Tormented Souls Review Summary

Last updated: 2026-03-17
  • Challenging and well-designed puzzles throughout the game.
  • Homage to classic survival horror games.
  • Good story and narrative elements.
  • Overly difficult puzzles can be frustrating.
  • Poor voice acting detracts from the experience.
  • Difficult controls and disorienting camera angles.
Tormented Souls header

Emotions

Archetypes

What players like:

Common complaints:

Gameplay feedback:

Performance notes:

Recommendations:

Other player notes:

Review evidence

Why players say this

What players like

Challenging and well-designed puzzles: The game features a variety of puzzles that are creative, logical, and satisfying. These puzzles range from simple to complex, requiring imagination and strategic thinking.

Homage to classic survival horror: The game pays tribute to classic survival horror games, capturing the nostalgic feel of early 2000s titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. It is designed for fans of old-school survival horror.

Similar to Resident Evil: The game is reminiscent of the original Resident Evil games, capturing their vibe and gameplay style. It is recommended for fans of classic Resident Evil.

Good story and narrative: The game features a well-thought-out and well-paced story with good character design and voice acting. The narrative is engaging and mysterious.

Decent graphics and visual design: The game features decent graphics and visual design, with beautiful graphics and detailed environments. The visuals are stunning and immersive.

Common complaints

Overly difficult puzzles: Many players found the puzzles to be extremely difficult, often requiring external guides to solve. The puzzles were described as illogical, poorly guided, and sometimes unsolvable, leading to significant frustration.

Poor voice acting: The voice acting in the game was widely criticized for being poor, lacking emotion, and sometimes even described as awful. This issue particularly affected the main character, detracting from the overall experience.

Difficult controls: The controls were found to be difficult and cumbersome, particularly for keyboard and mouse users. The tank controls and unresponsive controls added to the frustration.

Lack of enemy variety: Players noted a lack of variety in enemies, with some enemies being either too easy or overpowered. The enemy AI also had issues, contributing to a less engaging combat experience.

Janky combat: The combat was described as janky and clunky. Players found the combat mechanics to be simple and not the focus of the game, which was disappointing.

Gameplay and performance

Old-school survival horror gameplay: The gameplay is inspired by classic survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It includes fixed camera angles, tank controls, and a retro gameplay style.

Complex and challenging puzzles: The game features a variety of complex and challenging puzzles that require significant thought and attention to detail. These puzzles range from tricky to very challenging and are a core aspect of the gameplay.

Survival horror elements: The game includes classic survival horror elements, similar to Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It features dangerous enemies, scarce resources, and a focus on survival mechanics.

Story-driven gameplay: The game is heavily story-driven, with a strong focus on puzzles and story development. The storytelling is enhanced through collected diary notes and documents.

Fixed camera system: The game uses a fixed camera system, which can be challenging and sometimes uncomfortable. This camera perspective is a nod to classic survival horror games.

FPS drops in certain areas: There are noticeable FPS drops in specific areas of the game, affecting the smoothness of gameplay.

Optimization issues: Players have reported various optimization issues, leading to a less smooth gaming experience.

Gameplay-affecting bugs: Various bugs, including levitation and time slowdown issues, significantly affect gameplay.

Sound and music bugs: There are bugs related to sound and music, such as music stopping in some rooms and general sound issues.

Game crashes frequently: Several players have reported that the game crashes often, which significantly impacts the gaming experience.

Recommendations

Highly recommended by players: Many players strongly recommend this game, highlighting its quality and appeal. It is described as a must-play for enthusiasts of the genre.

Recommended for old-school gamers: The game is particularly recommended for veterans of old Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. It appeals to those who enjoy the classic style and mechanics of older horror games.

Anticipation for the sequel: Players are looking forward to the sequel and have plans to buy it. This indicates a strong interest and satisfaction with the current game.

Worth buying, especially on sale: The game is considered worth buying, particularly when it is on sale. Some players suggest getting it only during significant discounts.

Try the demo before purchasing: Players recommend trying the game’s demo before making a purchase to ensure it meets expectations.

Buying context

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 15.0h.

Story completion: 10.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Endgame: 2.0h.

The game has a steep initial learning curve with complex puzzles and mechanics, but once players become familiar with the gameplay after a few hours, it becomes highly enjoyable.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Player profiles

Nostalgic Puzzle Solver: Strategic and exploratory. Motivation: Nostalgia and challenge. Stance: buy.

Genre Explorer: Guided and experimental. Motivation: Exploration and learning. Stance: sale.

Critical Analyst: Analytical and critical. Motivation: Fair and polished gameplay. Stance: deep sale.

Platform notes

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience reveals several key issues. Performance problems, including frame rate drops and difficulties achieving stable 60 FPS, are frequently mentioned. Stability issues, such as game freezing and crashes, particularly when encountering enemies or saving the game, are also significant concerns. Control issues, especially with the tank controls, are noted to be challenging and not customizable, leading to frustration. Additionally, users have pointed out the need for better optimization to enhance the game's performance on the Steam Deck.

Extra review signals

External guides: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with navigation, puzzle difficulty, and game progression. Many users reported needing to rely on external guides or walkthroughs due to the lack of an interactive map, overly complex puzzles, and unclear progression cues. These issues severely impact the user experience, leading to frustration and a diminished sense of accomplishment.

Other review notes

Gamepad recommended for camera control: Players suggest using a gamepad for improved camera control, indicating that the default control scheme may be lacking.

Uncensored nudity present: The game features fully naked characters without any censorship, which could be a consideration for potential players.