Tormented Souls

 PlayStation 5
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
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  1. Hey Poor Player
    Aug 26, 2021
    90
    If you love classic survival horror titles, Tormented Souls needs to be on your radar. It’s a terrifically terrifying love letter to Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Alone in the Dark. With brilliant puzzles, a genuinely scary setting to explore, and unsettling monsters to face, it’s the kind of game that will shock you to your core and stick with you long after the credits roll. While it undoubtedly wears its old-school inspiration on its bloodied sleeve, make no mistake: Tormented Souls is a modern survival horror masterpiece.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Aug 24, 2021
    90
    Tormented Souls isn't trying to be a necessarily accessible horror game. It embraces the retro heroes of the genre, and throws challenging puzzles and combat at players. More than that, though, the game has a nasty, hard edge, and ends up sitting at the loud and extreme end of the horror genre. If you enjoy your cathartic horror experiences, however (as I do), then you'll love the gauntlet of pain and torn flesh that this one throws at you.
  3. App Trigger
    Oct 7, 2021
    85
    Tormented Souls is a great addition to your Halloween lineup by appealing to the new generation with good music and good graphics but catering to the older gamers with nostalgic gameplay, storyline and mechanics. It’s not perfect but it’s a good time.
  5. LevelUp
    Sep 1, 2021
    82
    Tormented Souls is a great tribute to the old school survival horror genre. The Chilean studio, Dual Effect Games, demonstrates great mastery and knowledge of the elements that made horror games great back in the day. Although graphically it is not very impressive and the presentation is kind of cheesy, the setting, the atmosphere and the monsters are so well designed that the resulting experience is particularly immersive. Tormented Souls strengths definitely outweigh its weaknesses. If you are looking for a typical horror experience from the late 90s and early 2000s, Tormented Souls is a must.
  6. CD-Action
    Nov 15, 2021
    80
    Tormented Souls is a melancholic love letter to the fans of classic survival horrors. You need to play it if the phrases “fixed camera angles”, “tank controls” and “backtracking” give you goosebumps. [11/2021, p.32]
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  7. Finger Guns
    Nov 5, 2021
    80
    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.
  8. GameMAG
    Nov 2, 2021
    80
    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.
  9. Hardcore Gamer
    Sep 3, 2021
    80
    There are too many aspects of Tormented Souls to appreciate for any fan of original survival horror titles to pass up.
  10. PlayStation Country
    Aug 31, 2021
    80
    Tormented Souls is an excellent love letter to survival horror games of old. With that comes limited saving, dodgy voice acting and clunky combat but that doesn't detract enough from the exploration and puzzle solving to sour the experience. Fans of the genre absolutely must give this a try.
  11. Noisy Pixel
    Aug 20, 2021
    80
    Tormented Souls knows what it wants to be during each moment of gameplay, and that’s shown in its puzzles and deadly enemies. The developers prove they are fans of the genre as the game feels like it was created to even test their skills. The lack of direction works for what they are going for, but some elements just feel like they unnecessarily pad on the game’s runtime. Still, this game is gorgeous with genuine moments of survival horror. Caroline has what it takes to become a recognizable face in this beloved genre.
  12. Meristation
    Aug 27, 2021
    78
    An homage to classic survival horror games, sometimes clunky, sometimes terrifying. But above all, with some of the best puzzles in last years.

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2021
37
#37 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 143 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 109 out of 143
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 143
  3. Negative: 27 out of 143
  1. Kanon_
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    Real classic horror game like Resident Evil.
    Atmosfere is amazing and the sound gives you the right anxiety.

    Very Nice Game!!
  2. uncharted4
    Aug 28, 2021
    9
    this game is solid and kinda scry in haunted manison.. story is ok, graphic look good despite character models look little bad..this game is solid and kinda scry in haunted manison.. story is ok, graphic look good despite character models look little bad.. gameplay/combat is decent.. framerate is not bad… Full Review »
  3. redbattle
    Oct 29, 2021
    9
    Goddamn this game is good. It completely came out of nowhere for me and has been a supremely pleasant surprise. Having heard about the game inGoddamn this game is good. It completely came out of nowhere for me and has been a supremely pleasant surprise. Having heard about the game in the past being in early access, I was expecting something of a middling 'steam horror' affair that would be okay, but lack the polish and heft to really satisfy me. I'm thrilled to say however that the game has way exceeded my expectations.

    First of all, from a presentation perspective the game is extremely impressive. I feel like it gets off to a bit of a rough start what with the fmv intro which is quite compressed and the facial work leaves a lot to be desired. That's okay though because it's the environments and the lighting that really sell the atmosphere. Older survival horror titles had a knack for making each room and hallway feel distinct with little touches of detail and camera angles and TS has this in spades. It's so important when it comes to back tracking and memorising the layout of the map so I'm very glad that the devs managed to nail this aspect.

    The dynamic lighting employed in this game is actually jaw dropping at times given the budget of the game and the texture and material work is surprisingly good and I'd go as far as to say outshines some of the more big budget games I've played recently. Big props to them for also getting darkness right. Too many games will claim areas are "dark" when in reality you can see just fine without a flash light and it completely ruins the mood. In dark areas, you can see what your lighter illuminates and that's it! If you turn it off, it's literally pitch black. Makes some of the segments extremely nerve wracking.

    The sound design is also, again, surprisingly well realised considering the budget. It's grimey and frightening when it needs to be and the music strikes an excellent balance between Silent Hill's industrial style tension music and Resident Evil's memorable piano driven tracks. It really draws you into the world.

    Some of the weapons are actually really fun to use too. The nail gun is satisfying and the makeshift shotgun has one of the coolest weapon reload animations I've seen in a long time. It's really strange to be playing this game that clearly didn't have a huge budget but has so many cool little ideas and details and a level of competency that makes it all come together in such a compelling way.

    I've been gushing like crazy so far so now for some negative points. Whilst striking and distinctive, I do feel like the default outfit is a bit much. In the right game I can live with some fan service and letcherous intent but in this game it just feels a bit out of place and kinda cheapens things in a way that I feel the game is better than. Everything else about the game feels like it's going for this certain type of tone and then the main character is literally dressed like she just stepped out of a final fantasy game. Feels a bit weird. Thankfully, the devs have patched in the ability to swap clothes into something much more fitting right from the start. As great as this is however, I do feel like the alternate costume should've been the default one and the default costume should've been an unlockable one. That's kind of a minor personal gripe though and doesn't have too much impact on the overall game and comes down more to taste.

    The other big stumbling block from time to time are some of the puzzles. There were some puzzles in the game where I genuinely don't know how I would've worked them out without a guide. There are hints if you're paying attention but some of them are so obtuse that it's only after you've looked up the solutions that you'll think "oooh yeah, that makes sense now!" and they are very cool in retrospect. Problem is though, they can stall your progress for a long time and make you feel a bit frustrated that it wasn't something you could work out for yourself.

    Again, your miliage may vary in this regard, but it was a source of frustration for me on occasion.

    So why am I giving this a 9 with the aforementioned complaints? Well, the game is just so damn satisfying and has a real genuine heart to it that it's hard to let the complaints overshadow the whole package. Given the cost of entry being around £15 digitally and the length of the game being around 8-12 hours depending on your play style, I'd say it's well worth the cost and time investment and if you're into survival horror games and have been yearning for something genuinely scary to give you Silent Hill vibes, this is the game for you.

    It easily outdoes the recent Western Silent Hill games and even gives some recent RE games a run for their money in my book.

    Pick this one up, you won't be disappointed.    … Full Review »
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