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Game
Game2023
To Hell With The Ugly
Developer La Poule Noire, ARTE France
To Hell with the Ugly is an adventure game where you play as Rock Bailey, a gorgeous yet shallow young man, who must investigate and fight his way to freedom after being kidnapped. Alternate between turn-based combats and investigation in this film noir adaptation of the novel by Boris Vian. From the Steam store page
104 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Sep 30, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
86
LovedLoved
78 positive · 13 negative
95% range 77–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 78 | 13 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
82 of 97 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
85% recommend · 80 yes, 14 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 94 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (146 of 168 positive).
Players praise the game's stunning art style and jazzy soundtrack. [1][2][3] Many find the story bizarre and the ending unsatisfying. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note the short playtime and high price. [7][5][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
let me start by saying that To Hell With the Ugly is by far one of the best looking games I've played all year, the art style is truly amazing and the game is flowing with character and charm but ill be damned if I didn't remark that the last hour of game play made me want to smash my head into a wall, with by far the most unsatisfying ending imaginable i'm at a loss for words and devastated at the outcome. Unless …
- [1]
Bought this for the incredible art style and hand drawn animation, but holy cow, what a goofy lil romp this was. I could not in a million years predict the direction the plot took. If I had a dollar for every story I've experienced that follows a vain himbo into a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride level of wack-ass misadventure (and somehow doesn't die), I'd have... honestly, not enough dollars. More of that, please. Also, the …
- [18]
TL;DR: I had fun! 7/10, you should try it out. Now for the longer version. Rock Bailey is everything I usually dislike in a protagonist. You see, he is very conventionally beautiful, and, as a consequence, he's lived his entire life being adored by people who didn't care much (at all, actually) about his personality. He is vain, unbelievably selfish, and has no social skills. In fact, all the people -- especially …
- [2]
Definitely a unique game with an amazing art style, a fitting soundtrack, and interesting gameplay. 1. Soundtrack - I often found myself idling in the game just to listen to the music on repeat. It’s very relaxing while exploring, but shifts into something much more tense during combat. If you’re a fan of jazz, you’ll really enjoy the soundtrack. 2. Gameplay - The core gameplay is mostly point-and-click, with …
- [3]
This game caught my artistic eye with its aesthetics first, a clean and bold Memphis/mid-century/comic book art style, all wrapped up in a palette of my favorite complimentary colors: Warm, deep rusts and cool turquoise hues, perfectly capturing the essence of 1950's Los Angeles. Coupled with a game trailer and images consisting of postwar jazz-club nightlife, a moody, noir detective story, and, well, digital butts, …
Summarised from 34 of the 107 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked To Hell With The Ugly talk about beautiful hand-drawn art and animation; those who didn't talk about short playtime of about 2-4 hours. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 104 · most liked firstlet me start by saying that To Hell With the Ugly is by far one of the best looking games I've played all year, the art style is truly amazing and the game is flowing with character and charm but ill be damned if I didn't remark that the last hour of game play made me want to smash my head into a wall, with by far the most unsatisfying ending imaginable i'm at a loss for words and devastated at the outcome. Unless the team behind this piece of art somehow manages to somehow rewrite the travesty…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought this for the incredible art style and hand drawn animation, but holy cow, what a goofy lil romp this was. I could not in a million years predict the direction the plot took. If I had a dollar for every story I've experienced that follows a vain himbo into a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride level of wack-ass misadventure (and somehow doesn't die), I'd have... honestly, not enough dollars. More of that, please. Also, the ending is purposefully "unsatisfying," but I liked it. Sometimes a "good" ending…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →omg I've been waiting for the release of this game since i tried out the demo early last year and I'm so happy it's out. I just finished the playthrough of the story and I'm so happy I played it The story was so good and I loved Rocky's attitude, it was just a vibe. The graphics and animations are done so well. My favourite one being Rocky's healing animation. The game is a point and click but the fighting and the mini scenes had quick time events and problem solving which kept the gameplay…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I read the book before playing this game, and I gotta say I prefer this version. The story flows better, and we don't have to watch 2 sex scenes back to back, and there isn't any unnecessary rape. I think it's good for this story to be brought back, because despite it being one of the most bizarre books I've read, To Hell With The Ugly has something to say. And it's nice seeing it said in a more polished, frankly better written manner. I do wish that the idea of "in a world where everyone is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Next time just tell me what you want for breakfast Short and breezy point and click detective game. Has some fighting, quick time events, logic puzzles, and stealth elements. Nice game for a rainy afternoon, not too short but also doesn't overstay it's welcome. Story takes a turn that I was not expecting.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can't remember the last time I felt this deflated and empty at the end of a narrative experience. For what it's worth, the game has a fantastic art style, fluid combat and animations, and a good soundtrack. But you know what? So do the trailers, and they're free. $20 for 3 hours of gameplay is a bit rich. Also, I just can't get invested in the virginity of the protagonist the way this game clearly expects me to.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's us again folks ! Did you already experienced a Let's Play Concert? No? Well that's your lucky day 🕵️♀️ Meet Dolly and The Uglies, a jazz band playing To Hell With The Ugly OST while the wonderful @dollywood.bsky.social is playing the game at Stunfest 2023! youtu.be/QQBm8oW9r3M?...
neutral · AI labelView post →TL;DR: I had fun! 7/10, you should try it out. Now for the longer version. Rock Bailey is everything I usually dislike in a protagonist. You see, he is very conventionally beautiful, and, as a consequence, he's lived his entire life being adored by people who didn't care much (at all, actually) about his personality. He is vain, unbelievably selfish, and has no social skills. In fact, all the people -- especially "beautiful" people -- in the game are like that. Women in Rock's group of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →although the ending is lifted from the book, i feel as though the game could have introduced multiple ending routes... the ending as it is felt completely unsatisfying, and i found myself starting a new run expecting there to be a second, better ending. i was shocked to find that there was nothing i missed, and the only possible route took me about 3 hours total. There's barely any divergence between playthroughs (as theres only so many things to click on each screen, they are obvious) and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, it's a good game, or so I'd like to say. I really, really wanted to be able to have a recommend for the game. I had been waiting for this game expectantly since they had a Kick-starter Campaign probably about two years ago; unfortunately, it failed, but the demo was excellent. The hype has only more recently mostly worn off. The problem I see with it, it's pretty short; it took me about 4 hours to play it through, and for $20 that's asking a bit. It is fun, and the music, art and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just finished the game and honestly, I'm feeling confused. I haven’t read the novel it’s based on, but the story definitely has potential. That said, as a detective game, it really falls short when it comes to puzzles. I wish there were more opportunities for actual investigation and analysis, the "combine" system, for example, was only used twice: once at the beginning and once at the end. That felt like a missed opportunity. It also frustrated me how the game seemed to normalize things…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do not know where to start, really. I get that this is a comedy piece, with the intention to show us that if everyone was beautiful, that would be a catastrophe, but... The way this message is made is just confusing. First of all, we play as a very handsome, and VERY dumb guy named Rock, who, despite being absolutely clueless about how real life works, for