Tormented Souls Reviews
Aside from the changes to the feel and efficiency with the cursor controls and some stuttering cutscenes, Tormented Souls remains one of the few successful attempts at recreating that late 90s survival horror vibe. Cinematic camera movements and a beautiful but eerie atmosphere (not to mention nightmarish monsters) lends some scariness to the game, while terrible voice acting and a strangely bare plot leaves players with more questions than answers by the time the game is over. It would seem the best and most authentic way to play Tormented Souls would be on Playstation 4, Xbox One, or PC. The very slight graphical improvements on a smaller mobile screen don’t take away the benefits of playing on other consoles.
There's no doubt that any fan of classic survival horror titles needs to pick up Tormented Souls. The game is full of Easter eggs to classic horror series and provides a look at what could have been for the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The visuals are detailed and beautiful with excellent light rendering and reflections, while the soundtrack is on par with these older titles. The gameplay is heavy almost to a fault, but offers different options to maneuver around the hospital.
Ultimately, although Tormented Souls is a commendable homage to classic survival horror games, its focus on the past is unfortunately its biggest downfall. Advertisements for the game bill it as a "modernisation" of the genre, but the mechanics within feel as archaic as the games it's emulating. At around seven hours or so in length, you'll have a decent time here if you're a die-hard fan of horror games that wishes some of the big names would revisit their origins, but for everyone else, the fixed camera angles and limited combat may prove more frustrating than nostalgic. Add to that some technical hiccups in the way of dodgy cutscenes and animations, and you've got a game that very much plays second fiddle to the more established survival horror games on Switch.
A very classic survival horror, tailor-made for the most nostalgic gamers, with a creepy and well-made atmosphere, but a far too clunky gameplay.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Tormented Souls is the successor to classic survival horror. I’ve wanted a new Silent Hill (or classic Resident Evil) game for years, but I’d trade all the drama and disappointment for a fantastic spiritual successor like this any day. Exploring Winterlake Hospital channeled all those feelings of dread and loneliness that made those games special and proves that the format still works.
I wish Tormented Souls had a story to match the amazing visual work. I get imparting the tale via personal journals but pairing that with characters that pretty much ignore Caroline's direct questions and statements regarding it is just sloppy and uninspired. This could have been a game that left me with my hairs standing on end and delicious goosebumps. Instead, when Caroline's screams persisted through the continue screen and bled into my game it ate away my desire to pick the controller back up. Not enough morphine in the world to make me want to suffer through this again.
Tormented Souls is a survival horror in the style of classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, that manages to have an interesting plot and good puzzles, while giving you a very fun time.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Tormented Souls is a love letter and throwback to the old school survival horror games, warts and all, even including the age-old tank controls found in the games it looks to emulate. Honestly, it does a good job in this, setting the atmosphere, ramping up the stakes and only rarely venturing into the absurd when it comes to puzzle logic. While not completely innocent, with some nonsense puzzles, and a questionable art style for the protagonist, there's enough on offer to keep you going and it makes it more than worth the reasonable price of the game.
Tormented Souls tries to capture the magic of the good, old Resident Evil titles. The game delivers a genuine scary atmosphere and decent storytelling, sometimes overwhelmed by poor graphics and some technical issues.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Tormented Souls creates an environment that's a blast to explore, and the puzzles it provides help to enhance the engagement the locations provide. However, too many shortcomings get in the way of what could be a solid nod to classics horror games. A handful of bad things can be ignored, but having voice work, enemy integrity, and an underdeveloped main character are too much to overlook. There's an appeal here, but it lacks refinement.
All in all, Tormented Souls achieves what it set out to do: recapture the magic of old-school fixed-perspective survival horror games with modern technology. However, this extends to having a lackluster story and underwhelming voice-acting, both of which plagued early survival horror titles. While the game’s tension, atmosphere, and environmental storytelling are top-notch, the controls can be difficult without a controller and some decisions are downright tasteless. In the end, this game will probably appeal most to people who already love classic survival horror rather than bringing in new fans.
A nice classic Survival Horror with a few well implemented ideas.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Both well-designed in some spots and iffier in others, Tormented Souls can be highly frustrating, but is an overall enjoyable classic-style, survival horror experience that fans will be happy to have.
Tormented Souls is a very clumsy and corny survival horror game that plays like a love letter to genre giants.
When Tormented Souls works, it shines, and when it falters, the game suffers as a whole. Although there are a number of problems with the game, it was a fun time overall, and there is a lot to enjoy about this love letter to survival horror games of old.
Tormented Souls gets way more right than not, and I came away from it very impressed. This was the kind of game that once I got the hang of it (I have not played many survival horror games at all) I became enthralled with playing and exploring every area and uncovering all the secrets and story material I could. This game does not try to advance the genre; it doesn’t do anything particularly new or better than previous champions of the genre have, but for all that it does, it does it very well. I’ll always say there is room in any genre for another solid entry, and that’s what you get here — a great survival horror game built with intentional classic/retro design.
Tormented Souls is a little rough around the edges and hits a few noticeable bumps, but by and large, this is a solid survival horror game that fans of the genre's classics are sure to enjoy.
Tormented Souls is an extremely atmospheric game that will please the connoisseurs of the survival horror genre.
Tormented Souls pays homage to old school gems like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, without adding something new to the formula. If you are a nostalgic of the nineties golden era, you are gonna appreciate it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Still, the fact stands that Tormented Souls is a great survival horror game, and on Switch it’s more impressive than ever. The visuals are good, the puzzle-heavy gameplay remains engaging, and being able to quickly bring up the map makes a world of difference. If you’re an old-school survival horror fan and haven’t played this yet, get it bought, pronto.