From August 26, Tormented Souls has been available on PS5 and PC Tormented Souls, a survival horror developed by the Chilean studio Dual Effect. Very soon it will also be available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. As its own managers told us in July, during an online presentation, Tormented Souls is strongly inspired by the greats of the genre, that is, the classic installments of sagas such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or Alone in the Dark. But at the same time, they have also tried to update that style of play so loved by horror fans to the current times. The result? We tell you about it in our Tormented Souls review.
Tormented Souls Review
Story: Duality
The story of Tormented Souls puts us in the role of Caroline Walker, a teacher who receives an anonymous letter with the photograph of two twins. After contemplating it, the image does not stop haunting him in his dreams, so he decides to go to the place where the letter came from - an old mansion.
As you may already be imagining, it is not the best of ideas... And shortly after entering the place, someone or something hits him from the back and he is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he discovers to his horror that his right eye has been removed.
Under this premise, she begins a story that leads her to reveal the secrets of the mansion, confront nightmare creatures, and discover aspects about herself that she did not know. It is not the most original plot and they could have tried to be a little more subtle when it comes to telling it, but it does the job perfectly.
Graphics & Design
From minute one, when we start the game, it becomes clear that we are facing a low-budget game: The opening video that welcomes us (on PS5) has a very low understanding, causing the appearance of artifacts that spoil the image.
The animations and character models (especially the faces) are not up to par, neither of this generation nor of the previous one. However, the visual design of the stages does more than comply: they enjoy an enormous level of detail, and you will not find two identical rooms.
In this aspect, they have managed to perfectly capture the style of the pre-rendered backgrounds of the survival horror classics but adapting them to the times. Mention aside for the lighting effects, which, as we will see in a moment, also have playable applications.
Gameplay Experience
Because when it comes to gameplay, Tormented Souls has also perfectly captured the survival horror style. We have a fixed camera system, ammunition and healing items are in short supply, there are documents, it is stored in tape recorders using tapes... It is even possible to activate a "tank" style of control for a 100% survival horror experience.
On the one hand, this is very good, because fans of classic survival horror, who have been waiting for a real return to the roots of the genre for so many years, are going to enjoy Tormented Souls a lot. But on the other, we cannot say that it is a title that puts fresh ideas on the table.
Combat is perhaps the least graceful part of the whole set, and its biggest problem is having followed the classic survival horror manual to the letter. There is a very useful dodge move, but that does not prevent everything related to the action from being excessively simple. Fixed cameras don't help much in this regard either.
Final Thoughts on Tormented Souls Review
In short: if you are staunch fans of survival horror in its purest form and are able to forgive its shortcomings, you are going to have a terrible time (in a good way) with Tormented Souls. And for more guides, stick around for more at GamesAtlas.
