Tormented Souls

 PC
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Digital Chumps
    Sep 2, 2021
    93
    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.
  2. Game Revolution
    Sep 3, 2021
    85
    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. The biggest issues with Tormented Souls seem like they stem more from a problem with budget more than the devs’ ability. With indie games, there are always compromises that have to be made to launch a title, and I think Dual Effect struck the best balance it could here.
  3. GameStar
    Sep 2, 2021
    82
    Solid old-school survival horror with an exceptional atmosphere. Suffers from balance issues and a rather mediocre conclusion.
  5. GameSpace
    Oct 7, 2021
    80
    Tormented Souls is an extremely atmospheric game that will please the connoisseurs of the survival horror genre.
  6. Gamers' Temple
    Sep 14, 2021
    80
    Even though the game is inspired by old-school horror titles, it is still very much its own thing. The game has a lot of its own ideas and feels unique even with its similarities. If you’re an old-school survival horror fan, you need to buy Tormented Souls. This game was created exclusively with you in mind. With the game’s value price, it’s quite amazing the amount of content in the game. If only this game had more replay value to it, it would be a super solid experience. Even without that, it’s a very fun tread through the type of survival horrors that we used to enjoy back when the genre was still young.
  7. Ragequit.gr
    Sep 26, 2021
    79
    Boasting good puzzles and solid level design, Tormented Souls doesn't break new ground, but it does well what it set out to do. It's not a game I would recommend to everyone since you have to get used to the clunky combat and the lack of guidance and be equipped with enough patience to overcome the initial difficulty barrier.
  8. GamingTrend
    Aug 20, 2021
    75
    Tormented Souls feels like a labor of love, paying homage to its predecessors and delivering a survival horror experience akin to the games of the genre’s glory days in the PlayStation 2 era of gaming. This game will not pull in newcomers to the genre, but lovers of survival horror will enjoy this game for its puzzles, tension, and environmental design, even if the game is lacking in some major areas.

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 71 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 71
  3. Negative: 13 out of 71
  1. Kunray
    Sep 2, 2021
    10
    The game is a beautiful,I recommend giving it a try.
    Old school survival horror.
  2. AllNewSuperfake
    Sep 19, 2021
    1
    Once upon a time, there was a horror game on the Playstation, and it wanted to have really impressive 3D graphics. And because the PlaystationOnce upon a time, there was a horror game on the Playstation, and it wanted to have really impressive 3D graphics. And because the Playstation could not render those in real time without bursting into flames, the developers came up with an idea, which was to have a fixed, cinematic camera so that there was no extensive rendering necessary. They also understood what a camera does when it's cinematic, meaning that they understood camera movement and camera angles. The result was quite impressive graphics for the time and additional classic horror atmosphere.

    A thing of beauty: Necessity as the mother of an invention. The developers of this game did not have the necessity, and they also did not understand the invention, aka camera angles and movement. But they wanted their game to look and feel and play like that godforsaken classic and copied all the wrong things.

    Like the terrible tank controls, with the added unnecessary difficulty of the oh so popular "wait, now that the camera angle changed, pressing forward means that I'm going in the exact opposite direction, aka back to where I was coming from". Because that's what we are missing when we get all nostalgic, right? Right.

    Like the clomp-clomp-clomp of footsteps ruining all the other audio. The fiddly controls while examining stuff with some extra fiddly controls while rotating it. This is even worse than back in the good old days, everything is spinning out of control. Sometimes your cursor changes into a looking glass, which can mean everything from opening something to pressing a button to actually looking at something. Sometimes you need one click, sometimes you need to double click, it's as intuitive as your yearly tax return.

    You get thrown right into the action without any buildup whatsoever, meaning that you have no idea who you are. Which makes it a little difficult to care, especially when you are wearing the mother of all bad anime outfits and hair. And during the first cutscenes you already have classic goofs with missing props and props changing sides and places, only to run into one of the most mind-boggling puzzles in my long, long gaming history where I learn how to "modify" a wrench to use it as a doorknob. And what "lost in translation" means.

    The level design has all the chaos, but none of the interactivity of a hidden object game, and you have to rub your wooden animated body against walls, cabinets, shelves and other architecture to figure out if you can use any of the ten million objects lying around. Which, in case of the aforementioned doorknob, means that there are roughly twenty things in that room alone that would serve the same purpose like that wrench. You know, that thing that is always the first weapon you find in any game?... and that you leave there. Of course you leave it there, why would you need a weapon in a creepy house where people kidnapped you and cut your eye out?!

    So, if any of you undying "Resident Evil" and "Silent Hill" Fans out there could tell developers that even you have moved on and that you would not like to be reminded how badly huge chunks of the concept aged and how you also appreciate all the progress in game design we've made since? That would be great. How you appreciate those new, modern inventories where you don't have to search for the stuff you just picked up because because a watch is a "file" and a wrench is a "resource"?

    Because this drags down a great story. In other games, not this one, don't even get me started. This has all the appeal and insane twists of yesterday's leftovers put in a blender. But in case you had a great story, this would drag it down. Luckily for the developers, they hold on to that really good and original story for the next time. Right? Right.    … Full Review »
  3. hertzian68
    Sep 2, 2021
    0
    Only good IF you like RE 0/1 remakes. It has the awful fixed camera, the clunky UI in general, tank controls if you don't use a controller,Only good IF you like RE 0/1 remakes. It has the awful fixed camera, the clunky UI in general, tank controls if you don't use a controller, confusing tape save system, minimal to no controls etc training, not the best graphics looks like an early ps3 game. On the plus side it has decent music so far, moderate puzzles which if you've played the above games won't be too hard. Like everyone else has said it's an old school RE and silent hill mix. If konami or capcom don't want to do this so much the better for others, for those two giants a game like this would take peanuts and be low cost at the same time be a huge market. All you'd need is a modern 3d camera and modern intuitive UI and a modern save system so take RE2re with these graphics and add a story done, it's not that hard.

    The devs of this game were obviously trying to do it as cheaply as possible so using the fixed camera, limited save system, older graphics and old school UI were pretty much a guarantee of low cost/time to make. But in todays world an up to date 3d camera shouldn't be that hard or cost that much, a save system that respects peoples limited time would also be a good gesture and be good for business. Those two things are what makes it either a niche game or a more universal and bigger selling game. So it's a niche game with limited appeal. I just don't have the time to waste on losing hours of progress because of the save system. Once or if we get trainers that will negate that it will be more feasible to put time into this.    … Full Review »
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