You'll know that Torque doesn't turn into a monster by the allies' reactions. They don't get scared or anything they just say something after you transform back to your human form, as if you temporarily went insane.
If I remember correctly, there's some kind of journal (?) you can read that one of the characters who you saved had a vision were you turned into that monster in his vision, but what he actually saw was you (the character) go insane and rip apart the creatures. It's implied that turning into the monster thing is all in torque's mind.
@@1darktooth I played these games as a kid and never understood the whole turning into a monster thing. A while ago I looked further into it on the wiki and it confirms it’s just torque going cray cray
@@1darktooth it doesn’t explain why tourque gains super strength and considering that there’s supernatural demonic monsters running around it makes me believe people just can’t see his transformation cause he’s not monster enough yet, makes me think he’s in the process of turning into one of the monsters
@@gniLagniK yeah I was young when I played the game myself, but I did notice how none of the side characters reacted to him "turning into a monster" or say anything afterwards like holy shit how u do that or sum shit. So I when I got the end and read that thing I was like okay that makes sense lol
The suffering games have their flaws but they will always hold a special place in my heart. I just love the atmosphere these games had going for them. The ambience, the heartbeating, the heavy breathing, and the sound design of all the monsters. I loved how the heart beat and breathing would speed up depending on what happens. The environments made me want to explore every corner. I don’t know these games just hit the right spot for me in those aspects
The first and only game I ever rented that I was too scared to even come close to finishing. Lol great game though; I remember the ads and posters for it like it was yesterday.
The suffering was way ahead of its time when it was released . Use to play that game so much when i was younger i hope they make a remake that would be crazy
I remember watching my cousins play it when I was young. It was so terrifying and I was instantly hooked. Never got the courage to play it til years later.
This was my first horror game. Glad it's getting recognition. Solid game with interesting story. The initial sequence when the monsters start invading the jail and hang from the ceiling is Hollywood material and very creepy. Also the main antagonists had interesting backstories. Even common enemies had backstories.
The best compliment to the character design is that I havent thought about the Suffering in easily over 12 years or so and immediately remembered the monsters
I was literally talking about this game with my wife the other day. Sooo weird bro. Lol Thx for the review. Glad to see this game is still talked about. And yes it deserves a remake
I remember playing the demo of suffering 2 on MK Shaolin Monks . It scared the sh*t out of 7 year old me. I've always wanted to play it after that...but could never find it...sad sad times
@@MrHammers are they updated good enough to work on modern systems. I know steam just shits out old Games while GoG does a decent job patching things to work with modern machines but I want to make sure before I spend my money
9:38 when torque changed into the beast he didnt actually change physically, it represented him losing control of his rage so when he turned back curling into a ball crying its becasue he feels violated by his actions that he had no control over, also remembers all the violence he committed while in this state not in the prison as he is defending himself but back in his normal life. jus as his enemies represented vices and sorts of executions, torques beast mode also represented his vice.
That's kinda what I figured, I assumed beast mode wasnt a physical thing happening but more of a metaphor for his psyche. I wish the game went deeper into that though, especially with Dr.Killjoys experiments and such
The first thing I did after getting my driver's license was drive to the next town over to Walmart and bought The Suffering Ties that bind. I'd gotten the first as a gift and I loved it. Loved TTB even more. It's a badass game. This and Manhunt are great memories.
These are 2 of my all time favorites, and I tend to go back and replay them ever year or so. Not as tense or artistic as it's contemporaries in the horror genre, but the action is just so well paced and the creature design is top notch. I think it might be my favorite horror game series and feels largely forgotten these days, so this was a pleasant surprise to see this pop up in my recommendations.
Not as artistic as its contemporaries? It beats EVERY Resident Evil game in aesthetic department. It blows out of the water such things as Condemned, FEAR, Obscure - you name it. How many games you know, which are set in 70s America? Suffering's mythos is deeply intertwined with USA's culture and history. Every creature is a symbol of this mythos. Morale system makes even brief encounters with minor NPCs memorable. Plot is mysterious and involving, mixing crime thriller, social drama, mystical horror into neat package. Dialogues, both in terms of writing and voice acting, are amazing (Killjoy alone is fine example of that). It has nothing only on Silent Hill, but that series is the titan of genre.
Great games, with even greater soundtracks. Funny thing about who owns the IP, awhile back the US army brought a bunch game IPs which included the suffering. They then released the first game for free but everytime you started it, you would have your screen filled with a bunch of US army propaganda saying to join the core.
@@blessedbybobo My brother borrowed that game from his buddy when it first came out, got to play for like an hour and then my brother gave it back. I loved what I got to play (we had just got to the elevator to go deep where its supposed to get crazy). So I had that game on my mind ever since then. Seen it was free through the US Army, downloaded it and man that game is f*ckin terrible after the first hour. I now see why my brother gave the game back the next day hahahaha.
Something you forgot to mention about the first game is your morality worsens every time you enter beast form. Encouraging you to only use it when need be, and you can also check the state of your morality in your inventory with the photo of Tourqes family. Great vid, maybe if more and more people talk about it we can get a repackage for modern hardware.
I didn't know that about beast mode! That's super cool, I knew about the picture but I forgot to get footage of it on all playthroughs and got lazy lol 😂
All these years later and I had no idea that insanity mode did that to your morality. But, it makes absolute sense. I just always saw it as kind of a crutch; I really enjoyed the challenge you got out of the standard combat from the game. When you got good at it, you really *felt* like you were good at it, you know?
