I’m late to the party on this one, but that’s okay! Today I’m going to be talking about Tormented Souls from Dual Effect, Abstract Digital and publisher PQube. On Xbox!
What is Tormented Souls?
Tormented Souls puts a new spin on the classic fixed-perspective adventure. It draws inspiration from classic survival horror like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Alone in the Dark.
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 Waking in the dead of night, naked and hooked up to some kind of outdated medical equipment in a bathtub, Caroline must fight for her life as she explores the halls of the abandoned mansion.
Tormented Horror Queen?
It’s safe to say Tormented Souls is an interesting game, to say the least. From the get-go, the influence of the previously mentioned inspirations is clear. There’s an almost muted filter over everything, very reminiscent of 90s and early 2000s horror. It definitely works for the overall theme and setting. However, on console at least, the controls feel very outdated. Interaction is almost like one of those point and click mystery puzzle games. A pointer appears when you’ve pulled something up to interact with. I found it to be a bit out of place.
Graphically speaking, overall, things are pretty standard. They aren’t bad by any means, the setting looks great, even if too much of the mansion-style was kept. There are just some minor issues with character expression. Some of the facial movements just look a little out of place. Almost like an incomplete animation. The rest of the character movements are fine. Nothing special, or worth noting.
Story-wise, we’re back on the whole nothing new or original curve. A woman receives a mysterious note telling her to go to this old mansion-turned-hospital. Twin girls had gone missing, and it’s up to you to find up what happened. It’s a solid, old faithful of the genre, and something Tormented Souls does well. My only real grievance is that in some areas, it really does just feel like an old mansion with some extra amenities.
Parting thoughts
Although Tormented Souls doesn’t bring anything new to the horror genre, it does breathe life into a tried and tested trope. It makes for a fun adventure, and a solid horror exploration. It also lands the fixed perspective style better than the likes of Song of Horror. It’s much less jarring and runs more smoothly.
I would definitely recommend this game to fans of fixed-perspective horror games. It would also be a decent entryway for something wanting to try the style without dropping a fortune on the retro hits. Personally, I prefer this style of game on console, so that’s where my platform recommendation shall land!
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