Tormented Souls: A (Spoiler-Free) Review
An Evocation of Classic Survival Horror
The way I experience games, and most media in general, is very forgiving. I like to look for the good in things while excusing the stuff that isn’t quite up to par. I worry sometimes that I give games too many allowances, and I’m wasting time that could be spent playing better games, but Tormented Souls has reminded me that it’s never bad to give something a fair shot, that I might find something I really love. I’ll admit that this game definitely has some problems, and while they’re not necessarily big problems, they’re still noticeable. It’s a bit buggy at times, the voice acting is pretty stiff, the character models are kind of low-res compared to the rest of the world, and the main story can be a bit predictable at times. But what this game does well, it does really, really, really well.
In terms of gameplay, Tormented Souls has done what’s one of my favorite moves in game design, something that probably has a specific name but what I like to call an ‘evocation’. The way I most often explain it is to compare it to Shovel Knight; it manages to feel almost exactly like the old games it’s paying homage to, without actually replicating them 100%. It brings in new game design methods and mechanics, while still reminding us of the greats that inspired it. Granted, I would still say that Tormented Souls is much closer to the original Resident Evil games than Shovel Knight is to games like Mega Man, but I think the comparison is still apt. It’s got a limited item-based save system, a big interconnected mansion-style map, and lots of resource management. But while I hear a lot that those mechanics make old survival horror games too difficult, Tormented Souls is actually quite a bit more strict on those resources, and I really found myself being tested by the game in a rewarding way. Healing and save items are much more sparse, enemies take and deal much more damage, but also inventory space isn’t limited as it was in those old games, which is surely a welcome change. Another way it makes things more difficult is with the mechanic around darkness; if you stay in the darkness for too long you’ll be consumed by it, so having to put away your weapons in favor of a lighter while exploring the darker parts of the game adds a ton of tension. Puzzles are also much more thought out in this game, having multiple layers you need to figure out in order to solve them. They definitely stopped me in my tracks a few times, and I had to look up hints once or twice, but I still really appreciate how complex they are compared to the early Resident Evil puzzle selection of pushing boxes or figuring out a safe code from a nearby note.
The visual design of Tormented Souls is also something that I really love. The location you spend most of the game in is an abandoned hospital/mansion, and every room you explore is realistically cluttered and degraded over time, in a way that feels so lived in. The aesthetic of the mansion itself is also very distinct, everything feels very over the top and gaudy, and it makes for a location that is incredibly fun to explore and get lost in. And speaking of getting lost, the layout and level design is genuinely labyrinthian. I constantly found myself double checking where I was or losing track of where to go next, and while that’s something I can definitely see others being bothered by, for me it really added to the sense of being in a place where I wasn’t welcome. I previously mentioned the character models, and while they can seem a bit out of place I actually love the way the characters are designed, and this goes for the enemies as well. The protagonist Caroline Walker wears a leather jacket, biker gloves and big stompy combat boots all covered in buckles, with a lacey summer dress tied by a big red ribbon underneath. I realize it sounds like I could be talking about Aerith from Final Fantasy 7, but it doesn’t feel like a ripoff at all, and I think that’s just a testament to good character design. To touch back on enemy design, they found a way to create monsters that are equally unique, terrifying, and make sense within the world. The enemies are failed experiments that used dying hospital patients as subjects, mangled bodies with metal fused into their flesh. And while there isn’t a ton of variation in the enemies, they mostly just evolve from less to more difficult without many special new abilities, their design is enough to make them engaging throughout.
While I said earlier that the main story can be predictable, I don’t actually view the story in general as a downside. I think all of the notes and lore pages you find in the world are very well written, and tell a story of the past that comes together quite well on its own, separate from the main plot but still linking up at key points. While I also think that some of the plot twists in the main story don’t hold a ton of weight, there are definitely some twists later in the game that caught me by surprise and had me taking a moment to reconnect all the dots. There are also multiple endings, that only really come down to a few choices made towards the end, but if you take a moment to think about all your possibilities it can be really rewarding. (I got the neutral ending, but as I’m writing this and researching the other endings and I think they’re really clever.) So overall, while I think this game definitely has some issues, it’s something that I’m super glad I gave a proper chance, and I think you should too if it seems interesting to you. It only took me about 7.5 hours to beat, and while at first I thought that was a good length I’m already wishing there was more, and I’m excited to see what these teams will create next.