some reason can solve any detective mystery there is. How is that possible? You tell me. Apparently, being stupid doesn't make you less…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I dunno, its fine. I really like the aesthetics of the game, real nice to look at. Its short to which is nice for what it is. Gameplay wise, the puzzles are fine, if not very complicated. combat tho, doesn't need to be here, its simple and feels like padding, only plus to it is its easy so you can get through it quick enough. maybe wait for a sale or something but if you have an afternoon to kill, you could do far worse than this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Taking a smack on the head is nothing. Even being drugged twice during the course of the same evening is something a guy can live with. But stepping outside for a bit of fresh air and then all of a sudden coming to in your birthday suit in a room with a naked woman, well I'd say that's when things started to get weird. As for what happened next... To Hell With The Ugly is a detective adventure game that based on novel by Boris Vian, following a handsome young man named Rock Bailey, who gets…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quite fun and quick puzzle game. It has very vibe fell and the music is great (atleast for my taste). 20$ for 2-3 hours of gameplay is a bit expensive so for most people buy it on sale but even without sale most people wont be dissapointed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not a poorly made game, didn't encounter any bugs. Solid music. Just the story doesn't have a proper ending, certainly not a good one. It left me very unsatisfied at the end. The game is quite short and the MC not very compelling. If it wasn't for the ending I would have recommended it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good point&click game, albeit short, featuring probably the strangest story I’ve ever seen in the genre. It piqued my curiosity about the source material, since the game is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Boris Vian. I only knew the author by name and I didn't expect this kind of narrative at all. The story is original yet so unconventional that I’m sure it won’t be to everyone’s taste. Personally, I enjoyed it, it offered something very different. It all begins with a rather…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely a unique game with an amazing art style, a fitting soundtrack, and interesting gameplay. 1. Soundtrack - I often found myself idling in the game just to listen to the music on repeat. It’s very relaxing while exploring, but shifts into something much more tense during combat. If you’re a fan of jazz, you’ll really enjoy the soundtrack. 2. Gameplay - The core gameplay is mostly point-and-click, with investigations that rely on logic and deduction. There’s also a bit of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The To Hell With The Ugly vinyl edition is now in stock and ready to ship! 🚀 Film noir/Jazzy music by @spotline.bsky.social. Game by @lapoulenoire.fr & published by @arteinteractive.bsky.social! Grab your copy on our store: www.g4f-records.com/en/produit/t...
neutral · AI labelView post →Looking for your next indie game to play? Enjoy our autumn sales with up to 90% off on Steam for all Arte's games! The Wanderer, To Hell With the Ugly, Vandals and many more await you to celebrate the end of Autumn from today until December 4th!
neutral · AI labelView post →Love the style, love the music, love the atmosphere and how the story dragged me in...but it goes by so quick! I really wish there was even a single chapter more! Also, the ending is a very melancholic one. I got this game with a 40% discount( if I remember correctly) and for the fun I had I'd say that was a steal on my part. While the game deserves its full price, if the length of it is giving you concers, maybe wait for a 15% discount. 9/10 for me, for sure.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If not for slightly high price tag, I'd recommend this game to everyone who's into point and click adventure games and any games like them. Sure its not 100% point and click since you need to use other buttons for combat sections, but its not a deal breaker. Gameplay is pretty casual and simple. It's a mix of point n click puzzle solving, combat and like 2 stealth sections(well technically 3, but 3rd one is super short with 1 enemy) and a car chase mini game. Point and Click Adventure parts…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dark streets, jazz in the air, mystery all around. Listening to "To Hell With The Ugly" game soundtrack —a sharp, smoky film noir album composed by Clément Duquesne. 🎹🌆 Vinyl pre-orders are now open: ▶️ www.g4f-records.com/en/produit/t...
