Tormented Souls 2 Review
We have a new, excellent throwback survival horror game on our hands thanks to Dual Effect and PQube.
Tormented Souls II. Credit: Dual Effect / PQube
PQube and Dual Effect’s Tormented Souls II expands on the first game, growing it into a sprawling nightmare across multiple areas to explore, all while maintaining things like fixed camera angles, limited resources, creepy atmosphere, and effective scares. It’s a fantastic survival horror game, and I had a great time with it.
The story picks up after the first game's events, though it frustratingly provides no context or recap at the start. I had to refresh myself on the original's plot because I was a little lost. Caroline Walker returns following the harrowing events at Wildberger Hospital in the first game, hoping for a normal life with her twin, but 14 years younger, sister Anna—play the first game for more information about that. Anna becomes haunted by violent visions that manifest into reality after she draws them, so Caroline travels to a remote clinic in a convent in Chile to get Anna help. Of course, things go sideways when they discover the clinic is a cover for deranged cultists who believe the sisters are a key to their plans, so Caroline must now save Anna. Two endings await, with the better one requiring key actions that most will miss on their first playthrough. While the storytelling is a bit convoluted, it effectively propels you through the game’s Lovecraftian nightmare.
Tormented Souls II. Credit: Dual Effect / PQube
The world here is far larger than the first game’s mansion. You'll explore a convent, a commercial district, a fish processing plant, a cemetery, a school, and a church, each meticulously crafted with a distinct visual identity. Backtracking is minimal, mostly required if you're pursuing the better ending or want to find bonus items and ammo. The game directly lifts Silent Hill's otherworld concept, complete with chainlink fences and dilapidated, rusty metal aesthetics. These sections aren't used frequently, but every time I knew I had to enter them, I felt genuine dread. The nightmare dimension was genuinely terrifying. Puzzles gate your progress in classic survival horror fashion. These are challenging but fair, though I occasionally got stuck simply because I'd failed to notice an item or interactive object while exploring. One or two puzzles required outside knowledge without providing adequate in-game clues, which feels like an oversight.
Gameplay will feel familiar to fans of classic Resident Evil, with fixed cameras and optional tank controls. The modern control scheme works well except during certain boss encounters, where the game doesn’t compensate well for your movement direction after dramatic camera angle changes. The game features other Resident Evil mechanics like item combination and limited saves, though interestingly, the game excludes inventory management. Combat on default difficulty was too punishing. I ran out of ammo a couple of hours in and had to restart on the easier mode. You're forced to rely on melee more than feels appropriate for normal difficulty, requiring more conservative use of ammo than I’d expect. Regardless, all the weapons feel great, and the game’s upgrade system is fun.
Tormented Souls II. Credit: Dual Effect / PQube
The realistic 3D graphics are excellent, with highly detailed environments that sell each location's atmosphere. Enemy variety is lean, but each creature is ghoulish and distinct. I particularly liked the boss designs. Caroline’s character animations are stiff, but that’s a minor quibble. The expertly executed lighting isn’t just crucial to the game's visual aesthetic, but it also serves a vital role in the game’s survival mechanics. Complete darkness kills you nearly instantly, and for more than half of the game, you must juggle a lighter that can't be equipped simultaneously with weapons. The sense of tension this creates disappears once you find the clip-on flashlight, but enough is going on at that point that it doesn’t detract from the game. The sound design is extraordinary, keeping me perpetually on edge through ambient noise and audio cues. Use headphones.
Unfortunately, I did run into some technical issues. Map objectives sometimes don't mark as complete, dead enemies randomly repeat death animations (scare-inducing but seemingly unintentional), and I encountered a game-breaking bug where a door stayed locked after using a keycard, costing an hour of progress. Thankfully, I kept extra saves.
Tormented Souls II. Credit: Dual Effect / PQube
Despite these frustrations, I thoroughly enjoyed my 13-hour playthrough, which would've been shorter if I'd solved puzzles faster. Tormented Souls II is a nearly perfect 1990s survival horror experience with modern polish. It has genuine scares, resource management tension, and a compelling setting. Play the first game beforehand if you haven't; it's almost as good and provides necessary context.
Tormented Souls II is available now on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