The morality concept of these games honestly was the coolest part for me. There were different beginnings and endings depending on how good or bad you are. Even cooler when the morality transferred between games and you could start off bad in the 2nd game. I hope this game gets a remaster one day
MAN I SWEAR you cover every game I played when I was a kid on the ps2 that I can’t remember the names of, I remember playing this with my younger nephew I was probably like 10 and him about 8 and this game terrified us, love this channel you just keep unlocking memories for me
I know I'm 3 weeks late but my God I loved this game as a kid & as much as I love survival horror games, I really want to see a resurgence of action horror games. If Rocksteady Studios are allowed to make something that isn't batman for once, I think they could pull it off, take the over the top first person combat from their PS2/Xbox shooter "Urban Chaos: Riot Response" and mix in all of the stuff they learned from making the Scarecrow horror sequences in the Arkham Franchise, and I honestly think they'd have a bloody good basis for a sweet horror shooter.
Love these games. The first horror game(s) I played where my character wasnt a clumsy mess and the first to actually unsettle and scare me with disturbing atmosphere AND have amazing controls/mechanics instead of the fear coming from clunky mechanics and a lack of supplies
Of all games to get a 3rd installment or complete overhaul in a remake, this game needs it. Hands down the first game was my favorite game on the Xbox.
The idea of a racially ambiguous protagonist is a great idea that I never saw done right in another game. Growing up I always thought torque as a white dude while my friends at the time (mostly black and mixed) saw him as a light skinned black guy or mixed race. I'm sure Hispanic, Arab, and Indian players would also say the same thing.
I remember my stepfather borrowing this game back in 2007 from an older cousin. I would watch him play through the game and I remember how scared shitless I was seeing him mow down enemies especially the slayer when they would crawl around. Years later I bought this game in 2013 when I was 16 to relieve the memories of watching my stepfather play and I absolutely fell in love with it. Later on I bought the sequel brand new from Amazon in 2015 and I got close to the end before selling my ps2 collection. This franchise deserves a good remake. Modern graphics and good art direction would make this very scary with the right Lightning system and environment design.
These were a couple of great gems. I'd totally love to see them do an HD remake of these games. I never could finish the 2nd game because it glitched at the end to where I couldn't beat the final boss.
The atmosphere is so killer for both of these games. The moment I fell in love was playing the first one. When you enter the cells in the basement and you enter one of them that has a crawlspace in the ceiling and you hear the words "I found a way out" echoed in that ghostly tone. The sheer amount of tragic backstory fed to me in a single line of dialogue stuck with me hard. 2 of my favorite games. I replay them both every few years
Absolutely loved this game man was in middle school when I first got to play and grew so emotionally invested/attached with my playthroughs. job well done thank you!!
This game was such an underappreciated gem I wish it got more attention but it was going up against titles like Halo, GTA, Half-Life etc so it's no surprise it got swept under the rug, for real though I hope this game gets a remake
I remember being a kid trading in at least 3 games at GameStop just to get a new one. Finding The Suffering thinkin hmm looks gory. Best decision ever.
I have to say, this was one of my first ever horror games that I got to experience when I was way younger and even fast forwarding to now with how many horror games are around and such, this game still resonates with me so heavily and the look and sounds of the Slayers is burned into my head forever lol; the suffering games were such gems at the time and still are, I would seriously love to see remasters of this game, it would be such an amazing experience if done properly 🔥
Something I really like about the beast mode is that it's just in the main characters head, everyone else just sees him as human (though quite crazy) when it happens.
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks had a demo for the second one, but my 10 year old self didn't know that the second one was the second one. I BEGGED my parents to take me to Gamestop one day to find and buy The Suffering: Ties That Bind, but they accidently bought me the first game, which I didn't even know existed at the time. When I say that I played the first game RELIGIOUSLY, I mean it. Looking back, it feels like I beat that game, like, once a week for like 3 years straight. At this point, I didn't even think about Ties That Bind anymore. The Suffering was my favorite game for a really long time. Then, around like 2010, I had finally gotten my hands on Ties That Bind. I had become so enamoured with the first game that the second never achieved that same level of luster and awe to me. I have grown out of both of those games, but I will occasionally go back and play them. While some of the gameplay of Ties That Bind is more refined and tighter, I don't think I will ever get over how gritty, dirty, ugly, and just outright awesome the first game is. I would pay an irresponsible amount of money for a remake of both games, but SMASHED into a single experience. Have just "The Suffering" and have both games put together, upgraded graphics, updated controls. Awesome video. Thank you for making this. Such a nostalgia trip for me. You earned my sub!
I remember playing this game back in 2011, I saw it being played on a computer renting shop. I wanted to borrow the owner's copy but he didn't want to. Imagine my surprised reaction when I found out that it was ported on the PS2. I managed to find a copy of 1 and 2 for 5 bucks at our local video game shop. This was one of the most darkest games I've played on the PS2 plus it was difficult enough to make you "git gud" at it. This deserves more attention, thank you for covering this one. Great content, I immediately subscribed.
Very underrated series. I still remember seeing them advertised in PlayStation magazine, way back in the day. Would love to see you review the Obscure series, quite similar to Silent Hill.
Another banger! I really love these retrospective reviews you put out. They bring me back to my childhood where I played a lot of these. Old games from the 90s & 2000s just hit different. Despite the technology being limited, devs arguably had much more imagination then than they do now. I played the Demo for one of these games in MK: Shaolin Monks. Never got to play one all the way through, might change that now. Keep up the great work. Love the content.
