The Suffering

 Xbox
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 44
  3. Negative: 1 out of 44
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  1. Official Xbox Magazine
    73
    Straighforward, visceral fun that may not be Oscar-worthy in the plot department, but provides plenty of popcorn-munching matinee-style entertainment for the over-17 crowd. [May 2004, p.72]
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  2. Xbox Nation Magazine
    70
    It's above-average stuff, certainly, but spotty writing and voice acting pothole the story. Still, despite its flaws, Suffering remains an enjoyable and surprisingly compelling blastathon.
  3. PALGN
    70
    Whilst it's not your traditional survival horror the addition of high-suspense action is a welcome breath of fresh air. If you're looking to be scared it will do the job.
  5. TotalGames.net
    65
    The repetition and the lack of variety, of entering one room that is simply is a replica of the last, may well get the better of you. The name isn't indicative of the game, but for excitement and real horror The Suffering just lacks that killer touch. [XBM]
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  6. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    63
    The story loses steam about two-thirds of the way through; solving puzzles, which are few and far between, requires little brainpower; and it's far to easy to survive your sentence with so much free ammo and health lying around. [May 2004, p.86]
  7. Edge Magazine
    60
    Had the level design have been a touch more ingenious, and the creatures exhibited more guile, this could have been memorable. [June 2004, p.106]
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  8. Thunderbolt
    60
    Ultimately, The Suffering tries a lot of different things, but it doesn't really do any one thing strongly enough to stand out.
  9. Times Online
    60
    The learning curve is gentle, the controls simple to master, but there's little new here.
  10. GMR Magazine
    50
    The game's frequent puzzles also range from simplistic to mildly frustrating. Fortunately, you'll be finished with the game in a weekend.

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best Xbox Game of 2004
36
#36 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2004
39
#39 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2004

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. AmadeusE
    Jan 12, 2021
    9
    Great game. A gem from the Golden Age of gaming. I love that it comes with all kinds of extra content too. Reading material, trailers(loveGreat game. A gem from the Golden Age of gaming. I love that it comes with all kinds of extra content too. Reading material, trailers(love when games came with trailers for other games back in the time), behind the scenes(which more games should come with) and even a very interesting documentary about old prisons, which talks about history, living conditions and how they're haunted. This is amazing. I love when games were made with love and passion, and packed with all kinds of extra content. Made for more intelligent people, not just soulless products churned out for sheep to eat up.… Full Review »
  2. solo-kreep
    Nov 16, 2013
    10
    when i buy new releases now in 2013, it just dont feel the same as 10 or 11 years ago to have a brand new xbox or ps2 buying suffering or redwhen i buy new releases now in 2013, it just dont feel the same as 10 or 11 years ago to have a brand new xbox or ps2 buying suffering or red faction 2. games nowadays are cool, but they just wont ever have that one satisfaction as a good classic like this.… Full Review »
  3. coolgames101
    Jun 11, 2011
    3
    okay, lets just get one thing straight. THANK GOD that whoever made this knew what he was doing. this game was full of jump scares (which iokay, lets just get one thing straight. THANK GOD that whoever made this knew what he was doing. this game was full of jump scares (which i usually hate because they are so predictable) that actually scared me. which is rare! now, these scares that we are talking here were very few, and weren't as impacting as scares from the silent hill series (which i dearly love.) but still deserve credit. the story was great, scratch that, excellent. and the monsters were psychodelic, and the action flowed pretty well. (except at the common "where the **** do i go moments"). now lets get to the bad things about the game, and the only reasons that the game gets the score it does. i felt that the fact you could turn into a monster was ****ing ridiculous! i felt that the way you could do that was cheating. alot of the jump scares involved an ink blot, or a badly drawn picture flashing across the screen, and get anoying when i'm trying to shotgun a whole army of damn mother ****ing **** monsters! there are three endings (not telling what they are) and two of them are very closely resembling, and makes me feel that the game designers were getting lazy. now, i like this game about as much as i like RE 0, i didn't really enjoy it at the most times. the plot was forcing itself upon the player, and i couldn't really decipher if he really had committed the murder or not. the parts that i couldn't figure out where to go just were out there all the time, and weren't as fun as silent hill, because silent hill wasn't even action oriented! and this was, so the puzzles ruined it like in God Of War **** That Game) and at least in silent hill and resident evil it made sense for there to be puzzles because they weren't as action oriented as the suffering, and when i play a game that has a whole bunch of action, that is soon replaced with a puzzle like a rubix cube with a million sides, with a million little squares on each side. so in other words, if you absolutly adored the crapstock known as god of war , than this is that, except with less shouting, and more guns.â… Full Review »
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