Tormented Souls Review

Tormented Souls tells the story of Caroline Walker who receives a mysterious letter that brings her to Winterlake hospital where she’s investigating the disappearance of twin girls. Unfortunately, something terrible happens to her when she wakes up in the dead of night, naked and hooked up to some kind of outdated medical equipment in a bathtub. Caroline manages to escape the contraption, but what horrors await in the halls of the abandoned mansion?

Tormented Souls is a third-person survival horror in the same vein as classic Resident Evil games and Alone in the Dark. You’ll be able to defend with a few weapons, where the ammo is very scarce, and also solve various puzzles to progress through the creepy mansion. If you want to (re)live the era of classic survival horror games, you can also use optional tank controls.

Thankfully the shooting is also a throwback to classic RE games where aiming will automatically lock on to enemies so that our fearless protagonist doesn’t miss a shot and increases her chance for survival; because enemies will dole out hefty amount of damages if you’re not careful. There’s also a Silent Hill-like mechanic where our heroine will need to travel to an alternate dimension, through mirrors, in order to help solve some puzzles.

The game has two major nuisances. Gamers that didn’t grow up on classic PS1 Resident Evil games might find it problematic to adapt to the fixed camera and optional tank controls. Although there’s an exception to the latter where you can use 3D controls to move around more easily, the fixed camera will be a new challenge for newcomers to the classic genre as controls will be impacted by camera movement. The other frustrating bit is the non-adjustable difficulty because the game is brutal. Overall, after getting 3 hits, your health will be in the red and unless you master the controls, some rooms are quite tight making nigh impossible to avoid damage.

The game looks great as a whole; while character models do look a bit rough around the edges and maybe “outdated” to some more recent games, the environment and settings are where the game really shines. The mansion feels a bit like a mix of the Spencer Mansion from Resident Evil and Evil Within’s Beacon Mental Hospital making for a very unsettling location to explore. The soundtrack is a chilling mix of haunting tunes with definite Silent Hill vibes at times. And oddly enough, the Save room theme is very Resident Evil-ish; Code Veronica to be exact.

Tormented Souls is a throwback to classic survival horror games such as the first few Resident Evil games; limited resource, no difficulty setting (the game *is* quite difficult), and a fixed camera; newer gamers might have some trouble adjusting to the old-school mechanic, but those who grew with horror games from the PlayStation era will feel right at home. Tormented Souls is one of the best horror games of the last five years; the game is a true gem and should not be overlooked.