Tormented Souls Reviews
Tormented Souls draws heavily from the first Resident Evil games to create a horror experience whose atmosphere, presentation and level design are spot on. At the same time, several of its puzzles seem nonsensical, the performance is rather irregular, and the game has a dearth of new and original ideas, while its lighting mechanic is far from a good implementation. While Tormented Souls is overall a good game, it falls short of expectations for those who hoped for something more.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Tormented Souls is a great nostalgia trip taking full advantage of updated graphics and controls to bring a tense, uncomfortable trip for all willing to risk it. Worth taking the time on by both fans of the genre and newcomers wondering what all the fuss is about. Turn those lights on full, open the curtains and prepare to have nightmares.
There haven't been many games that have effectively emulated the success of the classic Resident Evil, but Tormented Souls does exactly that, although with some flaws.
While I wholeheartedly recommend the game, I warn everyone to stay away from the Nintendo Switch port until the issues are ironed out. As for me, I’m seeking out the Playstation 5 version as I’m legitimately curious about the ending.
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.
I’m blown away by the overall quality of Tormented Souls. It does very well what it proposes, and for as much as it can feel dated, it’s by design. And frankly, it’s a welcome return to a time when the scope of horror games was more limited and in that they found the ground they needed to deliver amazing, self-contained experiences which is exactly what Tormented Souls does so bloody well.
In general I’ll admit that I’ve been a bit frustrated by games from the indie space on Switch who describe themselves as having horror elements...
While there aren’t too many memorable moments like the games Tormented Souls is based on, the general horror elements work incredibly well in heightening the tension and keeping you on the edge of your seat. The puzzle segments aren’t mere throwaway either and do serve as a great change of pace from the adrenaline-pumping fear. The story is quite intriguing too, although the voice-acting does leave a lot to be desired.
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.
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.
These gripes I have do not hinder the sheer quality of this game. Tormented Souls wears its influences on its sleeve in the very best way. It drags true Survival Horror out of the 90’s and into the modern age, all without sacrificing what makes that old formula so brilliant: the fear!
Through all that, I found Tormented Souls to be just intriguing enough to be worth checking out if you have the time. It's a lesson in where survival-horror games have come from and what stories can still be told within the genre. With a little more modernization within the combat and cleaner visuals, this probably could have been an underground classic.
Tormented Souls could have been a round game if it had managed to better balance its playable aspect. Elements such as an unclear map, unintuitive design when guiding the player, few save points or the difficulty of enemies tarnish an experience that would otherwise have resulted in ten. Even so, it is a curious game, full of nods to the genre and that will undoubtedly delight the purists of the most complex survival horror experiences.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Tormented Souls is a classic survival horror romp through the bowels of the Winterlake Mansion. Beware, as the place is infested with hostile terrors that will gladly end you. The game stays pretty true to the play style of the classics in the genre. It is a pretty decent survival horror adventure, though you might find it on the difficult side, especially if you’re new to such games. You can complete the adventure in 10-20 hours depending on how much you die. The game also includes three different endings to get. While Tormented Souls is currently available for $19.99 on Steam, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5, it will also be coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 soon. Can you uncover the fate of the missing twins, or will you perish along the way?
Tormented Souls ticks all the right boxes in regards to old school survival horror. It’s paying respect to those that came before, but unfortunately also highlights the frustrations and nonsensical plot-driving puzzles that we’d left behind. Think less critically, however, and there’s a new experience in the genre. Survival horror is still surviving.
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
If you like what you see and you’re not put off by the stilted controls and obtuse puzzles, you may gain some enjoyment from Tormented Souls. It’s a worthy spiritual successor to horror titles from gaming’s past even if it doesn’t do a lot to stand apart from them.
Ormented Souls is "Resident Evil 1 in 2021".
Review in Greek | Read full review
Tormented Souls is an extremely atmospheric game that will please the connoisseurs of the survival horror genre.