Halls Of Torment Review

As soon as I saw that Halls of Torment was making its way to Xbox, I was instantly excited. It’s a game I have already spent lots of hours with on Steam using my gaming laptop and Lenovo Legion Go. A perfect pick-up and play title that can keep you busy for hours or just a quick, short session. Xbox Game Pass subscribers out there on the Ultimate and Premium tiers may want to pick this up. I promise you’ll have hours of fun with it.

Gameplay

Halls of Torment has the same premise as a lot of these roguelite auto-shooters. Sounds simple on paper, but can be a lot more challenging than it seems. Survive waves of enemies and gradually power up your character as you level up by collecting gems dropped by the fallen. You can choose to auto-attack or manually attack based on your personal preference.

Whilst you’ll be doing your best to weave in and out of enemies, you’ll be offered a series of buffs every time you level up. It could be better health, restoration, attack strength, or even moving on your feet faster. I did find that you will need to think about the tougher enemies you encounter along the way, in which perks you select. Navigating the map can present challenges such as rescuing NPCs, hitting certain milestones and finding gold and loot. It adds a layer of RPG feeling to it, since between runs, you can level up characters you unlock and acquire and equip gear when you defeat tougher enemies.

Great Replayability & Longevity

What I love about Halls of Torment is the quests you constantly have, which allow you to unlock characters, abilities and gear. Each character is locked until you reach a specific target. For example, to unlock the archer, you must survive 25 minutes with the swordsman on a run. In between runs, you can utilise the gold you have collected to get global traits that apply to all of your characters collectively. Such as higher crit chance, extra health and XP gain, along with more. There is great satisfaction in completing a quest, especially since some are more demanding than others.

Visuals & Audio

Visually, Halls of Torment goes for the late 90s aesthetic and reminds me of the earlier Diablo titles in its appearance. It feels nostalgic with dark, gritty environments filled with grotesque enemies. The pixelated graphics appear to be the norm, with a lot of the more popular games lately adopting these visuals. I’m all for it, though, if the gameplay is on point, which it is here, and the game doesn’t take up much room on the hard drive.

When it comes to the audio design, the soundtrack has an eerie score to it, which suits the atmosphere. Sound effects are basic but blend in well with the experience, with feedback on attacks against enemies being heard.

Final Thoughts

Halls of Torment is a game that is a must-play if you’re a fan of the rogue-lite genre that thrives with games like Vampire Survivors and similar experiences. There is a meaty chunk of content here, especially with the new DLC “The Boglands”. If you’re after a game with lots of hours and replayability with that “one more run” mentality alongside RPG-style mechanics, then I urge you to give this one your time; it’s simply excellent.