Game #1090: The Suffering

  It couldn't be something pleasant like 'The Blissfulness', now could it?

 The Suffering is one of those games that gets brought up every blue moon, since it's a game that many remember in one way or another and enjoyed at the time but didn't have the lasting impact to become a mainstay in horror game conversation. Which is a shame, because it's really good!

 The game just barely edges into survival horror territory because of your limited inventory space, but for all intents and purposes, it's more of a horror-themed third person shooter. You play as a mysterious convict who just moved into a new penitentiary on an Island, under the accusation of murdering his own family. Whether he did or not is up to your actions throughout the game, but that is the least of your worries since things quickly go awry and all manner of grotesque creatures invade the prison, which in a very convenient twist of fate, also allows you a chance at escaping the prison and its nasty new inhabitants.

 You'll spend most of your time shooting at enemies with either dual pistols, a tommy gun or a shotgun... a couple more weapons if you can find them. You can also throw molotvs and dynamite sticks, as well as transform into a monster yourself, when the gauge is full, if you need an extra bit of help. What makes this game edge the survival horror category is that you can carry a limited amount of healing items and ammo, so you'll be leaving supplies behind if you can't carry them while also having to be careful not you run out of supplies. I played the game on the normal difficulty setting and it was just right, forcing me not to rely on just one weapon, and I never even came close to running out of healing supplies. The auto-aiming is decent enough, but you can toggle first person mode at any moment, heck, you could play the entire game in first-person if you so chose, but I feel like Torque moves slower in that perspective.

 There are a few puzzles here and there, and most are quite easy to figure out, although a few others.... are a bit too obscure. In one segment you have to push a vending machine over a great so that the sprinklers in the room will... flood the ground... in order to put out a fire... yeah, it doesn't make much sense, but that's the way it goes. I guess I had to rely on a FAQ once or twice.

 I had much more fun with The Suffering than I thought I would. The gameplay is solid complimented by great monster and level design that keeps you constantly invested in Torque's adventure.  There are a few wonky puzzles here and there, but they don't detract from the game too much, as the shooting and art design have aged fairly gracefully, the former quite probably thanks to how simple it is. It's a decent choice for a Halloween opening course.

 8.0