I love "The Suffering" game.....the storyline was excellent & the suspense dark theme was what I need in my horror games. What I also dug was there was behind the scenes video commentary on the characters, "Torque" back story, the creatures, the history of the island & even real haunted prison "Eastern State Prenitentary in Philly. A real place mobster AL Capone was sentenced on his way back from Atlantic City NJ. The game was in lined with the "Fear" series without creepy "Alma"......💯♥️♦️♣️🖤❤♠️
OMG. I forgot the name of this game but I will never forget the experience it gave me. I bought The Suffering back in fall of 2005 with my wife and brought it over to my cousins’ house to play it. One of my cousins had told me about it and wanted to see it. I put it in the PS2 at like 9 at night and me, my wife, and my 3 cousins spent the next 3-4 hours scared out of our minds, letting out a muffled scream here and there. Classic times. This game absolutely nailed atmosphere. Great video! Thank you so much.
I found your vid about Manhunt earlier today and I have binging your content since. You earned yourself a new subscriber. Looking forward to what you've got coming in the near future!
I’m so glad that someone takes about theses games I felt like they were forgotten in time and when I would search them nothing really came up on TH-cam I had a very nostalgic tie to these games thank you
I remember playing this game when I was 9 or so on my ps2. Game honestly scared me half the death, had constant nightmares but now 13 years later playing on PC. It's just fun to play
This was a family favorite in my house, a really well done video on it, but going back to what you mentioned about action getting in the way of the lore, whether they intended it or not, and i agree it kinda effects the overall gameplay, it's does send a sharp message, how war and conflict usually stops people from uncovering what actually may have happened, we get snippets and it's back to your regularly scheduled distraction, all that said, well done.
Writing this post-factum: Yeah, I'm a huge nerd about this game. xD I hope other fans have fun with this comment and learn something new, AND in case it's missed - lovely vid, thank you! 6:32 - That's not exactly true. We see the Slayer, and shortly after see inmates having prepared shivs. After meeting the Mainliner, we can see that lethal needle. Those two are kind of straight to the point and symbolic of the prison itself, while every enemy beyond that point has a location to explore, tied to a myth surrounding the enemy, and a cutscene that may be triggered if the Player explores certain spots, so that the story gets pieced together. I don't want to elaborate further, so that people get inspired to go back and explore, like I did. I'd beaten the game 7 times in the past, when I was a teen, and I beat it again today and sicovered so much more now that I wasn't scared to death from the creatures. You actually show some of these throughout the video, but finding all of them is truly a challenge. I totally admit that I can't find the crashed airplane to this day. 9:40 and 20:30 - This was also explained, by the way. If you listen carefully to what Dr. Killjoy says regarding Torque, and read his report, you can absolutely see how Torque was mapped ahead of time by the devs, with heavy hints regarding his monsterous alter-ego. Also, cool feature that not many Players notice - if you keep your Insanity meter up, the random jumpscares with images and sounds, and voices, will have a higher chance of happening to you, which was meant to sort of make the Player want to transform and vent out that tension. Very cool idea, but it can only be appreciated if you know it's there. 12:30 - There is backstory to him, by the way. You can hear it through inmate dialogue, and a note you can find in the game. It's really a shame that the note system is so convoluted in both games, if it was a bit more easy to access, probably more people would've gotten more out of the lore. 12:50 - These are literally the only inmates that will fight you without any reason, and I hate that. xD 14:10 - Wow, I did not know that. I've never noticed, but I've also never done an evil playthrough. Well, it goes on the list then. 18:40 - The most easy-to-miss side-quest in the game - Sergei. Deffinetely not smoking just cigs. There's an easter egg, where you can find his stache, and it's kind of funny. I wonder what would happen if you set it ablze with a flame thrower? 20:40 - That is awesome and I did not know it. I've never had any of my playtrhroughs of TTB pick up any of my save games, it always started as if from the Neutral ending from the first one. But maybe that's one of the issues with the PC versions, which are also missing some other unlockables, like a fully playable additional scene, planned to be the actual start of the first game. TTB Segment - I don't know if you intentionally left it out because it's a spoiler, or if you've missed it, due to which I won't clarify, but Blackmore is more close to home than he seems. But yeah, overall I can see why TTB failed. Especially if you move on to it directly from the next one - it's way more heavy and gory than the first one. It's really, really heavy and I just evade playing it nowadays. From my understanding of the dev diaries we've got, I think it was intended for the lore to not be completely known, so that players may theorize. If the game had blown up a bit more, I'm certain that would've drove in success. We can see what's going on with the FNAF series through this design. In my personal view, the island probably had some sort of demonic cult, and from there on out, it became inhabited, drawing evil souls to it, so it could feed and manifest the evil from those people, into real beings. We sort of see this realized through a few locations. I'd love to have more lore-heavy, exploration or even puzzle-based moments in the game, but that not being Midway's MO at the time is probably why we did not get any of that in the final product. I've done my best to play most horror games I can get my hands on, from this era, and to be honest, none of them feel like this, so I can't agree that it's just transformation, morality and design that sets it apart. None of them offered lore-rewards for exploration, and none of them (in my opinion, until Dead Space), offered this blend of horror and action. Thank you for making this video! This game is one of the best horror titles out there, and more people need to see it. I'd love a third installment (as long as it's more in the vein of the first one), and even spin-offs. I've always drafted ideas of a sort of tower-defence style game, where you need to stand off creatures, with positioning different NPCs, resources, etc. I think it's a very awesome idea, and it's very much derived from the joy that players get in the first one. And from this, fun fact: you can use the projectors you find across the game and position them ahead of time. Later, when you explore the areas around them, if you've positioned them right, your fights may become much easier. Total life-saver on higher difficulties! And it's awesome that the game remembers how you set them up, as long as you bother to go back and do it. For the record: I'll never stop waiting for the movie. I hope Netflix does it, or something. It can totally be amazing, as it won't have that requirement for action, and can linger more on the lore. Lastly, for my fellow PC dudes: An HD unofficial patch is easily found through Google for my fellow PC folks. Totally worth it! All we're missing is someone making a mod, which adds Doom (and Eternal's) music to the game for the complete action experience. PS: Hit me up if you'd like to make a lore-related video on this, with the entire possible timeline. =]
Damn you definitely seem very knowledgeable about this game, glad you can correct me and point out various things, I actually appreciate that. I wish I grew up with this game it seems like a game I would've played non stop back in the day but I'm glad I got into them at all even if it is so late. I appreciate your comment, thank you 🙏
This game holds a special spot in my memories and I didnt even play it. My friend and I were sophmores in HS when his older brother was about to deploy for Iraq. My mom let me rent this and I brought it over to their house for the weekend. His older brother was such a nice guy and he was having so much fun playing I just enjoyed watching like Twitch before Twitch. We're all from MD so we were hooked right away. We never beat it but it was the last time I saw his brother before we grew older and more apart. Anytime I see this title I think of simpler times as a kid.
