Tormented Souls is an admirable, if not derivative, throwback to survival horror classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It may not be as seminal as Lone Survivor, but it has a firm understanding of the genre’s mechanics while still infusing them with its own spin on old tropes. Although the game is a bit of a mess in many regards—like plot holes, narrative issues, and a troubling lack of respect for its protagonist—Tormented Souls ends up being a positive sum of its parts and an impressive inaugural horror release from its Chilean independent developers, Dual Effect and Abstract Digital.

If Tormented Souls were a film, it would be prime fuel for the likes of MST3K, unintentionally full of camp and narrative nonsense.¹Mystery Science Theater 3000, also known as MST3K, is a show that premiered in the 1980’s where comedians and puppets joked over bad public domain sci-fi and horror movies. It has seen several revivals over the years, with the latest kicking off in 2022. The script and voice acting are delightfully stilted, while mechanics like time travel via VHS tapes and dimension-hopping mirrors have no in-world justification. It all makes for an entertainingly unpredictable experience that can sometimes scare in the moment, but is unlikely to leave much of a meaningful impact. 

That isn’t to say that the developers never hit their mark, though. The game’s setting, a mansion that has been converted into a makeshift hospital, feels lived in and horrifyingly poorly managed, with medical equipment haphazardly stored in any available corner. Deft use of fixed camera perspectives frame the scenes with a cinematic flair while stark shadows hide horrors whose designs and movements are deeply grotesque and unsettling, evoking the facility’s past horrific sins. The metal-on-tile scraping sound of an unseen abomination is likely to give you chills, and the telltale quickening of their pace when they spot you is sure to activate your fight-or-flight response. 

All of this is layered with the otherworldliness that often comes with setting a story in a world that isn’t native to the developer or player. In this case, the Chilean developers of Tormented Souls are telling a story that takes place in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and it creates a feeling of dreamlike uncanniness as cultural differences intersect. It’s a fascinating dynamic that can be seen in other series like Deadly Premonition and The Evil Within.²Both Deadly Premonition and The Evil Within take place somewhere in North America, but were developed by Japanese studios. There is certainly a line where the cultural disconnect can become problematic—see: Resident Evil 5—but here, it enhances the experience.³Resident Evil 5 has been criticized for its representation of Africa, African people, and the violence inflicted upon them by the game’s white protagonist.

Unfortunately, Tormented Souls ends up being problematic in other ways, primarily with how it treats its protagonist, Caroline Walker. Within three minutes of starting the game, Caroline is knocked out and awakens naked in a bathtub, a bandage over one eye and a respirator tube down her throat. Her breasts are on full display as she pulls the respirator tube from her airway, gagging all the while. Giving Dual Effect and Abstract Digital the benefit of the doubt, the primary goal with the scene is to establish a sense of vulnerability. The end result, however, is gratuitous, and Caroline is sexualized and objectified before you’ve even had a chance to get to know her. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for nudity and the exploration of sexualization and objectification in horror, but our introduction to Caroline wildly misses its mark.

Players can’t be blamed if they never make it beyond the first five minutes of Tormented Souls, and it’s unfortunate because there is a great, albeit flawed, game hidden beyond.

Tormented Souls Screenshots

Tormented Souls

Original Release: 2021
Developer(s): Dual Effect and Abstract Digital
Publisher(s): PQube
Platforms(s): Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows

Footnotes

• 1
  Mystery Science Theater 3000, also known as MST3K, is a show that premiered in the 1980’s where comedians and puppets joked over bad public domain sci-fi and horror movies. It has seen several revivals over the years, with the latest kicking off in 2022.
• 2
  Both Deadly Premonition and The Evil Within take place somewhere in North America, but were developed by Japanese studios.
• 3
  Resident Evil 5 has been criticized for its representation of Africa, African people, and the violence inflicted upon them by the game’s white protagonist.