I wondered what would happen if you combined Outlast with Resident Evil and a touch of Alone in the Dark. Probably something like Tormented Souls. Which are a die-hard survival horror game and a welcoming surprise for die-hard horror fans. And everyone else? Not so much.
Tormented Souls
While investigating the disappearance of twin girls at Winterlake, something terrible happens to Caroline Walker. Waking in the dead of night, naked and hooked up to some outdated medical equipment in a bathtub, Caroline must fight for her life as she explores the halls of the abandoned mansion. So yeh, we can state that the introduction of the game, which said, “This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore,” wasn’t just there for show. I’m pretty okay with these kinds of games, and I enjoyed my fair share of horror games, so when this one popped up on our radar, it sounded like an excellent addition to the Outlast collection I went through in the last few years.
Hommage to the glory days
Tormented Souls states that it’s a homage to the games of old, and they aim primarily at the 90s; since the mid-’00s, they knew a lot of bents and twisting to keep up with the changing times and the growing fatigue around overused mechanics in franchises like Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark. So what do you do as an indie developer? You come back to the classic survival horror tropes of the ’90s — fixed camera angles, stationary aiming, and careful item management. Tormented Souls is a love letter to the classic horror games of the ’90s, a true homage that embraces the genre’s origins; sadly, it does not live up to its predecessors mainly because they try and aim for triple-A but should have been seeking for a good B or A title instead.
When booting up the game, I checked if I was still playing on my Nintendo Switch; since it felt like I accidentally started a game on my no-longer-working PS1 – however, this was not mentioned in other reviews I found on the original release, so I blame the Nintendo Switch itself for this one. Mainly because the gameplay itself gets much better when compared to the cutscenes that fire off the game. As I described in the introduction, you awaken in a small x-ray room as protagonist Caroline Walker. The fixed camera angles immediately signify that this is old-school survival horror through and through. While working out the first puzzles in the bathroom room, you will gain access to a lighter that can be used to illuminate the dark surroundings. This is where the game gets creative with its lighting, and the shadows that dance across the rooms as you walk through them are a genuinely impressive sight to behold.
Exploration is key
Most of the gameplay within Tormented Souls is focused on exploration. As you explore, you’ll encounter puzzles and enemies that will make die-hard survival horror fans grin from ear to ear. Enemies will often lie in wait, just out of sight of whatever camera happens to be fixed on Caroline; it’s a powerful way of ramping up the tension in specific scenarios, but in others, the lack of visual cues is downright frustrating, mainly when the odd positioning of the camera causes you to lose your sense of direction. Similarly, aiming with your weapons is very much ‘classic’ survival horror; you can aim in any direction, but moving your feet simultaneously is, unfortunately, an impossibility for Caroline; you’re fixed in place. Thankfully, a dodge mechanic can get you out of tight spots, but since you can only dodge backward, it’s useless if you’re backed up against a corner. They should have taken a note out of the Outlast book for this one.
Puzzles will also look familiar, but their implementation feels more involved than other survival horror games. Tackling them requires the same process: you’ll need to explore your surroundings, gather items, and combine them to unlock new paths and obtain critical items. The inventory screen implements an on-screen cursor, which can be used to select items and move them directly into the in-game world. You can also examine items and choose specific parts to interact with directly. The on-screen cursor makes the process feel pleasantly intuitive, and you’ll be able to see the effects of your item usage in real-time. Oh, and reading is also a key component of solving certain puzzles. I’m used to deducing clues from games like Phoenix Wright and the likes, but Tormented Souls had me scratching my head a few times.
Conclusion
So, to conclude, Tormented Souls is a commendable homage to classic survival horror games; its focus on the past is, unfortunately, its biggest downfall. It feels like the second wind for the games of old but emulates a lot of concepts in the worst possible way. Not literally, but this leaves us with a survival horror that doesn’t stand out among the rest. You’ll have a decent time here at around seven hours or so in length if you’re a die-hard fan of horror games that wishes some of the big names would revisit their origins. Still, the fixed camera angles and limited combat may prove more frustrating than nostalgic for everyone else. Add some technical hiccups in the way of dodgy cutscenes and animations, and you’ve got a game that very much plays second fiddle to some of the more polished horror games out there.
