Tormented Souls 2 review

After the events of Tormented Souls, I imagine its protagonist Caroline Walker was looking forward to living a life free of grotesque creatures trying to murder her. Just her luck, then, that having travelled to the secluded Villa Hess with her sister in order for some much-needed rest and relaxation, she finds herself in another nightmare. With her sister kidnapped, she’s now got a fight on her hands to rescue her. And once again there are supernatural elements involved.

Itself being a love letter to survival horror games of old such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Tormented Souls 2 makes no attempt to reinvent the wheel. This still very much feels like a classic survival horror – to its detriment at times. As Caroline, you’ll find yourself making your way through numerous locations, having to solve a myriad of puzzles to progress while running away from or engaging enemies in combat. And while you do have a nifty dodge ability, the combat is very rudimentary.

The problem is, while rudimentary combat got a pass in Resident Evil or Silent Hill because you were generally up against one, maybe two slow-moving enemies at a time, here they can be surprisingly swift at closing the distance. You might find yourself up against more than two enemies at a time here, too. Throw in the fact that you have to be careful where you engage enemies, as you generally need to put your light source away to use a weapon and lingering in the darkness can kill you, and you should get the picture that dealing with enemies in Tormented Souls 2 can be very frustrating at times. Possibly even more so than in its predecessor.

Of course, as previously mentioned, running away from your enemies is always an option, but there are problems with that, too. Two control styles are available – tank and modern – with the first option being as clunky as ever and the second making movement awkward whenever you switch from one camera position to another. Add in the fact that many of the areas where you might get engaged in combat are tight and/or small, sometimes preventing you from safely passing by enemies, and occasionally there’s no option but to stand and fight.

If you can live with the combat woes of Tormented Souls 2, though, you’ll find a very enjoyable survival horror experience. And those woes are somewhat alleviated over time, too, as you get more used to the combat system and its limitations, as well as improving your arsenal with more powerful weapons and upgrading those you already own. I should mention that there are multiple difficulty levels available here as well, with the lowest of them making the experience much more lenient thanks to frequent checkpoints and a small level of auto-healing when you’re at death’s door.

Outside of the combat, the only odd issue you’ll likely encounter is the occasional puzzle being too obtuse. The barricades to your progress here come in many varieties, and while sometimes you’ll breeze through them without having to give them much thought, sometimes you’ll truly be left scratching your head. All I’ll say is, if you get stuck, be sure to examine all of the items in your inventory and consider if it might be worth combining them with another. And be sure to check any documents that you’ve found and study them carefully.

Considering this is an indie effort, Tormented Souls 2 is to be commended for its visuals. Both character models and environments are much improved from the first game in the series, with only some less than impressive animations letting it down. In any case, it’s got a suitably oppressive atmosphere which is backed up by solid sound design. You’ll certainly be on edge as you play, that’s for sure. And thanks to a silky smooth frame rate and swift loading times, you won’t be taken out of the experience.

With your first playthrough of Tormented Souls 2 likely to take around 15 hours or so, and replayability in the form of multiple endings and an additional unlockable difficulty that provides an extra challenge, this is a survival horror that presents great value for money considering its budget price. So, if you’re after something spooky to play and you’ve exhausted the likes of Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 2 and Cronos: The New Dawn, definitely consider giving this a try. And if you’re a fan of the original Tormented Souls you should consider this essential.