Survival horror owes a lot to Resident Evil. Arguably the first series to take the genre mainstream, it spawned many imitators, though few were able to match its enthralling combination of tense atmosphere and B-movie cheese. As the franchise advanced, the games grew out of their simple, fixed-camera presentation, instead adopting a greater focus on third-person shooting, resulting in titles that ran the gamut of quality.
Many fans still yearn for a return to the old style of gameplay, one that prioritized aspects like resource management and authored horror over nailing headshots. If companies like Capcom are unwilling to service that market, then it’s up to smaller developers to fill the void, and that’s exactly what Dual Effect hopes to do with Tormented Souls 2.
The game is a sequel to 2021’s Tormented Souls, thrusting you straight into the plight of Caroline and her sister Anna. There’s not much opportunity for newcomers to catch up on the duo’s previous adventure, but the premise you’re presented with is easy enough to understand. They’re traveling to a special clinic to investigate Anna’s bizarre visions, but she’s promptly kidnapped upon arrival, forcing Caroline to track her down. Along the way, she’ll have to explore the sinister Villa Hess, battle cultists, and solve puzzles.
One of the advantages of presenting your game with fixed camera angles is that you can pour a ludicrous amount of attention into your environments. Tormented Souls 2 doesn’t disappoint in this respect, featuring incredibly rendered scenes packed with detail. Lighting is also a major standout. At many points, Caroline will need to traverse areas with a small flame, and illuminating new areas of the map helps lend to the creepy atmosphere.
Other aspects of the presentation don’t fare as well. Character models look straight out of the early 360 era. They’re serviceable while in gameplay, but during cutscenes they can be quite an eyesore. This isn’t helped by the poor animation quality, which also feels ancient. Everything is herky-jerky, with unnatural starts and stops that can take you out of the experience.
If you’ve played any of the first three Resident Evils, gameplay will be immediately familiar. You’ll traverse various spooky locales, collecting items to solve puzzles while engaging in a splash of combat. Some puzzles prove to be more frustrating than others; true to the game design of older RE titles, you won’t always have the items to solve the problems you’re presented with, encouraging you to scour other areas to find them.
This sounds good in theory, but can lead to more frustration. Items aren’t always clearly marked, and it’s unclear at times which parts of the environment you can interact with. This is certainly in line with the standard put forth by other games of this ilk, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. I had multiple moments where I was cycling through every room I had access to, trying to find anything that would help me advance the plot. I’m not from the generation that grew up with games like this, so there may be a bit of a disconnect, but it does feel like there could be a bit more organic signposting to guide players.
Tormented Souls 2 does a good job emulating the survival horror greats that came before, ensuring that younger players are able to experience the older style of gameplay even as bigger brands continue in other directions. It certainly has a learning curve for newcomers, but those who persevere will discover why the genre was so popular during the 90s and 2000s.
