Descending into the pixel-punishing depths of Halls of Torment is like stepping into a cursed cartridge from the late 90s, only this one bites back. With wave-based survival, randomised builds, and a roguelite loop that rewards risk, this gothic gauntlet of undead and infernal horrors demands tactical grit and twitch reflexes. Our in-depth exploration of its mechanics, meta-progression, and boss design reveals a game that’s more than just a Vampire Survivors clone; it’s a shrine to strategic suffering.

Halls of Torment Review Pros

• Beautiful graphics, they are like Diablo 1 from appearance to the way it moves.
• 1. 02GB download size.
• Platinum trophy. 
• Supporters DLC gives you a character skin for each class when unlocked in-game. 
• Display settings – pixelate UI fonts and UI effects. 
• Input methods – you can set it to auto aim, auto attack and still be able to aim with the right stick. Manual trait selection is a toggle. 
• Vibration intensity slider, and it vibrates a lot, I’m game in a feedback way. 
• Interface settings – damage flash intensity slider, ability effect opacity slider, aiming line toggle, damage numbers, and show input hints. 
• Survival gameplay.
• Training area in the hub (top left cave) lets you pick and choose abilities and get a feel for them. 
• Plays like those Vampire Survivors games.
• You can play the game as a twin stick shooter, in that you aim and you press shoot, or you can set it to auto. 
• Unlock new characters by playing, amd it’s cool how they walk into the hub world. 
• So much atmosphere.
• Rather impressive enemy count on screen.
• The enemies are more akin TO diablo again with skeletons, beasts, sorcerers, etc.
• Each character has unique stats and abilities.
• Quests are on a tombstone in the hub, and as you finish them, you earn bonus rewards. The 
• The Register of Halls is the tombstone in the hub for location selection.
• Shrine of Blessings is in the hub, where you spend cash on upgrading your stats like attack, defence, damage, etc.
• You can refund your cash at any time amd spend it again. 
• Fast loading times.
• Bosses will spawn, and you will notice them by their size and health bar. 
• Find cages with prisoners and grab the key to release them, and it can unlock new vendors in the hub. 
• Old school atmosphere and presentation. The lighting plays a big part; it’s dark and formidable. 
• You can replay levels for reward completion.
• Pick up exp pellets from enemies and level up, pick one of four random upgrades each time. Picking the same skill again improves that skill. 
• Scrolls can be picked up and give you a choice of three random passive abilities that trigger in a timer and you unlock new ones. 
• Chests will drop, amd here you pick up one of three items to wear and equip. You can swap them in and out.
• Compendium fills in as you play, with items and powers collected. Oh yeah, you have to rescue the Scriptor first. 
• You can pause the game.
• Any completed quests will pop up on screen with a description. 
• The DLC and supporter pack give you a handful of new HUD skins, changing the colour and style of the HUD in-game. 
• All runs are timed as I’m counting down. 
• Has cool effects, like knocking over fire baskets can set the floor on fire and even enemies, you can smash ice pillars down, it looks so good when you nail it. 
• The screen looks very daunting, but honestly, it’s very simple.
• The stash box, once unlocked, lets you equip found and saved gear so you can improve your chances. 
• Buy items from the vendor, not particularly great early on, but it’s a nice little bonus. 
• Any special drops or objectives will show icons on the screen and move as you move amd show the distance. 
• A hand-shaped drop once picked up gives you all the current exp and coins on the floor over the entire level. 
• Breakable elements within the location, and they can have loot like gold or health potions. 
• Simple to get into.
• For me, I like that regen health is a major part of the game, and you don’t have to rely on potions all the time. 
• Big huge end-of-level boss fight, every other enemy disappears, and it’s a one-on-one. 
• Fantastic animations.
• The game plays out with you picking an unlocked location and then beating the boss within that level to unlock the next. 
• Quests are overarching missions you will end up doing without knowing. They are split up into areas and character classes; you can pin one to the HUD if you like. 
• So much replayability.
• Finishing quests and milestones increases your bonus exp multiplier. 
• The music is very powerful.
• You do get told in the quest menu the mission and the reward, which helps you learn how to unlock new character classes. 
• Progress bars show for all quests.
• Every character class has unique stats for health, damage, movement speed, etc. 
• Each boss type has its own unique attacks and formations, which keep it fresh.
• Each stage has many mini bosses, side mission-style encounters, and more, so you always have a reason to stay and slay. 
• Elevators in the game are handy as they are a one-time use mechanic, but you can put an item you found and use the elevator to have it saved in the stash box back in the hub. 
• Devilishly addictive, and I lost a lot of time to the game all over again despite my playtime on the Steam version. 
• Enemies can leave behind goo or other elements that can hurt you. 
• Play how you want, really, so you can go about it all in your own way. 
• Over time, you unlock new mechanisms like being able to respawn once per run and things like rerolling your upgrade choices. 
• I love all the different classes amd how they play, magic to melee to having a wolf! 
• You can get powerful items as rewards, but it’s only good if you manage to bank them. 
• To be clear, you can play the game with just one hand or using just one stick if you prefer. 
• Auto aim and auto attack are a button-press toggle. 
• Lore books can be found and read. 
• Picking the same ability adds another layer to the ability and makes it really powerful. 
• You won’t know until you do it yourself how satisfying the noise and visual feedback is when you are powered up and mowing down tons of enemies in one go. 
• A successful run is 30 minutes long. 
• This is a game where you will have to grind out levels, play characters you don’t want to or don’t like, just to get the rewards and unlock new gear you can then put in other characters. 
• Once you get into the rhythm of what the game wants, it is very addictive and very replayable, and it is surprising how much the rewards and gear/buffs, etc, can change a run instantly. 
• It’s a game that’s worth noting. You don’t always have to finish the location to keep unlocks and quest completion, and in fact, it’s a good strategy to go in, get a quest done, then quit. 
• You are always advancing, even if it doesn’t feel like it. From just banking gold to finishing a quest or even not finishing the quest, you do get some that are cumulative, so any progress helps. 

