Tormented Souls for Nintendo Switch is developed by Dual Effect Games and published by PQube. It is a survival horror game that attempts to bring back the classic survival horror genre to the modern era. My first impression upon entering the haunted Winterlake Mansion was of suspense and uneasiness as I was thrust straight into the middle of the house. Without many tutorials or a prologue, Tormented Souls went right to the horror survival aspects. The dirty and unkept rooms, yet weirdly homely, allow the player to become accustomed to the Winterlake house.
Gameplay:
The controls are really simple, just use the joy-cons to walk and select and use items as you go around rooms and surroundings, trying to find clues to find out the mystery of Winterlake. Without much explanation or tutorial, it is quite jarring to become accustomed to Tormented Souls. The game does a great job of immersing you into the creepy and weird setting as you don’t have any time to lose when starting out. The puzzles introduced are quite hard to solve at first and require some time and thinking to solve. The backgrounds are quite detailed and it is quite easy to miss a little thing or two, so be focused throughout the entire game.
Customization and Story:
Without giving any spoilers, there are several different story paths that Tormented Souls has so each and every decision does matter, as you can either get a good or bad ending depending on the quality of decisions that you choose throughout. Other than that, the game is quite linear in that there is not really much customization of characters or settings. The story is quite good, but creepy so I would warn you if you are easily spooked.
Thoughts:
I’m really scared and frightened from all the horror scenes! The Winterlake mansion is creepy and immense but also brings much fun and suspense to Tormented Souls. Each scene is meant to have multiple hidden meanings, but the mystery and climax of the story are really suspenseful and unexpected. One thing specifically, is that I really like how each player is incentivized to focus on each room and area as closely as possible. The puzzles are very well interwoven into the story and overall gameplay, just like the more classic horror game style. I would definitely recommend Tormented Souls to anyone who wants to either be scared or is not really prone to being scared. The story is fun and engaging while being suspenseful and tense, and the puzzles and gameplay are very strong and are meant to let you think a little.
I rate Tormented Souls a 8/10.
For more information, visit: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/tormented-souls-switch/
I started gaming on the PS2 playing 2K and various fighting games, then played a lot of Nintendo Wii games. Currently, I like playing JRPGs as well as platformers and MOBAs. In a video game, I enjoy exploring the intricacies of fighting systems as well as viewing various character developments throughout the story of the game.
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