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# I Came To Hell Clock For The Vibes, Then Learned A History Lesson
- URL: https://aftermath.site/i-came-to-hell-clock-for-the-vibes-then-learned-a-history-lesson/
- Published: 2026-08-27T15:50:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-27T15:50:15.000Z
- Description: I knew nothing about the Canudos Massacre, then Pajeú’s struggle pulled me in — and sent me down a research rabbithole
- Author: Maddy Myers
- Tags: Video Games, mothership, review, Impressions

One of my favorite experiences to have with a piece of art is, “I have no idea what is going on, and I love it.” It’s how I feel when I play *Elden Ring*, or when watching the 1981 horror movie *Possession*. And most recently, it’s how I feel about the roguelite game *Hell Clock*, which depicts a version of the Canudos Massacre, a real historical event that took place in Northern Brazil from 1893–1897.

***This piece originally appeared 7/30/26 at*** [***Mothership***](https://www.mothership.blog/i-came-to-hell-clock-for-the-vibes-then-learned-a-history-lesson/?ref=aftermath.site)***, a worker-owned outlet providing gaming coverage for her, for them, and yes, for him. If you like what you see, consider*** [***subscribing***](https://www.mothership.blog/?ref=aftermath.site#/portal)***!***

Since I started playing this game last week, I have read several articles about the Canudos Massacre. The game itself has taught me almost nothing about this deeply sad piece of Brazilian history; its characters don’t really explain what is happening. Being victims of this horrific circumstance, they are struggling to understand it themselves; there’s no time for them to sit around describing the particulars. The Hell Clock is ticking, after all.

Speaking of the Hell Clock, this is also a game in which hell exists, as well as hordes of brainwashed, undead soldiers — representative of the actual Brazilian government forces that so cruelly slaughtered innocent people during the real-life historical massacre. Similar to *Diablo* and *Hades* before it, this is an isometric game depicting a ghastly underworld, but *Hell Clock* does not depict hell with all of the camp and colorful gore of the *Diablo* franchise, nor with all of the helpful expository dialogue found in *Hades*. The world of *Hell Clock* is grotesque, beautiful, and sparse; its cutscenes play out in a blocky, painterly style, and its in-game monsters are as monstrous to behold as the acts of the real-life people who inspired them.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/08/image-7.png)

**Hell Clock (Rogue Snail/Mad Mushroom)*

*Hell Clock*’s protagonist, Pajeú, is a former clockmaker turned Canudos resistance fighter. The game begins with Pajeú seeing an old woman beset by two undead soldiers; he kills them both, one headshot for each. She leads him to the abandoned, ransacked house of Canudos’ counselor, who is almost certainly inspired by the real-life Antônio Conselheiro.

Again, the game does not fully explain all of this, but here’s a quick summary of the man who inspired this game and its setting. Antônio Conselheiro was a Catholic mystic who devoted himself to helping the poor and the oppressed in late 1800s Brazil; he became the leader of a refugee town called Canudos. Canudos was a haven for poor people, newly freed slaves lacking resources, indigenous people, and anyone else escaping oppression… oppression that Canudos’ residents saw as the fault of the Brazilian government. That’s why that government came to see Canudos as a rebel cell that needed to be destroyed.

The modern-day perspective on Antônio Conselheiro is not united. People today do generally agree that the massacre was wrong. But for some historians, Conselheiro just seems like an extremist cult leader. For others, he’s a hopeful figure who did all he could to protect and preserve some of Brazil’s most marginalized people and cultures, however briefly. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/08/image-8.png)

**Hell Clock (Rogue Snail/Mad Mushroom)*

That latter perspective is the one that *Hell Clock* depicts, while also depicting the invading Brazilian government as the work of the antichrist and his followers. If you didn’t know who Conselheiro was and you played this game, you’d still understand the weight of what Pajeú is facing. He’s fighting hordes of zombies, protecting innocent old ladies from ghouls and demonic entities. *Hell Clock* has a very specific vibe, and it succeeds in conveying the stress and tension of Pajeú’s fight against forces whose powers far exceed his own. It’s easy to pick up what *Hell Clock* is putting down thanks to these vibes, even if you have no idea what’s going on — which I sure didn’t at first, and sometimes, still don’t.

There are many parts of *Hell Clock* that I still don’t understand, such as the titular Hell Clock. Similar to *Hades*, this is a roguelite game in which Pajeú fights his way through the underworld. But unlike *Hades* and many other roguelites, *Hell Clock*’s runs have a timer. Pajeú fights as far as he can through various underworld levels, and either he dies on the way and has to start over, or the clock runs out and he gets sent back home. This encourages the player to frequently level up at home base, especially since one of the skill trees allows you to add more time to the clock, thereby letting Pajeú explore further each time. Also, most of the abilities allow Pajeú to kill more enemies faster, so you end up getting through levels faster each time, even if you don’t add more seconds to the clock. As you improve your weapons and attacks, the game starts to feel less like *Hades* and more like *Vampire Survivors*, as leveled-up Pajeú becomes so super-powered that he can whip through early stages like a vengeful hurricane.

Why is there a clock in the first place, though? It’s not been explained to me yet. My personal headcanon is that Pajeú simply cannot survive in hell for very long, and so must return and rest before he can get back to his quest. But *Hell Clock* doesn’t actually confirm this. Also, as someone who enjoyed *Hades* but found it extremely difficult, I appreciate that *Hell Clock* forces me to end runs at regular intervals and level up more before heading back down. I also know exactly how long each run is going to be — the seconds tick down on screen the whole time Pajeú is in hell — so I always know if I have time to do another run before bed (although I have absolutely stretched that to its limits).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/08/image-9.png)

**Hell Clock (Rogue Snail/Mad Mushroom)*

This is how much of the game’s world-building feels. Why is any of this happening to Pajeú in particular? What did he do to deserve this? Why is he capable of navigating hell, while other people seemingly cannot? The game’s cutscenes suggest that Pajeú is already dead, already a victim of the massacre. So perhaps the reason he can come back from hell again and again — as well as return there, for limited time periods — is because he is dead already. So… is any of this real? Or is this just a terrible, desperate dream that he could still save his people from this massacre, even as his actual corpse bleeds out on the ground?

It’s rare to play a game so confident in its aesthetic, tone, and vibe. I don’t always find *Hell Clock*’s combat levelingto be perfectly balanced; I’ve hit various frustrating difficulty spikes and often cursed the ticking clock. But I keep on playing because its under-explained yet perfectly depicted world is so compelling. And if you’re going to play a game with repetitious runs, you do need the vibes to be immaculate.

Hell Clock *is available on* [*Steam*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782460/Hell%5FClock/?ref=mothership.blog)*,* [*PlayStation 5*](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10016758?ref=mothership.blog)*, and* [*Xbox*](https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/hell-clock/9NWCMBF3JZ2Z?ref=mothership.blog)*.*

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Mothership is a website, a channel, and a community co-founded by Polygon veterans Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah, where staff and freelancers cover how gender and identity relate to games.

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