Do you kill it now and hope nothing comes at you later? Or, do you save it for a boss fight that may come soon? More ammo might be right around the corner, or it could be another monster hidden just out of view. Some can be avoided if you are agile enough but most enemies outside of one will tend to stick around until they are dealt with. Countless creatures and monstrous former patients await you and only a limited supply of offensive and defensive weapons are available to deal with them. I would be remiss if I failed to mention what lies in the darkness at the hospital.

Those taking in every note and piece of the environment will be happily rewarded. More than once my jaw dropped when I got to see the payoff of puzzles I thought I’d never solve. Some made me sit back in awe as I pondered the solution only to have it hit me in the face when I examined a critical clue. You just need the patience and the spatial awareness to see that the answer may have been right in front of you the whole time. Every clue, hint, and step are telegraphed to you somewhere and in some way all the while avoiding dreaded “moon logic”.

Tormented Souls brainteasers will humble even survival horror veterans. No survival horror game would be complete with its signature puzzles. Caroline can be moved with an alternate set of controls that feel modern and less like I’m trying to park a car blindfolded. Your inventory space is unlimited, and you won’t be trying to figure out what puzzle gets priority or what weapon you’ll bring, or what you’ll leave behind. After all, it’s been more than 20 years since gamers got to explore the Spencer Mansion for the first time. It was like greeting an old friend I haven’t seen in a while. Everything from clunky tank controls, blood-soaked creatures of the night lying in wait, and puzzles that open more of the mansion as you join Caroline in her journey. Tormented Souls is a throwback to the genre of survival horror, and you’ll find all the hallmarks of the games of old here. She presses on, almost compelled to continue in her search of the twin girls in the photo, and what discover secrets are hidden between the walls of the makeshift hospital. Caroline then receives a nasty bump on the head and wakes in a bathtub with tubes connected to her and her left eye plucked out. Somehow drawn to them, Caroline leads her to a creepy mansion later turned into a medical facility. In Tormented Souls, we follow Caroline Walker as she receives a mysterious parcel carrying a photograph of a pair of twin girls. Well, somebody must have called Dual Effect, because they happened to do just that. We’ve even lost some great franchises in the process (I miss you Visceral Games and Team Silent.) Yet, with all the evolutions and new perspectives, I yearned for that simple time when I would slap in a plastic disc and explore spooky mansions and endure overbearing atmospheres. The genre has gone through many phases and changes from different controls to how much action should be allowed, to borderline walking simulators that deliver some scares on occasion. It has been a long time since that first entry and played more horror games than I can count since then.

The action, the scares, the (at the time) impressive voice acting all of it just clicked. That old Capcom “this game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore” plastered on the screen, the menu yelling the title “ Resident Evil ” as you started I loved it and played whenever time would allow. It was a gift and couldn’t wait to get it running in my old PS1. I remember when I played my first Resident Evil.

Tormented souls reviews