Reviews
[Review] ‘Tormented Souls’ is a Scrappy Throwback Survival Horror Experience
While plenty of indie developers have captured the essence of survival horror as it was on the original PlayStation, far fewer have managed to do so with the PlayStation 2 era of the sub-genre. This was arguably the peak of it at the time. Those few precious years, before the impact of Resident Evil 4 shifted the goalposts, housed memorable cult favorites such as ObScure, Rule of Rose, and Haunting Ground, as well as the more noted classics of the generation such as Silent Hill 2.
Flaws and all, Tormented Souls feels like it belongs in that era. Its developer, Dual Effect, has seemingly made a survival horror throwback that understands its influences remarkably well whilst not forgetting to throw in a few modern quality of life touches to the package to ensure it slips comfortably between nostalgia and ease of use. There’s a real mean streak to it that calls upon the more controversial games of that era. Tormented Souls is gleeful in its character’s suffering, which is something many throwbacks try to compromise on. It doesn’t make it a better game necessarily, but it does show confidence.
The setup to Tormented Souls makes it abundantly clear just how indebted to the early 2000s formula it is. The protagonist, Caroline Walker, heads to Winterlake Mansion, which serves as a hospital, in search of twin girls from a photograph she received. Upon arriving, Caroline is knocked out, and awakens in a bathtub, with a tube from a respirator lodged down her throat. Oh, and someone’s cut her eye out. Not off to the best of starts is our poor Caroline.
So Caroline begins to explore the dark, and seemingly abandoned mansion/hospital, only having the flame of a lighter and the odd candle to illuminate the gloom. It’s a survival horror game, so you’d be correct to assume that some shit goes down that makes escape difficult, but wholly necessary for her continued survival. It’s a tale as old as time, with more than an air of the melodramatic and enough oak-paneled line delivery to make a substantially-sized cabin. Tormented Souls’ tale already feels strangely comforting in its rougher edges.
Tormented Souls’ environments are very much the star of the show as it stands. The grimy, dark halls of the hospital areas hint at a bloody history and their intersection with the mansion’s grandiose decor tells its own story. The game opts for a classic fixed camera which really helps to highlight the scenery properly and set the mood and atmosphere up superbly well. The dark in the game is truly blinding without a portable light source to hand, and staying in it negatively affects Caroline’s state of mind. You’re repeatedly asked to decide on the best course of action whilst in gloom. You could run through it and keep your weapon ready, or you could ensure you don’t blindly stumble into a horrifying situation by equipping your lighter.
The build-up to the first enemy encounter is nicely done. The building creaks in that unnerving way so many old buildings do, and occasionally something will fall somewhere, and after accessing the basement level, Caroline catches a glimpse of something ahead of her, and shortly after is confronted by a grotesque figure in a wheelchair and they’re wielding some pretty stabby-looking knives. This foe doesn’t move especially quickly, but there’s an unnerving swiftness to the way they wheel themselves towards Caroline, the squeak of the wheels increasing in volume as they gain ground on her. I’m not a fan of wheelchairs being used as horror devices, but like anything used to garner terror, it’s more to do with how much thought goes into the reasons behind its use. While I can’t speak for that enemy’s backstory, which doesn’t do it any favors, I can appreciate the use of the wheel squeaks to ramp up the intensity.
Caroline escapes from them soon enough, and finds herself in an X-Ray room that’s apparently now also a chapel, as a priest is reading a shrouded corpse its last rites. The priest says he’s met Caroline just days before, she has no memory of that. He also casually mentions that there’s an evil presence about, the staff and patients of the hospital have moved on to a new site, and the lights are out because the generator is playing up. Lucky Caroline (and you, the player) you get to go fix it for him.
In the preview build, I’d run into some issues with stuttering audio from characters, coupled with some low rent line delivery. This interaction was the first instance where it really hurt the game, and it showed no signs of getting better as the preview continued on. Happily, the stuttering is now a rarity, and the dialogue, while still decidedly naff, is at least consistent in that quality.
