It doesn’t have the fluidity that Devil May Cry brought to things, often seeing Caroline spin back and forth on the spot like she’s forgotten something. Tank control players will have no issue with cornering, but fans of 3D movement may struggle with the camera changes. The corridors and rooms at Wildberger Hospital are fixed, and players will be getting annoyed watching Caroline smoosh her face around corners when the camera changes suddenly.
But honestly, what do you want me to say? It’s what Tormented Souls is going for, there’s no other way to spin it. It would be remiss to say, “It plays exactly like Resident Evil/Silent Hill/Alone in the Dark” did and call it a day.
#TORMENTED SOULS SPEEDRUN FULL#
Fortunately, Tormented Souls lets players use either on the fly: tank controls on the directional buttons, full 3D movement on left thumbstick. I, on the other hand, embrace it, and didn’t like it when the Resident Evil HD remake set to mess with it. To them, the notion of constantly having to press forward, regardless of where the fixed camera angle is, makes them all uneasy. Now, there’s a certain contingency of survival horror players that shudder at the phrase: “tank controls”. That it plays like one too, warts and all, is ever better. That it instantly smacks of late 90’s PS1-era survival horror is, for me, a welcome change. Almost like their dialogue was recorded at separate times, which used to be the case.īut, despite what sounds like cynicism, I actually quite enjoy what Dual Effect are going for here. It’s always a weird disconnect when the protagonist seems to be fleeing in fear one minute, then calmly grilling a mysterious stranger the next. The only difference is Agent Morgan doesn’t wake up naked in a bathtub, tube in throat and missing an eye, like our heroine does.Ĭaroline Weaver is the Heather Mason in this adventure, a young woman chucked into the deep end, constantly surprised and inquisitive in equal measure. A weird, Deadly Premonition-esque framing device with a photo of two young girls that the protagonist knows nothing about: double check with cheese. A strange and mysterious summons to an old hospital: check. Young, inquisitive, doe-eyed female protagonist: check. Try not to roll your eyes as I list off the characters and setting, it’s as generic to start with as it comes. So, in that regard, Tormented Souls has just done a big old cliche instead. Too radical a plot seems forced, yet straight up copying the Resident Evil is lazy (looking at you, Daymare 1998). Given that horror games have been around for a good few decades, and not just confined to video games, original stories are becoming tougher to find. The question, as you may have guessed, is which category does Tormented Souls fall into? Is it continuing the legacy crafted by the above, or a pale imitator trying to ape off the success and nostalgia? Let’s have a look… Spooky Premise: Check Resi and Silent Hill formed my teenage years (which says a lot). This is pure nostalgia bait, and honestly, I don’t mind. There’s no bones about it, nor is this game hiding its influences. Tormented Souls, to the detractor, looks like an imitation at first glance.įrom a splash card telling players that “This game contains scenes of violence and gore”, we already know we’re treading ground laid by Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Normally it boils down to if it’s any good or not, in layman’s terms. Yet when it’s a deliberate knockoff, it’s an imitation. When it’s done tastefully, it’s an homage to those that came before.
There’s a fine line between homage and imitation. Unfortunately, it carries the worst bits with it too. A game fully aware that it's an homage to the classics, Tormented Souls looks to remind everyone why we loved this genre in the 90's.
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