Creator Spotlight : Valérie Bélanger – QA Specialist

First, tell us a little bit about your journey as a game developer and how you came to be working on Hell is Us as a QA specialist?

I grew up with a controller in my hands; video games have always been an integral part of my life and daily routine — bugs included. When I was younger, a technical issue in Wind Waker prevented me from finishing the game.

My professional journey started with specialized training as a game tester, where I learned the trade directly from industry professionals. I then built my experience in FQA (Functional QA) for several years, working my way up to Senior level. While looking for a new challenge, I was recommended Rogue Factor, and that’s where I made the leap into Dev QA.

Moving into Dev QA was a revelation: as a QA Specialist on Hell is Us, I’m now embedded at the heart of the creative process. This new perspective strengthened my commitment to putting user experience at the center of everything I do. For me, QA has become a personal mission: I want to spare our community the frustrations I experienced in the past. Today, I use that experience to anticipate obstacles and ensure our players enjoy total immersion.

Can you take us through a typical day at work?

My day is a balance of structure, exploration, and collaboration. I dedicate a large part of my time to designing and executing detailed test plans for new features. However, I always leave room for ad hoc testing: it’s by letting my curiosity run free and trying unlikely scenarios that I uncover the most complex bugs

A key part of my daily routine is also regular communication — whether in meetings or through messaging — with developers. These direct exchanges help ensure that technical information and priorities are properly conveyed, keeping the feedback loop fast and effective.

There are a lot of misconceptions about how it is to work in QA; which ones do you have to debunk the most often?

People often think we’re paid “just to play games.” In reality, we are the bridge between the final product and the players. We’re on the front lines, ensuring the complete stability of the game throughout its entire development.

That requires immense discipline, as well as solid technical knowledge. You need to understand the mechanics to properly test each feature, and especially to differentiate between types of issues:

• A bug is generally a logical error in the code, or a feature that doesn’t meet its requirements.
• A glitch, on the other hand, is often an unpredictable visual or audio anomaly. It can be caused by software, but also by hardware. A well-known example is the GoldenEye 007 bug on the N64: by slightly nudging the cartridge in the console, you could trigger glitches where NPCs would spasm uncontrollably.

This distinction is crucial for prioritizing fixes. That said, we have to stay realistic: even with the most rigorous testing, a game will never be perfect. Bugs can always slip through due to limited resources or production constraints — our role is to minimize those risks as much as possible.

Hell is Us is a multiplatform game; what were the biggest challenges that emerge from developing multiple versions of the game?

The main challenge is delivering an equal experience regardless of the platform. A player on a home console should feel the same immersion and fluidity as a player on a high-end PC. That requires rigorous validation on several fronts:

Technical optimization: We have to ensure that frame rates remain stable across all machines. We stress-test the game engine to make sure performance drops don’t break immersion.

Sensory fidelity: We verify the quality of visual effects (VFX) and audio rendering. What works on one machine may behave differently on another architecture, so we have to track down visual anomalies specific to each platform.

Cross-system features: This is a critical and often invisible aspect. We have to guarantee that saves work flawlessly, that achievements/trophies unlock correctly, and that settings are properly adapted and optimized for each platform.

Ergonomics: We need to ensure that controls are just as intuitive with a gamepad as with a keyboard and mouse, while also meeting the technical requirements specific to each platform.

What other specific challenges did you face during the development of Hell is Us?

Hell is Us relies on organic exploration that doesn’t hold the player’s hand. My challenge in QA is to make sure the progression remains intuitive without relying on intrusive markers. I have to test whether the visual and audio cues are clear enough to guide the player, while still preserving that sense of mystery.

Additionally, testing the combat systems was a major challenge. This process deepened my knowledge of animation and game design, particularly around how combat mechanics are built to deliver a fluid and satisfying feel. I also had to expand my technical knowledge of hardware and Unreal Engine — understanding how the engine works has become a valuable asset in better identifying the source of technical issues. Finally, my daily challenge is to maintain constant rigor to ensure that every iteration of the game meets our highest quality standards.

Let’s say someone reports a bug in Hell is Us. Take us through the whole process of fixing it.

The first step is trying to reproduce the bug. This is crucial for validating the exact steps and providing developers with the right information. Once the bug is isolated and confirmed, I create a bug ticket to officially log it in our database.

At this stage, it’s essential to add as many details as possible along with media (video or screenshots) to give developers a clear visual reference. That said, depending on current priorities, it’s sometimes necessary to just create a title so the information isn’t lost or forgotten — we can then enrich the ticket with more details as testing continues.

After the fix, the vital step is regression testing: I carefully verify that the repair hasn’t caused side effects elsewhere in the game. Once the bug passes regression successfully, the ticket is closed — while remaining ready to be reopened if the issue ever resurfaces.

What are you the most proud of in Hell is Us?

I’m particularly proud of the trust my colleagues place in me to ensure and validate the game’s stability. It’s deeply satisfying to know that my expertise is a pillar the team can rely on.

More broadly, I’m proud of our constant growth in knowledge and in the quality of our daily work. What also makes me very proud is the sheer number of challenges this project has brought — both for me as a QA professional and for the rest of my team — and seeing them resolved with such passion.

Transforming complex technical challenges into a stable, immersive experience through our culture of continuous improvement is, to me, the greatest accomplishment of this project.

What kind of gamer are you? Is there a type of game or a specific game you always go back to?

I gravitate toward games that lean into atmosphere, music, and exploration — like The Legend of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, Okami, Red Dead Redemption, and Legend of Khiimori. I love it when a game trusts the player’s intelligence to discover its world on their own.

At the same time, I love simulation games like The Sims, Tomodachi Life, and Universim, as well as survival games like Ark: Survival Evolved and Ascended. Games like Spiritfarer also influence me greatly through their emotional approach and thoughtful design. What truly fascinates me is exploring the surprises that complex systems can generate — all in service of ensuring a rich and stable user experience.