Despite being a massive hit and one of the breakout games of 2022,Vampire Survivors' success was never a guarantee and represents a bit of “lightning in a bottle”. Releasing at just the right time and garnering a massive amount of hype helped position the title as an unexpected Game of the Year contender in an absolutely packed year, and its trajectory was spurned by what amounted to word-of-mouth. Popular Twitch streamer Asmongold, whose impressions ofDiablo 4during the beta period set many fans' expectations for the title, has recently highlighted a new indie in the burgeoning “Survivor” genre, helping it become another overnight success in the process. That game isHalls of Torment.
Halls of Tormentis the new early-access indie title from developer Chasing Carrots, and until the endorsement from Asmongold the title had relatively low concurrent player counts on Steam. Since featuring the title on his channel,Halls of Tormenthas doubled its average concurrent players as well as hit a peak of nearly 26,000 active users. Given the way thatHalls of Tormentsuccessfully blendstheVampire Survivorsformulawith old-schoolDiablo, it’s easy to see why the streamer has dubbed it his “favorite game”.
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Halls of Torment Nails the Fundamental Appeal of Vampire Survivors
Part ofVampire Survivors' appealrests on its carefully calculated gameplay loop, providing players with just enough incentive to keep playing run after run despite the potential hundreds of hours that get lost in the process. Since the title’s breakout success, several other indie developers have tried their hand at the “survivors” formula with varying degrees of quality. While plenty of “Survivor-likes” exist in the indie space, very few have settled on a loop that hooks players in the same way thatVampire Survivorsdoes. WhereHalls of Tormenttruly stands out is in its ability to produce the same addictive quality as its inspirations.
Equal partsDiabloandVampire Survivors,Halls of Tormentretains the addictive nature of both titles in both its gameplay and reward structure. Not only do players gradually unlock more heroes to use on the battlefield and unique abilities that automatically deploy in combat, but regular drops of gear also appear after taking down elite enemies.
These items transform how characters perform and add a new wrinkle to theSurvivorsformula, keeping players engaged as they chase down that next critical loot drop that could carry them until the end of a run. Enemies also have just the right amount of health, balancing adequate challenge with the screen-clearing power fantasy reminiscent of bothDiabloandVampire Survivors' best moments.
Use of Diablo 2’s Visual Aesthetic Helps Halls of Torment Stand Out
The indie space is no stranger to genre-specific projects, with plenty of titles squarely fitting into the roguelike or Metroidvania realms due to each genre’s undisputable popularity.Vampire Survivors' successhas helped to make “Survivor-likes” a steadily growing genre, with plenty of indie developers trying to capture the same “lightning in a bottle” that catapultedVampire Survivorsto being a mainstream cultural phenomenon.
Many of these games adopt the same pixel art style of their primary inspiration and, as a result, fail to stand out from the crowd.Halls of Tormentimmediately sets itself apart thanks to the grainy isometric visual aesthetic reminiscent ofDiabloandDiablo 2.
Not only does the moment-to-moment gameplay look liketheDiabloseries' origins, but the menus and HUD are eerily similar to those ofDiablo, drawing a careful line between faithful homage and shameless imitation. Even the monster designs and character animations call to mind what is still many fans' favorite entry in Blizzard’s ARPG series.Halls of Tormentsucceeds by taking the best parts of both of its two primary inspirations and melding them into something wholly unique and refreshing, and the game is a must-play for fans of eitherDiabloorVampire Survivorsas a result.