I love both of these games and i always felt like they never got the recognition they deserved id love to see and hd remaster of these especially now today
I dared myself in playing The Suffering. I don't know why. I guess the thought of death row inmate (who maybe innocent) fighting literal demons in a possessed prison drew me to it. I was never a horror game fan before this, I was chicken when it came to them. But I liked the Suffering (despite listening to music from Monty Python and the musical Rent as I played it because I was afraid of what I'd hear in game.) This game also led me to discover Dead to Rights, which became a very important game to me and is very close to my heart. Have you considered doing a retrospective on that series?
Awesome video. I loved both 1 and 2. I loved how you could transform in the game. Can't recall many other games that did that other than DMC. And the game giving you an option to take either a good path, not killing the CO's and certain enemies or killing everything. A remaster is overdue.
It was a game that shows there's a monster in all of us and that true evil ain't a fiction character, it's us and we all walk a fine line between Good and evil
Both games were legit terrifying and the gameplay was above average imo. I was in I believe the 8th grade when I played them with my older brother. Great video bro
What i always thought was so cool was how after beating the game was u went in again to do another run the beginning would start off different not by much but still a cool little addition and miss the times when games would link both games to work the story according to ur choices in the previous one such a cool idea!
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I honestly miss the PS2 era between 2001-2007
I remember playing the second one first after playing the demo in MK: Shaolin Monks lol
Same
I played it on that and then forgot what it was till today.
Me too!
Same actually ended up buying it too
I was actually scared of the demo
The Suffering 1&2 were good games. I'd like to see both remastered for consoles and pc. Same for Psi Ops The Mindgate Conspiracy and Cold Fear.
Wait and hope
Agreed. I loved using telekinesis on dudes in Psi ops back in the day lol.
Great ragdoll physics.
Damn psi ops was a great game. Same as second sight, made by the creators of timesplitters I think. Damnnn why were games so good years ago.
@@thelittlebeefcake4831 Never tried Second sight, I heard it was good but Psi ops seems a bit more talked about
@@DraculaTepes420 it was an incredible game man and way ahead of it’s time. Defo check it out if you ever can!
You'll know that Torque doesn't turn into a monster by the allies' reactions. They don't get scared or anything they just say something after you transform back to your human form, as if you temporarily went insane.
Holy shit. I never knew this. It's been 16 years since
If I remember correctly, there's some kind of journal (?) you can read that one of the characters who you saved had a vision were you turned into that monster in his vision, but what he actually saw was you (the character) go insane and rip apart the creatures. It's implied that turning into the monster thing is all in torque's mind.
@@1darktooth I played these games as a kid and never understood the whole turning into a monster thing. A while ago I looked further into it on the wiki and it confirms it’s just torque going cray cray
@@1darktooth it doesn’t explain why tourque gains super strength and considering that there’s supernatural demonic monsters running around it makes me believe people just can’t see his transformation cause he’s not monster enough yet, makes me think he’s in the process of turning into one of the monsters
@@gniLagniK yeah I was young when I played the game myself, but I did notice how none of the side characters reacted to him "turning into a monster" or say anything afterwards like holy shit how u do that or sum shit. So I when I got the end and read that thing I was like okay that makes sense lol
This is one of those games that stuck with me for far longer than any other. It deserves far more praise than it got
same here i was hope remaster or remake with new graphics as 2022 but it never happened we are disappointed on midway’s
I have no idea why this game is barely remembered. It's absolutely great.
Same here
I feel the same way about Freedom Fighters
"Runnin......just runnin..."
- My mind over a decade later at random
"Got a piece of Jim's flesh already"
- Also my mind over a decade later at random
The suffering games have their flaws but they will always hold a special place in my heart. I just love the atmosphere these games had going for them. The ambience, the heartbeating, the heavy breathing, and the sound design of all the monsters. I loved how the heart beat and breathing would speed up depending on what happens. The environments made me want to explore every corner. I don’t know these games just hit the right spot for me in those aspects
The first and only game I ever rented that I was too scared to even come close to finishing. Lol great game though; I remember the ads and posters for it like it was yesterday.
When people ask about sound design apart from the obvious sh titles I mention this allways gets a shout and is up their with sh for sound design
I loved the way they detailed Torque panting and heavily breathing after unleashing the beast. He also does it after having a vision of his wife.
don’t forgot son too.
God, I want a remake of these so bad.
@@WarriorCicadanahh it would get ruined
The suffering was way ahead of its time when it was released . Use to play that game so much when i was younger i hope they make a remake that would be crazy
I remember watching my cousins play it when I was young. It was so terrifying and I was instantly hooked. Never got the courage to play it til years later.
