The Suffering

Moby ID: 12511
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

You play the role of Torque, a death row inmate with an ambiguous past who has been imprisoned for slaying his ex-wife and children. Shortly after being interred in a new prison on Carnate Island, an earthquake appears to release demonic creatures based on the many modes of execution used in the sordid history of the island. These creatures proceed to eliminate much of the prison population, leaving only you and a scant few other inmates and guards to eliminate the horde and find out what has happened.

Spellings

  • 劫难 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (Windows version)

212 People (176 developers, 36 thanks) · View all

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[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 35 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 69 ratings with 5 reviews)

A really good atmospheric horror game to enjoy.

The Good
Seeing as this is a horror game, I'll start of with the horror/scare and atmosphere factor of the game; the game really has its moments. The opening is calm, and then you're thrown into hell as your peers are slowly killed, you being one of only a handful of survivors (which isn't really a spoiler). The game throws all sorts of scares your way, and some really do have a lasting impression. The atmosphere is dark and mysterious, with blood and scratchings on the walls, body parts on tables and in lockers, and the enemies are quite disturbing, on the same level as those from the Silent Hill series (by the way, "disturbing" in a horror game is a good thing).

The voice acting and characters were good, with some characters that you get really interested about; such as Dr. Killjoy (I think that's his name), Hermes and Horace. The only voice acting I was disappointed in was Torque's... Only kidding, he's a mute!

The locations, although the bar-doors model is used slightly too much, are great. There's the prison, the quarry, the war bunker, the lighthouse and other areas of the island to explore, and all the places you have been to have been archived and you can look them up in a notebook to hear the story behind the location.

The story is deep, although there are no real twists, it is more than enough to keep you interested. There is a similarity between this and Silent Hill because the enemies actually represent something, and each location has its own back-story. As you progress, you battle to escape and confront the island's three inhabitants - Dr. Killjoy, Horace (who's actually a good guy) and Hermes. As you attempt to save other inmates and wardens, you must also save your self from your inner anger, a beast which you can actually play.

As you progress, you make certain decisions and actions which affect the back-story of your family, and depending on how much you turn into your dark side (the beast) using your sanity meter, this affects the ending and Torque's personality.

The graphics are getting a little old now, but they are enough quality to see you through the wonders of the island. The weapons arsenal is limited, but it sure is fun, with the option to dual-wield certain guns. What's more, the game can be explored in a first-person view also, for those who prefer shooters rather than horror.

The Bad
Some what lacking is Torque's voice - he's totally mute throughout the entire game. A few pieces of dialogue would be nice now and then, just to know what our main dude is thinking or how the beast within him is affecting his personality.

Also, the weapons are limited. I can't remember what, or how many, weapons the game had, but I remember always wishing for more weapons and had to stick with the Tommy Gun and dual Revolvers, and ever rarely using the Shiv or TNT.

The Bottom Line
Very similar to Silent Hill, this game will please all who are fans of horror or atmospheric games, with more action than other horror-based games. A good game that can be recommended.

PlayStation 2 · by Reborn_Demon (127) · 2007

Tight horror-shooter that's better than it looks

The Good
Between the gratuitous profanity, the over-the-top gore, and it's obvious console roots, The Suffering is actually a very good horror-shooter. The game's creepy, confined atmosphere and fenced-in gunplay are spot on, and the gameplay has a smooth flow from start to finish. The obstacles, enemies and environments are creative and appropriately ghastly. The few puzzles in the game are coherent and logical enough to prevent the action from screeching to a halt.

The Bad
The Suffering is a PS2-level console port, and it shows. Textures are low-res and washed out. Polygon counts are fairly low. While the game provides opportunities to for the player to "choose the light or dark side" during his travels, the actual impact on the game is fairly minimal beyond some cutscenes and the addition of some hapless allies. The game is completely and utterly linear, a single-player thrill ride that loses all of its charms on further play. Finally, I didn't mind the game's splatterhouse gore and non-stop hard-R profanity, but some might.

The Bottom Line
"The Suffering" is a 1st/3rd-person horror-shooter that takes place in and around a haunted prison. You play "Torque", a death-row hard-case with real anger management problems, and who may (or may not) have slaughtered his family. Put the prison's outer demons and Torque's inner demons together, and you get an amusingly bloody, surprisingly amoral, and brutally satisfying little romp. Highly recommended, especially for the low price you can purchase it for these days.

Windows · by Chase Dahl (5) · 2007

Survive the terror!

The Good
The Suffering is one of the best games of terror ever made. The game has elements of third-person action permeated with a dark atmosphere and extremely violent, full of aggression.

The sound effects, they are very well produced, causing a terrifying atmosphere to the scenes, always in an atmosphere of suspense and terror. In many scenes, screams and loud noises cause extremely strong impact on the player.

The controls of the game are very simple and intuitive, similar to most action games in the third person. You control your character with the keys W, A, S and D, jump with the spacebar and guide his aim by the mouse, striking with his right button.

The game takes place in a rough place, no fictional elements or too much special effects. At first, you have only a knife and must make your way through the stages with it. Your character will "develop" over the scenarios, gaining new weapons and possibilities.

The Bad
The special effects may cause some discomfort in sensitive players.

The Bottom Line
If you like action and horror games and has spent hours in front of the television playing classics like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, The Suffering was made specially for you. The game has several qualities that stood out in his time, making it a "must download" for fans of horror.

Windows · by Perfil Falso (774) · 2012

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
What's your excuse for not playing this NOW? >:( Slug Camargo (583) Nov 26, 2008

Trivia

Cancelled Port

A GameCube version was already planned, but was cancelled because previous Midway titles sold poorly on the platform.

Development

The creatures and characters in The Suffering were designed by movie special effects master Stan Winston (designer of the Terminator exoskeleton, the Predator, the Alien Queen and the Jurassic Park dinos). The prison of Abbott State Penitentiary in the game was partially inspired by Alcatraz; Alcatraz was originally a military prison and the prison in the game was built from the remains of a WW2 army base.

German version

There are a number of changes in the German version: * The making of feature and a trailer were removed. * There are no mutilated humans to be found. * Several cutscenes were cut. In some just the blood was removed, a few scenes are completely darkened out. * In the PlayStation 2 version, an instrument of torture was removed from a dead guard. * All swastikas were removed (this applies to every version except US)

A detailed list of changes can be found on schnittberichte.com (German).

Re-release

The PC version was released as freeware on September 25, 2008.

Awards

Information also contributed by Atomic Punch!, Kabushi and piltdown man.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by ob5idian.

Windows added by Jeanne.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Indra was here, John Chaser, Patrick Bregger, 64er.

Game added March 21, 2004. Last modified March 12, 2024.