the spectrum, traumatic events can cause sanity loss. This means staying out at night without a source of light or cooking and eating human flesh can make you mentally unstable. Worms and leeches will drop your sanity over time unless they’re removed. However, staying near fire, having shelter from the weather, and eating healthy foods can all raise your mental state. If your sanity levels drop too low, you will begin to hear things that aren’t happening in game, fakes if you will. If worsened, you start hearing voices and may even get sick. Finally, before your character goes insane, you see delusions, your teammates look like natives, and those delusional opponents that no one else can see deal damage.

If this doesn’t sound fun to you, don’t fret. Custom mode allows you to create a game where you control the map. You can turn off anything from health loss to anything dangerous, which leaves you in an endless adventure to explore new parts of the map.

I personally love this game and have experienced no server problems; the story is also top notch. The graphics are awesome on new consoles and add another layer of depth and realism. My favorite thing about Green Hell is the ability to play with others. This has allowed me and my dad to laugh at each other as we try to survive Green Hell. If you’re looking for a survival game, that’s exactly what you’ll get. 10/10