neutral · AI labelView post →Nice gameplay. Nice Art-style. Easy puzzles. Kind of ok story. Extremely disappointing ending. Avoid to buy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've enjoyed my time with this one as expected. This game reminds me a bit of Sunday Gold when it comes to art direction. The soundtrack is great and the story has me intrigued. What more could one want? Recommended. Gameplay here: https://youtu.be/KkwcEva5vug
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had it on my wishlist for quite some time, just because i liked the game's art style, but didn't expect much out of it. And oh boy, how happy am I that I wasn't postponing playing it any longer. In just 4 hours of my playtime I had more fun than in any slop that's come out this year, Solid story, awesome art style, and even though most of the gameplay was added just to stretch out the game, it wasn't annoying at all. So yeah - give it a go, it's definitely worth your time. FYI, only 47% of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game caught my artistic eye with its aesthetics first, a clean and bold Memphis/mid-century/comic book art style, all wrapped up in a palette of my favorite complimentary colors: Warm, deep rusts and cool turquoise hues, perfectly capturing the essence of 1950's Los Angeles. Coupled with a game trailer and images consisting of postwar jazz-club nightlife, a moody, noir detective story, and, well, digital butts, it has all the makings for a fun, retro romp. Having not read the book that it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some of the indie games that I've recently completed or are playing. Cocoon - Puzzle game Station to Station - Train track building puzzle game Shotgun King - Roguelike/puzzle game To Hell With the Ugly - Adventure game #indiegames
neutral · AI labelView post →Drop dead gorgeous adaptation of Boris Vian's classic. If the trailer's first three seconds speak to you, get it and thank yourself later.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An Aesthetic Journey That Leaves You Craving for More! To Hell with Ugly is a unique gem that captivated me from the very beginning. It's an experience like no other, showcasing an art style that effortlessly blends dark and whimsical elements. It's a thought-provoking experience that explores themes of beauty, identity, and self-acceptance, leaving you with much to contemplate long after the credits roll. The game-play mechanics are relatively simple. However, I must admit that my only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was excited when this game went on sale as I was very intrigued by the animation style, unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. If you are looking for a game with a similar story arc and gameplay I highly recommend playing Unforeseen Incidents instead Cons: - The English written dialogue had a considerable amount of grammatical mistakes, and was just odd and clunky at times, which not only took you out of the fantasy, but also made the characters feel hollow. This to me is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WHEN A film noir ‘50s WHERE A beautifully rendered hot and swinging Los Angeles WHO ARE YOU Rock Bailey, by societal consensus, a stunning statue of a man. An absurdly unaware, 19 year old, narcissist the world bends over backwards to please for no other reason than his inherent good looks. Your unbridled beauty and inexplicable devotion to chastity prove a combination that literally no woman in the world isn’t undeniably attracted to.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →👎Not my cup of tea
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The soundtrack to @lapoulenoire.fr's noir adventure game To Hell With The Ugly by @spotline.bsky.social is now available to preorder on vinyl via @g4frecords.bsky.social: blipblop.net/to-hell-with...
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a great, atmospheric game, a great throwback to the times when games had a soul in them. Amazing art and animations, nice dialogue, thick and sticky atmosphere, great music, decent combat - everything about this game is just right. Highly recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really pretty adaptation of the book. It's a good experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: Shortish P&C adventure with some light minigames and a bizarre but unique plot and art style based on a satirical 1940s French detective novel. I had a fun 4 hours, your mileage may vary. I finally got an appreciation for where this game's slightly bizarre plot and style is coming from after finding out it's based on a 1946 semi-satirical noir crime novel by Vernon Sullivan, who in turn was a pseudonym of eccentric 1940s French jazz musician and surrealist author Boris Vian - who had…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A funny game. Art and audio are really top tier quality!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had to buy this title just as a tribute to Vian, who I was a fan of since teenage years. But this is just beyond dumb...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: The game has its flaws, but it has earned a positive recommendation from me, mainly for the story. The gameplay is more-or-less a regular point-and-click. There is a bit of fun detective-style puzzle solving and a strange quick-time-event combat system. Only one character is voiced, and only occasionally. I really love the artstyle, but YMMV. Overall, the game would be quite boring without the story. It's based on a French book from 1948, and it shows. The story goes against…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The visuals and atmosphere, along with the light, enjoyable gameplay, work really well with the story, which is interesting because it's based on a novel. And in the end, the game leaves you with something to think about.