Halls of Torment stands out as a horde survival roguelite with strong action RPG influences, drawing players into intense, short sessions of combat and progression on PC and now consoles.
Gameplay
In Halls of Torment, you select a hero and dive into underground halls filled with waves of enemies. The core loop revolves around surviving timed runs, typically around 30 minutes, where you battle hordes while collecting experience to level up and choose abilities. Mechanics emphasize building your character mid-run through traits, items, and synergies that create powerful combinations, such as elemental attacks or summoning aids. Exploration plays a key role, as you navigate distinct environments to find rare items that boost your capabilities for deeper descents. Combat feels fast-paced with auto-attacking elements, but strategic positioning and ability selection keep it engaging. Boss encounters introduce unique patterns, requiring adaptation to their mechanics for success.
Progression extends beyond individual runs via a meta system where you unlock blessings, artifacts, and character marks that carry over, allowing customization for future attempts. You can craft tinctures to influence outcomes and send items to an overworld for permanent upgrades. With over 70 abilities and 240 item variants, experimentation drives replayability, letting you combine class powers across characters for varied strategies.
Game Modes
The game focuses on single-player horde survival runs across six unique stages, each with distinct environments and challenges. These include areas like the Halls of Torment itself and other underground expanses, where you face escalating waves leading to tormented Lords as final bosses. A quest-based meta progression ties runs together, with over 500 quests that unlock new content and rewards.
For late-game tests, the Shrine of Torment offers an unbeatable challenge to push builds to their limits. There are no multiplayer modes; instead, the emphasis is on solo play with roguelite elements, where each run builds toward infinite growth through item collection and ability unlocks.
Characters and Builds
Halls of Torment features 11 playable characters, each with distinct starting abilities and playstyles, such as ranged attackers or melee specialists. You can enhance them with 25 blessings, 74 abilities, and 60 unique items, plus higher rarity variants. This setup encourages creating synergies, like mixing class powers to form hybrid builds. Artifacts further customize runs, and defeating over 35 bosses yields rewards that expand your options.
Monsters number more than 70 types, adding variety to encounters, while rare item finds enable deeper exploration and stronger setups for subsequent plays.
Is It Worth Playing?
With an OpenCritic score of 84 from 15 critics, Halls of Torment has earned strong praise for its replayability and depth in the horde survival genre. Players highlight the satisfying progression and build variety, though some note challenges with mobile controls in recent ports. The game receives ongoing updates, including console releases in 2025, keeping it fresh with new content like stages and items.
If you enjoy roguelites with quick sessions and strategic depth, similar to Vampire Survivors but with retro RPG flair, it's a solid pick. The positive reception and active support make it appealing for those seeking addictive single-player action on PC or consoles.
