Twenty years later, though the artist himself passed away in 2014, Giger’s legacy in the genre lives on. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Polish indie OhNoo! Studio's horror-themed adventure Tormentum: Dark Sorrow presents a game inspired by Giger and Poland's own surrealist painter Zdzislaw Beksinski. Though easy puzzles, a lack of adequate characterization, and an absence of scares may drive some players away, those who simply want to gorge themselves on beautifully dark scenery will want to stick around for the few hours it takes to breeze through what the game has to offer. Graphically, Tormentum's influences are worn proudly on its blood-soaked sleeves. Both Giger and Beksinski are known for their unique macabre styles: Giger for bold and disturbing "biomechanical" art, featuring nightmarish integration of humanoid and animal forms with machines, and Beksinski for dreamlike works in which creatures and architecture seem to emerge from intricate, flowing structures that resemble bent twigs or bone. Beksinski's influence is actually the more obvious inspiration throughout Tormentum, such as when a face or nude female figure appears in the twisting forms of a wall or a massive cathedral whose ribbed, organic facade seems to grow out of the very ground beneath it. Giger's influence is less obvious at first glance, though certainly evident in several monsters – one of which is clearly an homage to the Necromorph – and a few room designs, though even the most Gigeresque works in the game are tinged with Beksinski's flowing, organic style. This is certainly not another Dark Seed, even with Giger's influence, but that's not a bad thing by any means. Egyptian themes and even the slightest hint of Art Nouveau make brief appearances at certain points along the way. When combined with Beksinski's signature influences, such flourishes make for a daring combination of styles that surprised me greatly because it works so well. If the goal was to create a macabre yet visually sumptuous game, the developers have succeeded wildly here. Locations are varied as well, and fit in with the hellish, decrepit environment.
#TORMENTUM DARK SORROW FIRE FULL#
Players begin their journey in a castle full of passages and rooms, but eventually the game moves outdoors, where occasional bouts of fire and brimstone rain down on a desolate, inhospitable landscape. Areas such as an old mine, an ancient tomb, and even a farm with a living, ghastly scarecrow that's lost its ability to frighten birds provide some variety to the creepy settings. As outlandish as some of these elements are, they feel completely believable in the context of the surreal world in which they're placed.Īnimation is limited for the most part to what's necessary or functional, such as a large machine vibrating to life or a monster rearing its head when provoked.
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