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, hello, good adaptation of a book and not of a movie for once! Not that I've read Vian's original novel, but I went ahead and skimmed through it. Naturally, the English translation (which according to Vian's mystification would be a backwards translation of a French translation of a novel by an American author Vernon Sullivan), par ce que mon Francais n'est pas si fantastique. My brief familiarisation with the source showed there's a lot in this game here that is conveyed word for word,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun and looks great. one of the few games i never turned the audio down for.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very unique game right here. Never heard of the book until I got this game, the photos alone intrigued me enough to give it a whirl. SPOILERS BELOW!!! Its short, and its not one of those typical stories where the good guys win and everything goes back to normal as many others have mentioned. The bad guy wins which is something you hardly see at all. Definitely recommend a playthrough.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved this adaptation of Vian!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game rocks socks. You get to play as inverse Johnny Bravo going on a mystery quest to investigate the gangster that drugged him and attempted to steal his semen. A little buggy. A little too short. But a whole lot of bonkers. I'll definitely be picking up this team's next game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decent enough point and click adventure game, flooded with style and flavor. The characters are decently written, but I think partially both mine and the games fault I started to lose touch with the narrative right around the map puzzle Combat was easy and the puzzles were few and far between and weren't too hard to get past. Did have a bug after Rock gets punched and has his black eye in the image when he's talking, but not his actual character model. Worth a play on sale, don't think you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🌟 Highly Recommended Hours played: 9.2 hrs on record Achievements: 100% Completed "Jazz, jawlines, and just the right amount of jabs." “To Hell With The Ugly” is a rare noir gem that blends razor-sharp dialogue, old-school detective charm, and a narrative bursting with personality; all wrapped in a uniquely stylish 1950s aesthetic. If you're into point-and-click adventures with a little extra bite, this game delivers. From the get-go, you're tossed into a world of neon clubs, back-alley…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only uglies will complain about this story xx
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm part of a podcast in Spanish called "Juegos en Discordia" where we talk about a specific game every week. Today we will review "To Hell With The Ugly" twitch.tv/juegosendiscordia
neutral · AI labelView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45113328-Awesome-Adventure-Friends/]Follow our curator for more Awesome Adventures! What a beautiful game. I just adore minimalist illustration. Sadly it is not long, around 4 hours, but at least not too difficult. I just loved the music. I haven't enjoyed a P&C soundtrack this much since Grim Fandango. I definitely will read the book after this, the story so cleverly mixes noir, Doctor Moreau, and the 50s vibe, it is just captivating.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →God, I love the art so much <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Everything with this game is a jewel. Stunning art & animation, absurd story, hilarious dialogs, hypnotizing music. I especially loved the UI & navigation tools. Each partof it is outrageously well crafted.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All in all its a beautifully crafted story, might be a bit on a shorter end and a bit unfocused at times Other than that: The art style and the visuals are superb Writing style is good without a dull moment Controls are alright after the first few minutes Needs Rosseta enabled on newer Macs
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dayum son, this game got style, got tunes and made my dad return from the store after 10 years. He told me that the line was very long and he had to change milk cause they keep getting expired before he could reach the counter. Anyways, he is back now and after watching me play through the first half of the game, he was so impressed at the art direction that he doesn't comment on our boy's leg to torso proportions. That man has legs soo long that I am surprised his kick attacks don't send his…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →To hell with the ugly has above all, a lot of style and charm. The art direction and soundtrack are excellent. I have not read the original novel the game is based on but I certainly got the vibe of a pulpy detective novel with a slightly absurd sense of humour. In this game you play as Rock Bailey, the world's strongest Volcel, who must get to the bottom of a conspiracy through detective sleuthing, paper mario style turn based battles with pseudo QTEs and the odd stealth section. The game is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great story, great music, great design... highly recommended ! FRESH game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Game! Loved the animation style. The dialouge felt a bit shallow at times but it was still very well written. The Pacing was a little bit off and a litte to short.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just completed..was it good? both yes and so-so depends from which POV.. good bcz interesting to see how book adaptation can be transformed into a gamified visual novel with distinctive stylistic DNA with consistent animation, dialogue and soundtrack. at times very campy, which fits with the vibe, narrative, himbo characters attitude and whatnot. it also feels like watching oldskool cartoon network animation of johnny bravo (for those who remembered) in this period crime caper animation…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →absolutely bizarre, love the investigation, hate the ending, love the message, hate the himbo, very nice game both the art and the limited controls
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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