Tormented Souls 2

Tormented Souls 2 is classic horror gaming to its core and feels like it could have been one of the better classic titles of the ’90s and early 2000s. While it pays homage to an old-school formula, it still stands on its own, being an excellent modern horror game with a fantastic story and characters, and one that feels familiar and new all at the same time. I highly recommend giving this game a playthrough this Halloween season, just so long as you can handle those tank controls.

As a complete package, Tormented Souls 2 has a lot of things going for it. The atmosphere it creates is great, and the visuals are fit to the world’s unique ideas and challenges. That being said, the fact that they chose to go with limited saves does make the game feel more high stakes, but it can get frustrating at times because of it as well. It’s nice that you don’t have to play the first one to understand this game, and it’s definitely one of the better horror games made in the past few years. Yes, it doesn’t have the AAA flair and all the bells and whistles, but the self-contained story is very well-made, shared in a creative way, and the game itself doesn’t shy away from being very fun. It’s an easy recommendation for horror fans, but even if you never dabbled into the genre before, it’s a good starting point.

Caroline Walker returns with her sister in a new adventure that far surpasses the first Tormented Souls. The Araneda brothers' survival horror expands in this sequel with a more ambitious approach that rivals the great classics of the genre. Beautifully and intelligently designed settings, powerful characters, and an immense number of deep puzzles are the keys to a quest that will take us through different locations in search of our sister. Two endings with the promise of a third "funny" ending in the future, many tense situations, and the need to use your head to make it to the credits are the foundations of a release that surprises with the care with which it has been created.

The game has a clear goal - like the first part, it wants to bring back an honest horror atmosphere to fans of older survival horrors. And it succeeds in that, although you will also experience frustrating combat and lengthy running around.

Tormented Souls 2 is a fun, albeit thematically predictable, sequel to a game that served as a delightfully nostalgic surprise to longtime horror fans. It's abundantly clear that Dual Effect has put their heart into this ongoing love letter to classic survival horror, utilizing elements that few other horror indies have dared to touch in favor of modern playstyles and concepts. Charmingly familiar tank control gameplay, ambitious puzzle mechanics that can still feel a bit too heavy-handed for the average player, and thematic horror elements that do work well for the most part. Like its predecessor, Tormented Souls 2 still struggles with storytelling and character elements that just don't quite hit the mark. While it doesn't go as deep as I would like, above all else, it still serves its grandest purpose with all the passion you could ask for.