The Suffering: Ties That Bind is actually my favorite horror game of the early 2000's.
This was my first horror game. Glad it's getting recognition. Solid game with interesting story. The initial sequence when the monsters start invading the jail and hang from the ceiling is Hollywood material and very creepy.
Also the main antagonists had interesting backstories. Even common enemies had backstories.
The best compliment to the character design is that I havent thought about the Suffering in easily over 12 years or so and immediately remembered the monsters
The Suffering is one truly scary game. I couldn’t beat it for so long because I was so scared. I could talk about this game all day.
I was literally talking about this game with my wife the other day. Sooo weird bro. Lol
Thx for the review. Glad to see this game is still talked about. And yes it deserves a remake
hell yeah! i want it done
Funny I was having the same conversation with her also. I left before you got back from work.
I remember playing the demo of suffering 2 on MK Shaolin Monks . It scared the sh*t out of 7 year old me. I've always wanted to play it after that...but could never find it...sad sad times
It's available on GOG right now for PC
@@MrHammers oh fr. Imma get my hands on that. Thank you
I always wanted a full game of snakes nightmare in mgs
@@theawesomeduo54 omg yes
@@MrHammers are they updated good enough to work on modern systems. I know steam just shits out old Games while GoG does a decent job patching things to work with modern machines but I want to make sure before I spend my money
9:38 when torque changed into the beast he didnt actually change physically, it represented him losing control of his rage so when he turned back curling into a ball crying its becasue he feels violated by his actions that he had no control over, also remembers all the violence he committed while in this state not in the prison as he is defending himself but back in his normal life. jus as his enemies represented vices and sorts of executions, torques beast mode also represented his vice.
That's kinda what I figured, I assumed beast mode wasnt a physical thing happening but more of a metaphor for his psyche. I wish the game went deeper into that though, especially with Dr.Killjoys experiments and such
Where can I find a video of him curling up into a ball and crying without the voice over ?
Could someone send me the unedited version of that specific part
Play the game and record it?
@@MrHammers don’t have the game
The first thing I did after getting my driver's license was drive to the next town over to Walmart and bought The Suffering Ties that bind. I'd gotten the first as a gift and I loved it. Loved TTB even more. It's a badass game. This and Manhunt are great memories.
Cant believe someone finally made a good vid about these gems. I REALLY wish we could get a remaster...
I'd be content if they put the original games in the Playstation store.
These are 2 of my all time favorites, and I tend to go back and replay them ever year or so. Not as tense or artistic as it's contemporaries in the horror genre, but the action is just so well paced and the creature design is top notch. I think it might be my favorite horror game series and feels largely forgotten these days, so this was a pleasant surprise to see this pop up in my recommendations.
Not as artistic as its contemporaries? It beats EVERY Resident Evil game in aesthetic department. It blows out of the water such things as Condemned, FEAR, Obscure - you name it. How many games you know, which are set in 70s America? Suffering's mythos is deeply intertwined with USA's culture and history. Every creature is a symbol of this mythos. Morale system makes even brief encounters with minor NPCs memorable. Plot is mysterious and involving, mixing crime thriller, social drama, mystical horror into neat package. Dialogues, both in terms of writing and voice acting, are amazing (Killjoy alone is fine example of that).
It has nothing only on Silent Hill, but that series is the titan of genre.
i remember getting goosebumps on the diary entries^^
Same. I've been replaying it on my xbox. Such a good game
This game was so much fun ... shame midway is gone , you should look into *psi ops mindgate conspiracy* on day
It's on the list fo sho. Love me some PS2 gen shooters
Psi Ops was an addiction for me in high school
Great games, with even greater soundtracks. Funny thing about who owns the IP, awhile back the US army brought a bunch game IPs which included the suffering. They then released the first game for free but everytime you started it, you would have your screen filled with a bunch of US army propaganda saying to join the core.
they did the same with area 51, another midway game
@@blessedbybobo My brother borrowed that game from his buddy when it first came out, got to play for like an hour and then my brother gave it back. I loved what I got to play (we had just got to the elevator to go deep where its supposed to get crazy). So I had that game on my mind ever since then. Seen it was free through the US Army, downloaded it and man that game is f*ckin terrible after the first hour. I now see why my brother gave the game back the next day hahahaha.
Wow thts nuts, who would've known the us army brought games to recruit
Something you forgot to mention about the first game is your morality worsens every time you enter beast form. Encouraging you to only use it when need be, and you can also check the state of your morality in your inventory with the photo of Tourqes family. Great vid, maybe if more and more people talk about it we can get a repackage for modern hardware.
All the times I've played the game and I never knew that, I went in to beast mode every chance I got
I didn't know that about beast mode! That's super cool, I knew about the picture but I forgot to get footage of it on all playthroughs and got lazy lol 😂
All these years later and I had no idea that insanity mode did that to your morality. But, it makes absolute sense. I just always saw it as kind of a crutch; I really enjoyed the challenge you got out of the standard combat from the game. When you got good at it, you really *felt* like you were good at it, you know?
I’d love to see this game get an update
A wise man once told me, there are only 3 rings:
The engagement ring
The wedding ring
and
The Suffering.
I see what you did there. I like it
I've been thinking about this game a lot, even yesterday, now this video. Played it when I was like, 9-10 years old.
Seriously I was about to write the same comment. These 2 games have been on my mind all week and now this video popped up in my feed!
oh damn guys little young than me buddy i was thinking it should be 11 to 12
The morality concept of these games honestly was the coolest part for me. There were different beginnings and endings depending on how good or bad you are. Even cooler when the morality transferred between games and you could start off bad in the 2nd game. I hope this game gets a remaster one day
MAN I SWEAR you cover every game I played when I was a kid on the ps2 that I can’t remember the names of, I remember playing this with my younger nephew I was probably like 10 and him about 8 and this game terrified us, love this channel you just keep unlocking memories for me
Thank you so much for talking about The Suffering. It is one of my favorite horror games on the PS2 and I wish more people talked about it.
