Point-and-click games used to feel like the tattered pop-up books in a library full of literary masterpieces, but they have come far since those days. With more basic controls that usually leave out combat, a point and click or HOPA (hidden object puzzle adventure) has to work harder to impress the player. With so many of these games available on Steam, or for less than $10 at the local game shop, it can be easy to get bogged down by the less refined ones and miss the ones worth playing. Tormentum – Dark Sorrow from Ohnoo was one I put my hand up for because it has a very solid macabre feel to it, and it leaves out the hidden object part, while telling us next to nothing about the story.
Tormentum – Dark Sorrow is from a three-man development team that has a strong focus on games with a gothic twist which make you take a good hard look at your existence – whether you want to or not. With the classic ambiguous start to the narrative of an anti-hero with no memory, Tormentum gets off to a fairly average start. You are being airlifted with a character whom would look at home with Jareth from The Labyrinth, and are deposited in a grim castle with no idea what’s going on. The story in the first minute didn’t grip me, but what I did enjoy were the quotes that all alluded to ‘how you treat people is key.’ A subtle backstory evaporated after the first dialogue with my captor; however, he does mention your evil deeds, redemption and flat out says that you will be judged on my every move.
I love macabre games because there is always a hidden truth somewhere, but in this case I felt I had my favourite part taken away. I was still interested and continued through the whole game, however. There were several points that gave you choices to make, almost every time it was a very clear: “are you an evil prick or not?” kind of option. I was impressed further on, though, when the choices matured and lost their black and white nature. Instead, I found myself going for the most logical of the outcomes because I couldn’t always decide what was nicest. It’s roughly at this point I was hooked. I knew there were consequences and was sure of the big reveal in the end, but part of me still obsessed about decisions I’d made and whether or not I am as balanced as I thought. I won’t say anything else about the story, play it yourself, but I’ll admit Pride in the 11th hour was my downfall – touché, Ohnoo Studios.
Tormentum’s design is by far and away its greatest feature; every background, animation and character is precisely detailed in the dark theme throughout the game. The scenes are easy to navigate and operate while offering a screenshot worthy visuals at every point during the tale. There was no voice acting, which is a huge positive: I play loads of games in this style, and either a Christopher Lee impersonator ruins the dialogue or poor quality damages the entire atmosphere. The sound effects blended so well I forgot to pay attention to them, everything sounded organic instead of orchestrated, and I could pay more attention to accidently ruining someone’s life. The music, while appropriately foreboding and mysterious, missed a few fantastic opportunities to drive home its revelations and points of despair. It’s repetitiveness also started to annoy rather that heighten the atmosphere after a few hours.
Point-and-click games have one specific game mechanic, but as someone who plays them often, I know what I like and what drives me to want to jab someone with the mouse pointer. Hand holding: unless you just bought me dinner, I am never ok with hand holding, especially in games. Most P&Cs have options that cater to crazy, so we can toggle hints, click rate, and difficulty level. Tormentum offered none of these, and had a golden orb on everything clickable just a few seconds after the prologue. I’m in a cell, with a skeleton arm pointing upwards, an animated crow, and a glowing skull; I think I can manage finding what to click without the help, thanks. The puzzles were entertaining, at least: a few new ideas on tired puzzles were fun and required some effort, and one episode of YouTube after 15 minutes wasted on the fuse box.
Macabre themes fit very well with the game
Detailed visuals maintain a great atmosphere
Clever puzzles, with no hidden objects
Intriguing conclusion to the main narrative
Hand holding the whole time
Some interactions felt out of place
Fairly short at 4 hours
Very easy to predict the narrative
More than once, I was lost as to what I needed to do next, or found myself having a conversation that seemed pointless or out of place. An escaped prisoner having a lovely chat with an armed guard, who then lets me into an off-limits room just didn’t sit well with me. At four hours in length, it also felt quite short; though, upon reflection, I think the narrative would have been ruined had it been drawn out any further. A shorter game also means I could go and replay it to change my choices and outcomes. Overall, Tormentum – Dark Sorrow is unashamedly eye candy for me, and while I prefer an endgame I can’t guess at in the first minute, I still enjoyed it on the whole. The best part would have to be the final 5 minutes where my last choice triggered an internal conversation along the lines of “Do they know I know, or do they know that I know that they know that I know?” They knew; it didn’t end well for me.