Tormented Souls 2 preview: A treat for classic survival horror fans

It has some issues, but 2021’s Tormented Souls is a bit of a treat for fans of old-school Resident Evil and Silent Hill titles. That’s to say it’s a classic-styled survival horror game with fixed camera angles, plentiful puzzles, and even the option to play with tank controls if you wish. Those who have played it will have no doubt appreciated its charms, and with Halloween coming up, they’ll be looking forward to jumping into its sequel, Tormented Souls 2, which launches just before the big day.

We’ve been hands-on with the opening hours of Tormented Souls 2, and it feels very much like more Tormented Souls. This sequel finds the protagonist of the first game, Caroline, taking her sister, Anna, to a convent where she hopes she’ll get help. She’s been having terrible nightmares and drawing really creepy pictures that manifest into reality, which isn’t ideal.

Something seems off as soon as you get to the convent nestled in the town of Villa Hess, however, and after having a nap, you awake to find Anna missing. Things then go from bad to worse when you try to track her down, with the convent’s true nature revealed. It’s then that Tormented Souls 2 starts proper, with Caroline coming to in a strange location with just her underwear on and lots of strange needles sticking out of her. Ouch.

Perhaps the first thing you’ll notice about Tormented Souls 2 is that it’s undergone a massive visual upgrade. Character models in particular are much more realistic and detailed, though perhaps not quite up to the same level of those found in the latest Silent Hills and Resident Evils. The environments are just as good though, and are brought to life with wonderful lighting. As already mentioned, with mostly fixed camera angles being employed, your view of them is limited, but there are some instances where the camera pans to follow you, giving a more cinematic feel.

At the risk of feeling a bit like a re-run, the first weapon you’ll acquire here is once again a nailgun. There’s thankfully more to find as you explore, though, including a shotgun. Melee weapons make a return, too, with a hammer being the first you get your hands on, which is also handy for breaking certain locks on doors. Thankfully, your inventory isn’t limited so you can pick up an abundance of weapons, ammo and other useful objects without having to make hard decisions.

It has to be said that the combat seemingly remains the weakest part of the Tormented Souls 2 experience, however; the speed and endurance of your enemies here doesn’t mix all that well with the fixed camera angles. It’s dangerous to venture into dark areas, too, making positioning awkward in the early hours when you only have a lighter, as you’ll need to put it away to use a weapon. Needless to say, you’ll want to run past some enemies not only to conserve ammo, but also to reduce frustration.

Like in its predecessor, though, these combat issues aren’t game-breaking, and thankfully there’s a lot to like otherwise that will keep you compelled to play. The puzzles here are fantastic, really making you think about the task at hand. In the early hours I’ve had to correctly set switches according to a mysterious diagram, use my chess knowledge to open a strange device, and more. Tormented Souls 2 is very atmospheric, too, with great use of light and sound. After a couple of hours of play, I’m invested in Caroline’s struggle to save Anna, and where it might take her.

My only concern about Tormented Souls 2 so far, then, is the combat, but for those who want to alleviate some of the frustration it might create, there are difficulty levels to choose from, with the easiest of them making enemies weaker while also enabling auto-save that triggers whenever you change rooms – you otherwise have to save manually. Ultimately, this isn’t a sequel that aims to revolutionise the format: it’s happy being what it is.

Developer Dual Effect has taken the chance to massively up its game when it comes to production values, however, and some of the improvements made to the first Tormented Souls post-launch are here from the outset, such as being able to open the map with the single push of a button. So, when Tormented Souls 2 launches next month on 23rd October, I think fans of the first game are going to love it. With its improved production values it might draw in some newcomers, too.

Tormented Souls 2 launches 23rd October on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.