I knew I heard this name before, and when you mentioned that the team eventually helped to create Condemned it all made sense. Great review!
I loved how so little was outright explained, the horror of the game came from its strangeness
I know I'm 3 weeks late but my God I loved this game as a kid & as much as I love survival horror games, I really want to see a resurgence of action horror games.
If Rocksteady Studios are allowed to make something that isn't batman for once, I think they could pull it off, take the over the top first person combat from their PS2/Xbox shooter "Urban Chaos: Riot Response" and mix in all of the stuff they learned from making the Scarecrow horror sequences in the Arkham Franchise, and I honestly think they'd have a bloody good basis for a sweet horror shooter.
If you listen to all the radio and other voice bits you can find, there's more said and foreshadowed about Hargrave.
The Suffering 1 is one of the best horror games out there...its horrific disturbing and way too much interesting than it should be.
Loving these reviews of these older lesser known games. It’s a nice breathe of fresh air! Another great video!
Thanks homie !
Love these games. The first horror game(s) I played where my character wasnt a clumsy mess and the first to actually unsettle and scare me with disturbing atmosphere AND have amazing controls/mechanics instead of the fear coming from clunky mechanics and a lack of supplies
I freaking LOVED The Suffering. Thank you for covering it
The suffering was so good. I wish I never sold my copy.
Of all games to get a 3rd installment or complete overhaul in a remake, this game needs it. Hands down the first game was my favorite game on the Xbox.
3:57 this one of a kind gaming moment in gaming history made me question everything about weather im a good person or not. I love this game.
Ties That Bind is still to this day one of my favorite games ever 💯
The idea of a racially ambiguous protagonist is a great idea that I never saw done right in another game. Growing up I always thought torque as a white dude while my friends at the time (mostly black and mixed) saw him as a light skinned black guy or mixed race. I'm sure Hispanic, Arab, and Indian players would also say the same thing.
I thought he was a light skin black guy.
I’m glad someone is finally talking about this gem. Was highly underrated
I remember my stepfather borrowing this game back in 2007 from an older cousin. I would watch him play through the game and I remember how scared shitless I was seeing him mow down enemies especially the slayer when they would crawl around. Years later I bought this game in 2013 when I was 16 to relieve the memories of watching my stepfather play and I absolutely fell in love with it. Later on I bought the sequel brand new from Amazon in 2015 and I got close to the end before selling my ps2 collection. This franchise deserves a good remake. Modern graphics and good art direction would make this very scary with the right Lightning system and environment design.
These were a couple of great gems. I'd totally love to see them do an HD remake of these games. I never could finish the 2nd game because it glitched at the end to where I couldn't beat the final boss.
The atmosphere is so killer for both of these games.
The moment I fell in love was playing the first one.
When you enter the cells in the basement and you enter one of them that has a crawlspace in the ceiling and you hear the words "I found a way out" echoed in that ghostly tone.
The sheer amount of tragic backstory fed to me in a single line of dialogue stuck with me hard.
2 of my favorite games. I replay them both every few years
Absolutely loved this game man was in middle school when I first got to play and grew so emotionally invested/attached with my playthroughs. job well done thank you!!
This game was such an underappreciated gem I wish it got more attention but it was going up against titles like Halo, GTA, Half-Life etc so it's no surprise it got swept under the rug, for real though I hope this game gets a remake
I love The Suffering. It’d be amazing to see this game remade. I still can remember the Gas Man boss fight to this day.
So glad TH-cam suggested this channel to me. Great videos!
Hope to see Golden Light video here someday hehehe
Never heard of it! I'll have to check it out, thanks so much. CHeers
I am still on a play through of the first game I just wanted to see peoples opinion on this game. I gotta say that this game is awesome as hell
I remember being a kid trading in at least 3 games at GameStop just to get a new one. Finding The Suffering thinkin hmm looks gory. Best decision ever.
I have to say, this was one of my first ever horror games that I got to experience when I was way younger and even fast forwarding to now with how many horror games are around and such, this game still resonates with me so heavily and the look and sounds of the Slayers is burned into my head forever lol; the suffering games were such gems at the time and still are, I would seriously love to see remasters of this game, it would be such an amazing experience if done properly 🔥
Something I really like about the beast mode is that it's just in the main characters head, everyone else just sees him as human (though quite crazy) when it happens.
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks had a demo for the second one, but my 10 year old self didn't know that the second one was the second one. I BEGGED my parents to take me to Gamestop one day to find and buy The Suffering: Ties That Bind, but they accidently bought me the first game, which I didn't even know existed at the time.
When I say that I played the first game RELIGIOUSLY, I mean it. Looking back, it feels like I beat that game, like, once a week for like 3 years straight. At this point, I didn't even think about Ties That Bind anymore. The Suffering was my favorite game for a really long time.
Then, around like 2010, I had finally gotten my hands on Ties That Bind. I had become so enamoured with the first game that the second never achieved that same level of luster and awe to me. I have grown out of both of those games, but I will occasionally go back and play them. While some of the gameplay of Ties That Bind is more refined and tighter, I don't think I will ever get over how gritty, dirty, ugly, and just outright awesome the first game is.
I would pay an irresponsible amount of money for a remake of both games, but SMASHED into a single experience. Have just "The Suffering" and have both games put together, upgraded graphics, updated controls.
