Publisher PQube and developer Dual Effect released a playable demo for Tormented Souls 2, their upcoming survival horror sequel.
The new playable demo for Tormented Souls 2 is now available over on its Steam page, giving players roughly 60 minutes of gameplay from the beginnings of the game.
Here’s a rundown on the previously announced game, plus a new trailer:
The story so far…
Following the harrowing events at Wildberger Hospital, Caroline Walker hopes for a normal life with her sister, Anna. Yet in the months that follow, Anna is haunted by visions of violence and death, compelling her to create disturbing drawings that rapidly manifest into horrifying reality.
Desperate to free her of this affliction, Caroline travels to the remote town of Villa Hess and a mysterious clinic nestled deep within the mountains of southern Chile. But behind the warm smiles of the facility’s serene staff lies a sickening truth, and the sisters soon find themselves at the center of an entirely new nightmare…
So what’s included in the demo?
This first playable demo features roughly 60 minutes of gameplay, beginning with the sisters’ long journey to Villa Hess and their arrival at the convent-turned-clinic as recommended by Caroline’s long-standing friend and psychiatrist, Isabella. Greeted by the cheerful Sister Angelica, a member of the convent’s secretive sisterhood, the pair seem initially at ease. But during the night Caroline wakes to find Anna missing and following the sounds of her screaming, rushes headfirst into the horrifying scene of her sister’s abduction. Trapped in a stranglehold, Caroline begins to lose consciousness as the sisterhood’s matriarch, Mother Lucia reveals her plan to capture the Wildberger twins and continue the unthinkable work of their grandfather, Noah…
Coming around in the convent’s infirmary, Caroline must now navigate the claustrophobic passageways of the convent in search of her missing sister. But as she ventures deeper into the shadowy facility, she soon discovers that she is not alone and that an ancient evil calls from below…
An insight into Caroline’s new look
As many of our fans will know, Tormented Souls was initially conceived as a love letter to the iconic third-person survival horror titles of the 90s and early 00s. These games shared some fairly outlandish plots as well as memorable protagonists whose designs effortlessly combined B-movie horror aesthetics with the eye-catching fashion trends of the time. Looking back on Claire Redfield’s Queen-quoting biker jackets in Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica and Aya Brea’s none-more-nineties denim in Parasite Eve II got us thinking about our design for Caroline Walker in Tormented Souls 2. Had we moved too far away from our influences? Would Caroline’s silhouette still be recognizable? What would Caroline think about her militaristic, combat-ready new look?
These questions led us to revisit her design once more, going over and picking out all the key details of her outfit from the original game, and seeking to ‘evolve’ her look for the sequel. The most important point was that following the events of the first game, Caroline has grown up. She’s very much in BIG SISTER mode now, and so needs to look suitably mature. This is reflected in her color palette, with the blood red of her dress contrasting dramatically with the scuffed leather of her jacket, which conveniently helps to pick her out of the multitude of dark environments that she’ll be exploring throughout the game.
We also wanted to retain elements of her design so as to keep her silhouette relatively consistent between games. This meant bringing back the dress and jacket combo, as well as Caroline’s taste for floral patterns, bows, and leather. Some of you might remember the evolution of The Prince’s design from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time to Warrior Within. Across games, he retained his flowing sash, chunky arm bracers, and loose-fitting trousers, but undeniably looks more bad-ass in the sequel. This is very much the approach we took with Caroline’s new look, and we hope our players will enjoy the familiarity it now brings! Also bonus points for anyone who noticed the Alice Abernathy reference.
Tormented Souls 2 is in development for Windows PC (via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 with a release set for later in 2025.
