Tormented Souls

Lore & Background

Tormented Souls follows Caroline Walker, a young Canadian woman who in December 1994 receives a damaged photograph of twin girls and travels to the abandoned Wildberger Hospital on Blackwood Island. She is knocked unconscious upon arrival and awakens naked in a bathtub with her right eye surgically removed. The game's story unfolds through exploration of the dilapidated mansion-turned-hospital, where Caroline encounters disfigured monsters—former patients transformed by mysterious radiation—and uses improvised weapons to survive. VHS tapes allow her to travel back in time to the day of each recording, revealing the hospital's dark history. Caroline learns that the twin girls in the photograph were daughters of Dr. William Wildberger, and that a religious cult called the Pollux Sect has been sacrificing sets of twins to feed an egg-like 'sacred placenta' deep beneath the mansion. The cult's goal is to birth a god-like being meant to cleanse humanity. Caroline discovers she is actually Emma Wildberger, the twin who escaped in 1980 but lost her memories. She ultimately confronts her mutated twin sister Anna and the awakened creature, which she kills by dropping a mining drill on it. The game's ending varies based on whether Caroline rescues Anna's past self via a VHS tape, mercy kills her, or ignores her.

Reader's Guide

Tormented Souls is significant as a deliberate throwback to the fixed-camera survival horror style popularized by the original Resident Evil games. Its use of tank controls and static camera angles, combined with modern production values, appealed to fans of the genre seeking a classic experience. The game's narrative, involving time travel via VHS tapes and a cult sacrificing twins, was praised for its ambition and dark themes. Reception was generally favorable on Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, while the PlayStation 5 version received mixed or average reviews according to Metacritic. The game's success led to a sequel, Tormented Souls 2, released in 2025. Its legacy lies in demonstrating that the fixed-camera survival horror formula could still engage contemporary audiences, and in offering multiple endings based on player choices regarding the protagonist's twin sister.

Did You Know?

• The protagonist Caroline Walker is revealed to be Emma Wildberger, the twin sister who escaped the Pollux Sect in 1980.
• The game's time travel mechanic is triggered by VHS tapes that send Caroline back to the day of their recording.
• The creature at the end is killed by dropping a large mining drill on its two heads.
• The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were cancelled in February 2021 but eventually released in February 2022.