You have to open up the inventory whenever you need to swap a held item, such as from a lighter to a gun. Even better are the wall-mounted enemies that seem like a real threat until you realize you can just stand beside them and bonk them safely with a crowbar.Īnother word that describes this experience is “fumbly.” There’s a mechanic that kills you if you stay in the dark too long, but that gets in the way of exploring, combat and enjoying the lighting. If they do get close you might take one hit since the RE 3-like dodge step is clunky, but you’ll be fine. Pop ‘em from a distance with the ol’ reliable nail gun and you won’t be in serious danger. They’re fleshy globs of flesh with sharp claws and teeth, which the game does everything it can to let you know they’re in the room with you. Plus, the main enemies aren’t really scary. Related: EA Motive Shows Off Dismemberment, Zero-Gravity, & Isaac’s Voice In Very Early Game Footage of Dead Space Remake

It’s more like scary things happen because they would be weird or shocking, instead of having a more long-term context. Mythology is important to horror, even when it’s as simple as “virus make zombies.” Here, weird stuff happens that isn’t really tied to consistent diegetic logic.

As cool as some of the ideas are, it’s hard to get a sense of what this world’s rules are, and what exactly it is we’re supposed to be afraid of. But taken on its own merits there are just as many stumbles. This game set out on a mission to do a 1990s Resident Evil game in 2021, and in that Tormented Souls is a success. At the same time, the old school horror fixed camera angles, weird puzzles and pensive pacing all feel nostalgic and fresh at the same time. The voice acting in particular really hurts the mood, especially since it sets out to be taken much more seriously from the jump (also, the subtitles don’t match the spoken words). And that works for and against Tormented Souls. The voice acting is pedestrian, the character models are a bit janky and there’s a real lack of options.īut that’s kind of the vibe the original Resident Evil had, no? It’s a vibe that hits different today, because the base level videogameness of videogames is so different. Other times you can tell this isn’t a game with a AAA budget. At times this is a gorgeous game, with legitimately creepy architecture comprising the game’s menacing hospital and a visual style attempting to recreate the pre-rendered backgrounds of old. Tormented Souls quickly reminded me how much gaming has changed over the years. A heartfelt homage to a very specific era of horror games, Tormented Souls wants to make you go, “oh yeah, this is like back in the day” while serving up its own ideas on top. I mean, what if someone decided to make Resident Evil 1 in 2021? Tormented Souls is one possible answer. What if a “classic’ Resident Evil game was made today? And no, I don’t mean in the contemporary, cumulative way the actual current Resident Evil games have been made.

Tormented souls game