Back to the action. Caroline leaves to go and fix the generator and has to solve a pressure display puzzle by sorting valves out. What I like about Tormented Souls’ puzzles is that the inventory screen is right there alongside the puzzle in question, so you don’t have to flit between menus or the puzzle to find that code or item. When interacting with anything, the game moves from third-person to a first-person perspective, allowing you to examine everything relevant without back-tracking between the game and its menu screens. Nothing mind-blowing, but a nice touch.
With the generator fixed, Caroline is sent to explore the rest of the mansion, and even with more light, there’s plenty of disturbing things that are going to get between her and her quest for knowledge. Luckily she now packs a nailgun to ward off evildoers in the punchiest way possible, and some morphine to cure what ails her. Perhaps it’s best if you stop by and save your progress (Using a Magnetophon) first though, eh?
The nailgun works much like any gun in tank control survival horror, but it’s sometimes difficult to tell if you’re actually hurting your foes. Some scuttle about low on the ground and are hard to target as a result. They don’t always show up alone either, meaning you’re often best just running away instead. When it matters most though, the aiming system works well enough to overcome whatever new heinous beast Tormented Souls throws at you.
The relatively rudimentary control scheme makes perfect sense for the kind of horror game Tormented Souls wants to be. Tank controls have always been about imbibing the situation with a big syrupy dose of nightmare fuel. That almost unbearable dreamlike balance between being just quick enough to realize you’re in trouble, but too slow to easily escape it is a superb tool when used appropriately, and Tormented Souls largely succeeds at it. Besides, it handles nowhere near as treacly as the biggest offenders in the genre.
Yes, you could argue that in trying so hard to make a game for the mid-2000s in 2021 leaves the developer with a game that’s fundamentally dated before it began, but that’s the point. All the modern indie horror games that work get that. Compromises will certainly bring you a bigger audience, but games like Tormented Souls, as scraggly and mean-spirited as the games that inspired them, are far more likely to scratch that itch for survival horror’s golden era, rough edges and all.
Tormented Souls review code for PS5 provided by the publisher.
Tormented Souls comes to PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on August 27
Reviews
‘Hungry’ Review – Finally, a Film Brave Enough to Call Out Hippos for the Monsters They Truly Are
When it comes to the animal attack subgenre of horror, there’s a hierarchy of sorts with the wildlife in question. Killer shark movies are easily the most ubiquitous, while alligators/crocodiles, dogs, bears, and snakes probably lead the rest of the pack.
It’s often worth paying attention, though, when a filmmaker targets a more atypical animal threat, including the likes of Jonathan King’s Black Sheep or Juan Piquer Simón’s Slugs. A new contender rumbles its way onto the screen this month, and while we all grew up thinking hippos are rotund cuties, the truth is far more frightening – this hippo is Hungry.
Sistine (Madison Davenport) and her best friend, Hannah (Olivia Bernstone), are enjoying a vacation in New Orleans, hoping to drown out their troubles back home. They sign up for an early morning bayou tour known for its alligator sightings and are joined by four other tourists and the boat’s skipper, Rodrigo (Michel Curiel). An uneventful trip sees Rodrigo take the group off the beaten path, but when an animal in the water capsizes their boat, the group finds themselves trapped in the swamp by something unexpected and deadly.
It’s a hippo. There’s a hippo in the bayou, and it’s not happy about all these pesky people.
From Joy Houck’s Creature from Black Lake to Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort to Adam Green’s Hatchet, the movies have warned us time and again not to go into the swampy bayous of Louisiana. Those cautionary tales are appreciated, though, as bigfoot, inbred hicks, and undead serial killers are a very real threat. But hippos? In the bayou? Well, that just seems silly.