Awesome video. Thank you for making this. Such a nostalgia trip for me. You earned my sub!
I really hope we get a remake or a remaster ! These games were my favorite on the Ps2 days
I remember playing this game back in 2011, I saw it being played on a computer renting shop. I wanted to borrow the owner's copy but he didn't want to. Imagine my surprised reaction when I found out that it was ported on the PS2. I managed to find a copy of 1 and 2 for 5 bucks at our local video game shop. This was one of the most darkest games I've played on the PS2 plus it was difficult enough to make you "git gud" at it. This deserves more attention, thank you for covering this one. Great content, I immediately subscribed.
Very underrated series. I still remember seeing them advertised in PlayStation magazine, way back in the day. Would love to see you review the Obscure series, quite similar to Silent Hill.
Another banger! I really love these retrospective reviews you put out. They bring me back to my childhood where I played a lot of these. Old games from the 90s & 2000s just hit different. Despite the technology being limited, devs arguably had much more imagination then than they do now.
I played the Demo for one of these games in MK: Shaolin Monks. Never got to play one all the way through, might change that now. Keep up the great work. Love the content.
Thanks dude, I appreciate that
i’ve always loved this game. i actually sampled that part at 2:00 in a song by my death metal band Pestilectomy; album comes out next month actually
Link?
I love "The Suffering" game.....the storyline was excellent & the suspense dark theme was what I need in my horror games. What I also dug was there was behind the scenes video commentary on the characters, "Torque" back story, the creatures, the history of the island & even real haunted prison "Eastern State Prenitentary in Philly. A real place mobster AL Capone was sentenced on his way back from Atlantic City NJ. The game was in lined with the "Fear" series without creepy "Alma"......💯♥️♦️♣️🖤❤♠️
As always, thank you for your videos, brother. Keep on the good work!
OMG. I forgot the name of this game but I will never forget the experience it gave me. I bought The Suffering back in fall of 2005 with my wife and brought it over to my cousins’ house to play it. One of my cousins had told me about it and wanted to see it. I put it in the PS2 at like 9 at night and me, my wife, and my 3 cousins spent the next 3-4 hours scared out of our minds, letting out a muffled scream here and there. Classic times. This game absolutely nailed atmosphere.
Great video! Thank you so much.
Really loved playing these games as a young teen and your review did them justice 🤘🤘
I’ve been waiting for a video like this on the suffering for years 👌🏽 thank you 🙏🏽
This channel deserves more subs, great retrospective!
I took me ten damn years to finish the flamethrower in the first game. And it was one of my proudest moments in game as well when I did.
All 3 ending on impossible was one of my early gam8ng achievement XD
Thank you Mr Hammer, I haven't seen this game in years, and now I want to play it again.. lol like the content, keep it up
I found your vid about Manhunt earlier today and I have binging your content since. You earned yourself a new subscriber. Looking forward to what you've got coming in the near future!
Thanks bro. Appreciate you
I’m so glad that someone takes about theses games I felt like they were forgotten in time and when I would search them nothing really came up on TH-cam I had a very nostalgic tie to these games thank you
I remember replaying this game series over and over. It was amazing brutal thrilling game. Absolutely a top 10 gem of highest quality
Thanks for covering this game so well. Gonna give it a try soon.
quality content mr hammers , i like old games , and i really enjoy people going very detail into it , keep it coming chief
I remember playing this game when I was 9 or so on my ps2. Game honestly scared me half the death, had constant nightmares but now 13 years later playing on PC. It's just fun to play
Im so glad ı discovered your channel. Keep up the great content !!
Thanks homie
This was a family favorite in my house, a really well done video on it, but going back to what you mentioned about action getting in the way of the lore, whether they intended it or not, and i agree it kinda effects the overall gameplay, it's does send a sharp message, how war and conflict usually stops people from uncovering what actually may have happened, we get snippets and it's back to your regularly scheduled distraction, all that said, well done.
I absolutely loved playing this game along with the second one, their game art is terrifying
Writing this post-factum: Yeah, I'm a huge nerd about this game. xD I hope other fans have fun with this comment and learn something new, AND in case it's missed - lovely vid, thank you!
6:32 - That's not exactly true. We see the Slayer, and shortly after see inmates having prepared shivs. After meeting the Mainliner, we can see that lethal needle. Those two are kind of straight to the point and symbolic of the prison itself, while every enemy beyond that point has a location to explore, tied to a myth surrounding the enemy, and a cutscene that may be triggered if the Player explores certain spots, so that the story gets pieced together. I don't want to elaborate further, so that people get inspired to go back and explore, like I did. I'd beaten the game 7 times in the past, when I was a teen, and I beat it again today and sicovered so much more now that I wasn't scared to death from the creatures. You actually show some of these throughout the video, but finding all of them is truly a challenge. I totally admit that I can't find the crashed airplane to this day.
9:40 and 20:30 - This was also explained, by the way. If you listen carefully to what Dr. Killjoy says regarding Torque, and read his report, you can absolutely see how Torque was mapped ahead of time by the devs, with heavy hints regarding his monsterous alter-ego. Also, cool feature that not many Players notice - if you keep your Insanity meter up, the random jumpscares with images and sounds, and voices, will have a higher chance of happening to you, which was meant to sort of make the Player want to transform and vent out that tension. Very cool idea, but it can only be appreciated if you know it's there.
12:30 - There is backstory to him, by the way. You can hear it through inmate dialogue, and a note you can find in the game. It's really a shame that the note system is so convoluted in both games, if it was a bit more easy to access, probably more people would've gotten more out of the lore.
