Hell Is Other People shows new trailer about horror of fitting in
Social anxiety is the monster in Hell Is Other People, a psychological horror with a new trailer shown at the inaugural Cozy After Dark Showcase.
The game is developed by indie developer Miss Self Destruct, according to GameSpot. It takes its title from a line by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre about being trapped in other people's perceptions.
Here, you do not collect keys and potions. You collect social skills. That twist drives every conversation, and every mistake has a cost. Choose wrong, and they turn.
The "they" are the Others. Use the wrong social skill around them and they become aggressive, volatile or offended, according to the game's Steam page. It is a point-and-click adventure, a slow-paced game where you click to move, talk and solve problems, built around reading people rather than fighting them.
What makes this stand out is how literal it gets. The story follows a little girl trying to find her place in a society that forces conformity. She moves between three realms: The Real World, her Inner World and The Nightmare World. An Alter Ego trails her throughout, amplifying her fears and anxieties.
Her state of mind is tracked through three conditions: Overwhelm, Paranoia and Dissociation. Those mental states govern how she experiences the world. The game promises multiple endings, and its store description bills it as cute and disturbing, a story about identity, isolation and the terrifying reality of being different.
The look is hand-painted and animated frame by frame. That gives the characters a storybook softness, which makes the horror moments land harder.
Behind it is a solo act. Miss Self Destruct is a one-woman studio founded in 2026 by Cami Cuibus. It marks her debut as a solo developer after more than 10 years in the industry. Cuibus is co-founder and artist at Stuck In Attic, and previously worked on Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure and Near-Mage.
There is no release date yet. The game is listed on Steam as not yet available, where players can follow it for updates. The developer's curator page invites players to play Chapter 1.
A content note comes with the listing. The game is not intended for children and explores themes of anxiety, isolation and mental health struggles.
