Torment: Tides of Numenera
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Satisfying modern-retro romp with an emphasis on role playing rather than action.
Torment: Tides of Numenera is a game plucked straight out of the 90s and fused with modern mechanics. The backgrounds are in HD and characters are fully 3D, which look decent from both afar and up close. If you zoom in though, you’ll find neat little touches like cloth swaying in the wind or trees rustling.
Torment puts you in the shoes of the ‘Last Castoff ’.
Previously the body of an immortal being called the Changing God (who changes bodies whenever he tires of them), you gained your own consciousness when the Changing God left you for another host.
Over time, the game gradually fills you in. Akin to a ‘choose your own adventure’ book, Torment places heavy emphasis on reading the mountains of text thrown at you. It does get tiresome, but luckily, the text is wonderfully done, with colorful (sometimes graphic) descriptors of what the game wants you to know. Talking, interacting with stuff and exploring take up the bulk of the gameplay.
Combat is reminiscent of the early Fallout games where an area is cordoned off and everything is governed by turn-based action points, from movement to attacking.
You can avoid most of them though through using your Might, Intellect or Speed points (depending on the class you chose at the beginning of the game).
These points also govern the success of actions you can take while interacting with people or things.
Fun as the game is, there are some notable issues.
Scrolling isn’t as smooth as it should be, with hitches as you move around, interact with characters, and screen stuttering.
This happens even on my PS4 Pro with Boost Mode enabled. Then there are the insanely long loading times.
Going from one area to the next can take upwards of ten seconds.
Despite its flaws, I still found myself enjoying my time with Torment. It’s an interesting RPG, a type rarely seen nowadays, much less on a console. Those weaned on Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf books will definitely dig it.