Halls of Torment Review Cons

• Takes a while to get going.
• The DLC is hidden, and to unlock the Halls of Torment Boglands DLC, you have to do the quest Trail to Decay, found under Bonus quests within the quest list, and you have to collect 11 potion ingredients and then find the portal in Ember grounds for Boglands to permanently unlock. 
• Lacks any real accessibility options like Colourblind, swapping sticks, text size, etc. 
• I wish the game would give more notice of bosses and make it more cohesive, as I say, you can spend time just going around finding enemies, then a boss will appear, then nothing again. 
• The tutorial is very basic and almost nonexistent.
• Obviously, the game is very luck-based.
• No way to zoom in on the camera, as it can be hard to make things out.
• The final boss of a level is just a huge DPS check; you can get health back except regen, and there are no other enemies. 
• The game doesn’t have a central menu or library for all the icons, power-ups, etc, instantly; instead, you have to rescue the Scriptor, and then you fill it in as you play. 
• Getting to the Boglands DLC is not straightforward and is not available straight away. (I came in fresh with no progress on the main game) 
• When the screen fills right up, and that happens a lot, you lose track of yourself. 
• How enemies swarm you is perfectly fine, but the balance of enemy numbers is all over the place, as you can be near the end and get breaks in the battle, which just feels a bit weird. 
• Early doors, it’s a slog to get to the good stuff, a lot of using the same loadouts over and over. 
• You cannot quit mid-run. 
• The difficulty can be a bit up and down, enemies can charge you instantly, and unless you spec up correctly, you won’t get out of the way. 
• No new trophies showed up for the DLC Boglands. 

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Halls of Torment

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Developer: Chasing Carrots

Publisher: Chasing Carrots

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