More Tormentum to be inflicted on Windows and Mac next year

Written by Jack Allin — October 24, 2018 at 12:39

You never want torment in your life, but there's always room for a little more Tormentum. Good thing, too, as indie Polish developer OhNoo Studio has just announced a sequel to its 2015 dark fantasy point-and-click horror adventure.

Tormentum II takes place in the future, at a time when "computer games bring relief in a hopeless world devastated by technology." There will be no relief for players, however, who control a game developer "whose ambition is to create what has never been achieved before – a world inhabited by characters with intelligence equal to that of a human being." Everything changes, however, the day he "receives a mysterious package with an equally mysterious processor," as he begins experiencing haunting visions blending reality with nightmare, and "characters from the game begin to penetrate his world." Then, after installing the new processor in his computer, "he himself becomes a prisoner of his own creation."

Despite the futuristic sci-fi trappings of the framing narrative, the new game once again takes place in a "dark, surreal world full of gloomy characters and repulsive creatures taken straight from the scariest horrors." As with its predecessor, the jaw-dropping hand-drawn artwork spanning over 130 locations (double the number in the original game) is inspired by artists like H.R.Giger or Zdzisław Beksiński, creating imagery designed to "send shivers down players' spines." 

Awaking in a "prison on an island in the middle of the sea," the protagonist soon discovers that this world is "different from his imagination – much less friendly, much more aggressive," and rumours abound of a mysterious god that he never personally designed into his game. As you explore these disturbingly vivid lands, accompanied by a unique score "enriched with metal music," you will be faced with questions of conscience that force you to make "often ambiguous decisions affecting the fate of the characters [you] meet." Your decisions will impact how the story plays out, ultimately leading to more than one possible ending.

The joys of Tormentum II are still a way off, as the game is currently slated for release on Steam on Windows and Mac next June. Of course, while you wait you can check out the team's other, much different adventure, Tsioque, which is nearing completion and due out November 7th.