Tormentum Dark Sorrow: Heavy Metal Point and Click
05 Nov 2016
Developer: OhNoo StudioPublisher: OhNoo Studio
Platform: PC (Reviewed), iOS, Andriod
Released: Mar 4, 2015
Copy Purchased
Tormentum is a classic point and click puzzle game while being one of the most horrifyingly gorgeous games that I have ever played. The game has an interesting story to tell with some choices along the way. It has some of the most interesting and metal art I have ever seen. The games ending got me interested in playing it again to see the other endings. The game will have some tough competition to face. With the revitalization of the point and click genre, can Tormentum stand up against the rest?
The game looks like H. R. Giger had a surrealism phase mixed in with some dark fantasy. This being mixed in with a story that will take you on a wild ride, ever slowly finding out just what is going on in the world around you. After a while of playing the game, I started getting lost in the world. Wondering what new fantastical creatures and backdrops I would encounter. The art is grim, dark, and really encapsulates the world in which you are playing in. Even some of the brighter areas can be unsettling. One of the few complaints that I have about this games presentation is that the soundtrack is relatively forgettable. The music is not bad at all, and it really helps build the world, but by the end of the game you will have probably have forgotten most of the games music.
The story in this game is definitely something to talk about. If you go on the steam store for this game you will see that game has a lot of discussion about its ending, and how the religious symbolism plays into the developers narratives. This is fine to bring up a discussion about the games ending but attacking the devs saying it’s propaganda and scare tactics is just flat out wrong. The game uses religious symbolism all throughout the game to tell a story. The story may not align with your personal beliefs, and that is well and good, but at the end of the day the story is solid. The way the devs pace things out and abstract what is going on all the mean while providing an interesting narrative about morality is great. By the end of the game no loose ends are left and you can easily figure out what is going on.
While the art and presentation of the world might sell you, the gameplay falls just a tad bit short. I am not saying the gameplay is bad, in fact some might call it good, but the gameplay seems extremely lackluster compared to the presentation of the game. Tormentum is a standard point and click game with nothing really new going for it. It follows the same core concepts that all point and click games do, you point and click. While I wouldn’t say that this is a mark against the game I would have liked to seen some more new gameplay elements introduced into the game. But then again the old saying goes “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.
The game has a nice handy notes system which allows the player to take down important information to avoid needless backtracking. The notes track symbols and designs that are used in puzzles. They don’t tell you what what you have done or have hints on where to go next but rather avoid you having to backtrack. It’s a simple notes system that basically replaces writing down symbols and puzzles with pen and paper. As some one who has played a lot of point and click games this is a very nice touch. I’m pretty sure I could find some old notes floating around my room with scribblings and notes for older point and click games.
With point and click games it can be hard to tell what to click on, what items are important, and where to progress next. Tormentum clears up some of this confusion with distinctly showing the player when and where they can move to the next board. It’s a nice touch that cuts down on the confusion. It still has the problem of important pieces falling into the background and sometimes skipped over. It can be frustrating when you realize the reason why you were stuck on a puzzle is because you missed a piece that was in the background. This didn’t happen a lot but it did happen enough to remember. Most pieces avoid this problem as they tend to stick out pretty well. The real problem lies within some puzzle pieces being small and tend to be the same color as the background.
The mechanics don’t matter too much in point and click games. You need to be able to point and click and that is pretty much it. What really matters is the quality of the puzzles and the story that it presents you. With that being said the last thing to talk about is the puzzles. Overall the puzzles are good but are not challenging. Most of the puzzles, while varied, aren’t that memorable. Most being a match system or a simple block puzzle. A lot of the puzzles are actually finding out what to do next and how to progress onto the next board.
All said and done Tormentum is a great puzzle game that offers a unique and interesting setting while staying true to its roots. Even if those roots keep this game simple, it does not mean it is a bad thing. The puzzles while not complicated are at the very least interesting enough to keep you entertained along the way. While I do think that gameplay and puzzles fall a little bit short, I can say that my time spent playing this game was worth it. The story and world is definitely the selling point of this game. The best way I could describe this game is heavy metal surrealism with a hint of H.R. Giger just to be safe, and hey if that is enough to interest you, go out and buy this game.
Buy The game on Steam, iOS, or Google Play