Tormented Souls PC Preview - A Fine Classic Survival-Horror Experience

The horror genre has always been popular, but successfully crafting a genuinely terrifying experience takes skill and dedication. You have to commit yourself to the art without compromise, even if it means alienating certain players. 

Tormented Souls accomplishes this by providing that same fear-inducing experience fans of classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games loved. A dark and gritty survival-horror title full of monstrous creatures and wondering what is waiting in the dark as you piece together what the hell is going on.

Players take control of Caroline Walker, an investigator looking into the disappearance of 2 girls at Winterlake. After receiving a letter, Caroline cannot get the image of the girls out of her head and goes to Wildberger Hospital for answers. Unfortunately, she is knocked out, wakes up in a bathtub naked, connected to old medical equipment, and her right eye has been surgically removed. And that's not the worst of it, as the abandoned mansion turned hospital houses monsters.

Things get even more insane as the hospital somehow has mirrors that can transport Caroline between an alternate reality and time. Using this method, Caroline can manipulate certain things in her reality, which she'll need to do to survive the horrors of the mansion.

Caroline is not defensiveness here. She can use a crossbar to cause physical damage, a nailgun for shooting, a makeshift shotgun, and can dodge back to avoid damage. However, the key is to preserve supplies but this can be problematic since the hallways are small, and bypassing enemies can be impossible.

It's a basic defense system that works for the most part. It never makes Caroline feel unstoppable; instead, it highlights that she's just an ordinary person who is in over her head. If you do get hit, morphine is available to heal your wounds, but be careful, as resource savings are limited. Caroline uses tapes found in the game to save each time, like ink ribbons from Resident Evil.

Newcomers to classic tank controls will need to adjust to this system, but retro gamers will easily adapt to the control scheme. The developers even ensured that when the fixed camera changes position, the controls remain steady without that jointed animation that comes with realigning the joystick to better match what is being shown. That being said, this game is best played with a controller if you want a modern control scheme that's available as well.

Tormented Souls looks beautiful and isn't shy about showcasing where it draws its inspiration while remaining unique. The mansion Caroline wakes up in is terrifying, with portraits of ancient paintings and hallways that feel like they're closing in. It definitely feels like I'm back at the Spencer Mansion. The developers did an outstanding job with the visual atmosphere and lighting to capture that sense of isolation. Even when meeting someone, the musical tones keep things tense.

The only major issue I encountered was that the subtitles did not match what was spoken, and the voices cut out. During certain scenes, the VO stops short despite the subtitles showing more dialogue. In contrast, the voice actors say something different from what is shown in the subtitles. The voice acting is also pretty stale, but I enjoyed it because it brought back memories of Capcom's iconic games.

As with classic survival-horror games, expect navigation issues. It's clear the developers wanted to remain loyal to the classic systems, so modern techniques such as highlighting areas with items were not implemented. Players have access to a map but it does not show where you're on the map, you'll have to judge the design of the area for that. However, untakeable maps littered throughout do show your location. 

The puzzles are not easy and require the player to analyze the environment and collectibles. They're not too difficult, but you can brute-force your way through them. You'll need to analyze the clues and solve them as you would normally back in the PlayStation days.

Tormented Souls looks like an outstanding survival horror experience. The preview we were given shows a lot of promise: dark environments, a sinister premise, a sense of danger and tension, and a musical score that brings everything together. Hopefully, the final part of the game will bring it all together.