And yet, Hungry plays its blubbery, big-toothed threat with deadly seriousness, and it’s all the better for it. “But Rob,” I can already hear some of you saying, “just yesterday you reviewed the new shark attack film, Chum, and said it suffered from taking itself too seriously. What gives?” For one thing, you’re misquoting me, but more importantly, the reference there was more of an observation on the animal attack subgenre successes as a whole. The “fun” ones tend to succeed more often than their more serious counterparts, but a dramatic and thrilling time can still be found with filmmakers who know what they’re doing.
Chum may be serious, but it’s also poorly written/performed, lacking in any degree of tension, devoid of personality, and so on. By contrast, Hungry lets its suspense build on the backs of engaging characters, good performances, and believable writing. Only one of its ensemble is obnoxious – a major feat for this kind of film – but even then, their motivations are both well-written and understandable.
The rest of the characters are people you’d be happy to see survive the night, and rather than looking forward to the next kill, director James Nunn and his cast leave us uncertain and nervous about who’s going to go belly up. The nervous business traveler wanting to get back to her kids? The family of three celebrating lost loved ones while on their vacation? Joaquim de Almeida’s Walker, an old hunter, is introduced saying, “The only cute hippo is a dead hippo,” so you pretty much know where he’ll end up.
To that end, the film teases out its hippo’s first appearance until well into the ninety-minute running time. We get ripples and splashes, but it’s only around the midway point that we get our first real look at the beast, and it looks fantastic. Nunn goes on to show the hippo in all its glory, and it’s a convincing antagonist brought to life through practical prosthetic effects and digital work. From the ear twitches to the beast’s giant maw opening wide with awe and malice, the hippo’s presence feels part of the action. There’s a tangible nature to it, something practical effects excel at while digital effects sometimes fail to convince of, and both succeed here with quality work from all involved.
While we get brief exteriors early on and some visually appealing drone shots, the bulk of the film unfolds on what looks to be a highly believable, set-dressed water tank (but could very well be an actual location, in which case, kudos to the team). It’s wholly convincing as a section of the bayou, complete with shoulder-high water and arching, twisting trees emerging into the sky. The film was shot in Malta, which is, coincidentally, where Chum was filmed as well.
Nunn, who also wrote Hungry, is now ten films deep into a fairly interesting career as a genre filmmaker. He’s made four movies with Scott Adkins, three of which are certified action bangers (with 2016’s Eliminators in particular being an underrated gem). He dipped a toe into the animal attack subgenre back in 2022 with the aforementioned Shark Bait, and it’s clear he learned some lessons from that endeavor, as its first hour is an engaging, attractively shot feature that sinks fast as soon as its poorly rendered shark becomes a lead character. Hungry improves on every aspect of that film, with its biggest step up being in regard to the effects.
If there’s an area or two where Hungry lacks bite, it’s in both its gore and its ending. There are numerous kills here, but the nature of the attacks and the choices made by Nunn mean none of them result in gory assaults or outcomes. We’re shown the torn apart corpse of an alligator early on, but most of the human kills see them attacked and dragged underwater, leaving nothing but a blood spill behind. Similarly, while the ending encounter satisfies, it still feels like it should have been a bigger confrontation. Neither of these aspects really hurt the film, but a bolstering of the gore and ending antics would have definitely upped the film’s ultimate entertainment value and rewatchability.
When all is said and done, Hungry is a genuinely solid animal attack film that succeeds in making its creature threat thrilling, entertaining, and, dare I say, educational? Title notwithstanding, the film acknowledges that hippos are vegetarians, meaning the five hundred or so people they kill every year – a true fact! – are slaughtered not out of hunger, but out of spite, self-defense, or a desire to play “land orca” while tossing around us fragile humans like we’re little more than seals in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Characters are grounded and engaging, the film moves well between suspense, character beats, and action, and the effects used to bring the hippo to life are highly effective and never feel like distractions. Drop those expectations of a Hungry Hungry Hippo romp, and settle in for a terrific little survival thriller about an angry, angry hippo instead.
Chomp chomp.
Hungry releases in select theaters today, June 3, before arriving on VOD on June 23, 2026.
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