Halls of Torment – PS5 Review 1

Halls of Torment is an auto-battling/rogue-lite/survivors-style game from German games devs Chasing Carrots.  It originally came out on PC in 2024 and also got a pretty nifty Android port too (which we’ve played the arse off on the Retroid Pocket 5).  It’s now out on PS5 though but will it be a good fit for console gaming?

There’s not really much of a story, or any lore, with Halls of Torment but it’ll feel pretty familiar nonetheless.  It’s essentially the popular Vampire Survivors type of set up, with you fending off thousands of enemies for a set amount of time, but with a visual upgrade from Vampire Survivors’ 16-bit graphics to a sort of PS1/Diablo look.

You start out as a basic swordsman who attacks whoever is nearest to him with his blade (actually, it’s worth noting that you can turn the automatic stuff off and aim/attack manually, but we’re assuming you’re not massively mentally unwell and would never do that).  You move him with the left stick and can override his aim, Brotato-style, with the right stick if you want to focus on a particular foe too.

As is the way with this sort of game, defeated enemies will drop experience gems that you can pick up and this will allow you to level up.  Hit a new level and you’ll get a choice of perks, based around improving your attack, defence, pick up range or speed as well as powering up any new weapons that you discover.  The idea is that while you’re massively outnumbered, you’ll eventually be powerful enough to outmatch whatever the enemy has in store for you.  And, as ever, it’s joyously addictive to do that.

With six stages, all eventually replayable with additional difficulty modifiers, there’s plenty to do, especially as each run lasts thirty minutes before you face off with its boss.  These boss battles can be a bit of a spike, and defeat after thirty minutes can be pretty galling, but it is rewarding when you beat them even if they all just seem to be variants of the some bullet-sponge that walks you down while shooting out shots in set patterns.

In terms of the main gameplay, it’s all pretty much as you’d expect.  It can feel a little slow compared to other games in the genre but we did feel that it seemed faster than the Android version, that might be our imagination though.  But it’s certainly pretty playable and the grind period from getting your arse kicked to beating the level isn’t too bad either.  Although, as you’d expect from the genre, this isn’t really a skill thing rather than the benefit of the permanent upgrades you can earn.

Between levels you’ll be in your base, well it looks more like a big cave lair, and along the way you’ll unlock features for it.  There’s a guy who sells you equipment and this works like a normal RPG in that you have slots for headgear, rings, boots and so on and you’ll find gear that’ll give you bonuses.  You’ll find gear during runs too, so there’s often opportunities to switch things up mid-game.  There’s also a statue where you can spend gold to permanently upgrade your stats, which is the key to long-term success in the game.  You’ll be well-served to focus on damage and attack speed there.

There’s a potion-maker who gives you drinks that will allow you to re-roll, banish and save the perks choices that show up when you level up.  Useful if you’re sick of seeing upgrades you’re not interested in.

But maybe the most interesting thing is the list of quests that you can take on.  These are in-game objectives that involve all sorts of things such as beating a level without using any non-main weapon abilities, killing set numbers of enemies with various weapons and so on.  Beating these quests will earn you everything from gold to new perk/weapon choices and even new characters to play as, of which there is quite a wide and varied cast (although the flame-wielding Exterminator does seem like the stand out choice).

It’s all pretty addictive and enjoyable to play and not too complicated either.  There’s a lot to do but it’s all pretty easy to understand and you always have a choice of what you want to focus on.  Is it a new area, a different character or a specific quest?  Doesn’t matter.  You do you, buddy.

It’s just a very capable example of the genre with very few niggles.  Thirty minute runs are arguably a little too long.  And some of the difficulty spikes are a bit inconsistent and annoying.  It’s also not the most exciting game.  Where Vampire Survivors was a technicolour explosion of fun and dopamine, the Diablo-style visuals here are pretty drab and, having moved on from the Android version, we were surprised at how pixelated it all looks on the big screen.  It’s not ugly but it’s not all that attractive either.

But if you’re a fan of the genre and want a lot of it in one package, Halls of Torment is a good time.