Developer: OhNoo Studio
Publisher: OhNoo Studio
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow – Review
Point and click adventure games are not for everyone. They are often rather passive and make the storytelling an absolute priority. Tormentum: Dark Sorrow is without a doubt one of those games but I bet even die-hard shooter fanatics might appreciate the original and beautiful art from OhNoo Studio’s first real PC game.
Story
You wake up in a cage, hanging below a sort of flying machine. With no idea of what exactly happened before you ended up here, you see that you’re not the only one in this perilous situation. Besides the cage you unwillingly were locked up in, there’s a second one hanging near you with another unhappy ‘customer’. The airship brings you to a castle that smells of death and sorrow and in which sinners are punished with the worst possible ways of torture. There’s only one thing to do now: escape. After finding a way out of the castle, you’ll notice that your journey is still not on its end. Although the game doesn’t take that long to finish, it succeeds in bringing an average but interesting storyline. Especially the ending is quite a fun one to experience.
The whole game long, Tormentum covers itself in a thick blanket of mysteriousness which makes the game that much more attractive to complete. Why are you in that castle? Do your actions have consequences? Yes, in certain parts of the story, you’ll have to make some hard decisions which will ultimately affect how the game ends for you so be careful what you choose. As said before, the story is still a bit on the average side but the moral choices woven in between make it worth your time.
Graphics
Now, let’s talk some more about the absolute best part of Tormentum: the art style. As you probably already noticed through the screenshots in this review, the art style is pretty unique and maybe a bit disturbing . Every screen in the game look incredibly detailed and cared for which makes it a blast to go from one area to another. Often, you’ll encounter all kinds of monsters or creatures and they truly look pretty friggin’ creepy. While you’re in the castle at the first part of the game, you just want to get away from that place as it plainly makes you feel horrified. Stumbling into the torture chamber is also something you might want to prepare for…
Sound
Some eerie music supports the overall style of the game and succeeds in bringing about a certain tension. Together with the graphical awesomeness, the sound makes Tormentum a very pleasant game to play through. Too much praise would be a little much as the sound effects on their own are not particularly special or something, but it’s just fantastic how both the graphics and the sound design feel like one whole.
Gameplay
As mentioned in the introduction above, the game is a point and click adventure game, meaning, you can lend your keyboard to your buddy who broke his own while playing Super Meat Boy. The mouse is all you need. You simply click on a particular spot in the area you’re at and if in luck, an object or other secret will reveal itself. Throughout the whole game, a lot of puzzles are hidden and they usually don’t seem to be of an incredibly high difficulty level. Often, the key to solving those puzzles is somewhere in the near environment and this makes some puzzles rather easy. Those looking for a real puzzle challenge best look somewhere else as here; anybody can solve the puzzles in a matter of minutes.
There’re several categories of puzzles. In some, the player will simply have to put their grey mass at work as the solution lies in thinking logically or finding some kind of pattern in the puzzle itself. Other ones will ask you to look around several areas for clues or objects which are needed to progress the story. Never do the puzzles become bothersome or tedious but either you’ll like the (very) easy difficulty or you’ll miss any challenge in the game. Personally, I like the relatively simple puzzles as Tormentum emphasizes much more on the overall atmosphere and the mysterious storyline. Having assignments where you first mess about with all kinds of documents or random objects would just stand in the way of progress and looking up a guide is probably the last thing you’ll want to do. Still, this is a very subjective opinion so if you’re into impossible puzzle solving; this won’t be the game for you.
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow is rather on the short side as the game can be completed in about 4-5 hours. However, the game never felt rushed through or incomplete story wise. Looking at the very respectable price tag, the game is certainly worth what the makers ask for it.
Conclusion
If atmosphere and story are more important to you than challenges or longevity, Tormentum: Dark Sorrow is the game to take a look at. Although quite short, the game offers such a unique experience that a lot among you will gladly cough up the small fee asked by OhNoo Studio. Point ‘n Clickers, this is the game to keep an eye out for.
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow - Review,
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This game still looks amazing!