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After Vampire Survivors released, a flood games in the same vein followed. I’ve actually become a big fan of the genre. If made well, these types of games are addictive and can keep you occupied for a very long time. Halls of Torment is one I’ve been looking forward to. I played it when it was in early access and really enjoyed my time with it. I’ve seen a lot of people recommend it and I was of the mind it’s going to be one of the best in the genre when it comes out. Unfortunately, I missed the release date but as soon as I found out it was out of early access, I dove right back in. Developed and published by Chasing Carrots, Halls of Torment was released for PC in September, 2024. Like other survivor style games, Halls of Torment features characters trying to survive an onslaught of enemies for a certain amount of time, earning experience, leveling up and becoming more powerful. But it also showcases a dark and gritty tone, something akin to the early Diablo titles.
I’m going to quote a line from the game’s description on its Steam page, “Halls of Torment is a horde survival game with a pre-rendered retro look reminiscent of RPGs from the late 90s.” You select a character, enter a level or hall, and must survive wave after wave of foes. Survive for a set amount of time and the boss or Lord of that hall will appear. Defeat the Lord to win. The combat is similar to what you would see in other games of this kind. You can attack manually but are given options to enable auto attacking and aiming. As you slay enemies, they drop experience which you can collect and after collecting enough, you level up and can select a trait which grants your character a bonus of some kind. In the halls are objects that can be destroyed to reveal pickups like gold, health, and temporary powerups. Scrolls of Mastery can also be found in the halls and can be dropped by Elite enemies. These allow you to select abilities that will aid you in combat. Elites can also drop chests that contain equipment that will grant your character additional bonuses.
Everything I just talked about is only scratching the surface. Halls of Torment is easily one of the best games in the genre. It’s extremely addictive, there’s plenty to unlock, and a multitude of ways to build characters. Halls of Torment features quests which are simply achievements. When you unlock achievements or complete quests, you unlock something in the game like new trait types, abilities, characters, equipment, and more. Sometimes you’re just awarded extra gold. There’s a lot to unlock and I’m happy to say I never felt the game was a grind. Sure, the very beginning starts out slow because you have nothing yet but once you start unlocking things, the pace picks up real quick and I think that’s one of the game’s biggest strengths. I never felt stuck or bored. There is technically an “end” if you want to call it that, complete with an end cut scene and even though I reached that point, I still have things to do. Regardless, the replay value here is phenomenal and it’s mainly because of all the options you have when it comes to characters and their builds.
There are numerous characters to unlock and each one feels distinct. They specialize in something unique and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. And I never felt any one character was too similar to another. The swordsman feels different than the archer and the archer feels different than the warlock, so on an so forth. Some characters benefit from certain traits more than others. When you unlock the Shrine of Blessings, you can spend gold on Blessings which are basically permanent bonuses that affect all characters. In certain halls are NPCs that can be rescued and basically unlock new features. The Cupbearer allows you to brew potions by procuring ingredients and bottles and these potions offer a variety of effects. When you rescue the Scriptor, you can trade him Torment Shards to permanently improve stats for each character. Then there’s the Wellkeeper who sells equipment. However, the equipment must be acquired in the halls and sent up the well before you can purchase them. There’s even a stash for all your equipment and you can equip your character with different items before starting runs.
The game doesn’t overwhelm you with everything all at once. You unlock things as you progress and there’s a lot packed in here when you really look at it. In addition to what was already mentioned, you can unlock additional blessings and new traits for abilities. With the unique characters, trait types, abilities, and equipment, the amount of ways you can customize and build your character is almost endless. That’s what’s addictive. Trying new combinations. There’s about a handful of levels or halls to play through and each one looks and feels distinct and there are secrets or secret items to find that make the Lords easier to defeat. Halls of Torment is not actually a long game if you look at it from the perspective of just simply defeating the Lord of each hall. Like other games in the genre, the replay value is one of the big draws here. You play again and again for more rewards and can even make the gameplay more challenging.
At a certain point, you’ll unlock the Shrine of Torment where you can access Agony mode. Agony mode makes the gameplay more challenging but yields better rewards. What’s cool about it, though, is that the challenge scales based on your performance, indicated by your Agony Rank. You can unlock artifacts that can be activated before starting Agony runs and each one changes up the gameplay in different ways, usually making things more difficult like increased enemies, adding traps and hazards, and other things along those lines. Each active artifact also increases the Torment level. Torment does introduce variants of equipment that offer better bonuses and various aspects of the gameplay are scaled based on the Torment level.
The only level or hall that does not have an Agony variant is the final one, The Vault. However, this hall is different than the others due to its own unique mechanics. For one thing, you must pay a tribute to enter which also applies a modifier. You can pay additional tributes for more modifiers as well. Time doesn’t count down in The Vault. Instead, it’s basically an endless hall but it does feature a Lord that needs to be unsealed and defeating it does result in “winning” for lack of a better word. But you can essentially play in this hall for as long as you can survive.
I really like visual presentation of Halls of Torment. To me, it seems obvious the developer was going for a Diablo look and I would say they nailed it. From the art style to the lighting to the enemy designs, the presentation really captures that dark and gritty look and conveys a sinister and ominous atmosphere. The enemy roster is diverse, the environments are distinct and fairly well detailed, and the visual effects look good. The action is backed by a pretty good soundtrack with what I would consider ominous and dramatic tunes that fit in with the evil-ish theme on display. On the technical side, the game ran smooth and I encountered no major issues.
Halls of Torment is the video game equivalent of crack and I fucking love it. I’m addicted. From what I can tell, it was created by people who love the genre and clearly understand what makes it so much fun. There’s a lot of survivor style games out there now and while I’ve enjoyed a good chunk of them, I can honestly say none have kept me as invested as Halls of Torment, Vampire Survivors excluded. It’s fun and addictive mainly because of the mechanics it employs and how everything works. Every character feels unique and the amount of options you’re given to build and improve them allows for a ton of experimentation. Defeating a Lord or dying means you can do it again and try something new and it’s fun every single time. It’s a game that’s easy to jump into, can be enjoyed in short bursts or long sessions, and features an excellent amount of depth. It even lets you customize the challenge.
I absolutely recommend Halls of Torment. It’s easily one of the best games in the genre I’ve played so far. There’s a lot to see and do, plenty to unlock, and it will keep you coming back for a long while and encourages experimentation. It’s the quintessential “just one more run” game. It’s late, you’re ready for bed, and you decide to do just one more run. This keeps happening until you realize hours have passed. That’s the kind of game Halls of Torment is. Definitely check it out.