Whenever one of the major gaming events rolls around (E3, Gamescom, TGS, etc.) I’m always expecting to see sequels and spin-offs to major series like Fallout, Assassin’s Creed, or something like Halo. You know, large IPs that publishers are certain will make money. It’s always nice to see the handful of new IP that get announced every so often too.

What really catches me off-guard though are sequels to smaller titles, stuff like Psychonauts 2 or Beyond Good & Evil 2. I mean, I’m always happy to see them, but it’s always a shock since games like the original Psychonauts and BG&E did not sell well despite going on to be much beloved by gamers. It’s just how it is: games that aren’t popular tend not to get follow-ups. During this year’s Gamescom, another surprise sequel got announced, one that I’m especially floored-by: Tormented Souls II!

I came across the first Tormented Souls almost by accident. I’m pretty sure I was just browsing the PS Store and happened across it while looking for games like Signalis. It sounded good, if not a little wonky since the developer’s goal was to try and bring back the late 90’s/early 00’s style of horror game. It also happened to be on sale, so I figured “why not?” This…might have been one of the best discoveries I’ve ever made, personally.

To start, Tormented Souls isn’t a 10/10 horror game. It’s not particularly scary, and it does suffer from some wonkiness due to its being an homage to 90’s horror. Limited saves, fixed-camera angles and awkward combat are all here, and do indeed remind one of why such things were eventually abandoned. None of it actually becomes a problem, and I rather enjoyed it all to a degree, but it’s still something that one has to be in the mood to deal with, I think. I suppose all of this is to point out that Tormented Souls was and is always going to be a niche title.

All that said, I think Tormented Souls has all the makings of a horror cult-classic that’s only one or two steps below something like Silent Hill. It’s got a distinct art style, haunting music, at least one memorable character in the form of Noah Wildberger, some memorably goofy writing, and a compelling gameplay loop filled with tense exploration, nervous combat encounters, and well thought out puzzles (some of which are real brain-scratchers). If our protagonist, Caroline Walker, had just a bit more presence and personality, I think the game would be primed for eventual discovery and elevation to cult-classic status.

The most important aspect for me was that it managed to draw me in in the same way that Resident Evil 7 did. As I wandered the halls of Wildberger Hospital, I was always alert for a potential surprise just like in the Baker compound. Encounters didn’t happen as often, but it seemed like they always came right when I started to relax and get comfortable. This made every new (and often dark) area some place I couldn’t help but hold my breath as I walked through it even though actual monster encounters were somewhat rare. In other words, they really nailed the atmosphere here. Then there were the puzzles!

I won’t say that every puzzle was super esoteric or anything, but none of them were the usual “Oh gee, I wonder if I should turn the locks to match the 3 symbols scratched above them” kind of braindead “challenges” that we see so often in modern games. They weren’t all hard, but you did have to actually think in order to arrive at the solutions. A couple of them even stumped me for a long time.

One revolved around a poem and correctly associating its stanza to a nearby model. In hindsight it should have been straightforward, but I completely fell for the red herrings embedded in the writing. Another was centered on a clock and trying to divine the correct hand positions from different things elsewhere in the room. Again, the significance of some things was lost on me for a good while. Both were certainly frustrating, but the satisfaction that came from solving them was something else!

Even with so much going for it though, Tormented Souls only moved around 200,000 units on Steam, which is usually far too few to justify a sequel. I was all set to just accept the game as an awesome standalone experience, but here we are! Against all odds, Tormented Souls 2 is happening! I probably don’t need to say it at this point, but I’m absolutely gonna be there once it’s out later next year!

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What are some surprise sequels that you’re excited for? What’s one you’d love to see but will likely never get made?

Image from the Tormented Souls 2 Steam page