12:50 - These are literally the only inmates that will fight you without any reason, and I hate that. xD
14:10 - Wow, I did not know that. I've never noticed, but I've also never done an evil playthrough. Well, it goes on the list then.
18:40 - The most easy-to-miss side-quest in the game - Sergei. Deffinetely not smoking just cigs. There's an easter egg, where you can find his stache, and it's kind of funny. I wonder what would happen if you set it ablze with a flame thrower?
20:40 - That is awesome and I did not know it. I've never had any of my playtrhroughs of TTB pick up any of my save games, it always started as if from the Neutral ending from the first one. But maybe that's one of the issues with the PC versions, which are also missing some other unlockables, like a fully playable additional scene, planned to be the actual start of the first game.
TTB Segment - I don't know if you intentionally left it out because it's a spoiler, or if you've missed it, due to which I won't clarify, but Blackmore is more close to home than he seems. But yeah, overall I can see why TTB failed. Especially if you move on to it directly from the next one - it's way more heavy and gory than the first one. It's really, really heavy and I just evade playing it nowadays.
From my understanding of the dev diaries we've got, I think it was intended for the lore to not be completely known, so that players may theorize. If the game had blown up a bit more, I'm certain that would've drove in success. We can see what's going on with the FNAF series through this design.
In my personal view, the island probably had some sort of demonic cult, and from there on out, it became inhabited, drawing evil souls to it, so it could feed and manifest the evil from those people, into real beings. We sort of see this realized through a few locations. I'd love to have more lore-heavy, exploration or even puzzle-based moments in the game, but that not being Midway's MO at the time is probably why we did not get any of that in the final product.
I've done my best to play most horror games I can get my hands on, from this era, and to be honest, none of them feel like this, so I can't agree that it's just transformation, morality and design that sets it apart. None of them offered lore-rewards for exploration, and none of them (in my opinion, until Dead Space), offered this blend of horror and action.
Thank you for making this video! This game is one of the best horror titles out there, and more people need to see it. I'd love a third installment (as long as it's more in the vein of the first one), and even spin-offs. I've always drafted ideas of a sort of tower-defence style game, where you need to stand off creatures, with positioning different NPCs, resources, etc. I think it's a very awesome idea, and it's very much derived from the joy that players get in the first one. And from this, fun fact: you can use the projectors you find across the game and position them ahead of time. Later, when you explore the areas around them, if you've positioned them right, your fights may become much easier. Total life-saver on higher difficulties! And it's awesome that the game remembers how you set them up, as long as you bother to go back and do it.
For the record: I'll never stop waiting for the movie. I hope Netflix does it, or something. It can totally be amazing, as it won't have that requirement for action, and can linger more on the lore.
Lastly, for my fellow PC dudes: An HD unofficial patch is easily found through Google for my fellow PC folks. Totally worth it! All we're missing is someone making a mod, which adds Doom (and Eternal's) music to the game for the complete action experience.
PS: Hit me up if you'd like to make a lore-related video on this, with the entire possible timeline. =]
Damn you definitely seem very knowledgeable about this game, glad you can correct me and point out various things, I actually appreciate that. I wish I grew up with this game it seems like a game I would've played non stop back in the day but I'm glad I got into them at all even if it is so late. I appreciate your comment, thank you 🙏
One of my favorite games of all time. I loved this and its sequel to death and am thinking bout streaming them both start to finish.
I just played through the Suffering in 2023 and had a good time. MrHammer's retrospective is exceptionally good.
What a cool channel, I hope it absolutely blows up.
Love to see any video reviewing one of my favorite games
This game holds a special spot in my memories and I didnt even play it. My friend and I were sophmores in HS when his older brother was about to deploy for Iraq. My mom let me rent this and I brought it over to their house for the weekend. His older brother was such a nice guy and he was having so much fun playing I just enjoyed watching like Twitch before Twitch. We're all from MD so we were hooked right away. We never beat it but it was the last time I saw his brother before we grew older and more apart. Anytime I see this title I think of simpler times as a kid.
Still one of the best games I've played when I was a kid! Still is my favorite all time🤙 wish they made a new one or remastered it 😕
Such a great, weighted take! You paid your respects without overselling the games, which is a vital skill in this field.
Glad you liked it. Thank you
@@MrHammers Likewise!
My feed is 🔥 right now. Giving me vids about all these classics I forgot about
TH-cam recomended your channel. I am impressed with your video. Good job mate
Wow fantastic video. Glad I found your channel, ez binge
I love both of these games and i always felt like they never got the recognition they deserved id love to see and hd remaster of these especially now today
I loved this game. It was cool how they added some extras too. Like the documentary of the Eastern State Penitentiary
Every time you post a new video, I feel a resonance in my bowels. I thank you for allowing me to experience this.
I'm glad I can affect you in this manner
I dared myself in playing The Suffering. I don't know why. I guess the thought of death row inmate (who maybe innocent) fighting literal demons in a possessed prison drew me to it. I was never a horror game fan before this, I was chicken when it came to them. But I liked the Suffering (despite listening to music from Monty Python and the musical Rent as I played it because I was afraid of what I'd hear in game.) This game also led me to discover Dead to Rights, which became a very important game to me and is very close to my heart. Have you considered doing a retrospective on that series?
I have, they are hard games to get a hold of though hahaha
@@MrHammers Really?
Yeah, I mean I can just use an emulator. Which is probably what I'll do
Good shit dude, really enjoyed this 👌
I remember buying this game and watching the mini documentary about Eastern State Penitentiary that came on the bonus content.
These games were sick as hell, I loved the voiceover describing the enemy origins in the journal.
WE NEED THAT REMAKE BRO! It’s been over 15 years!😂😢😢
I loved the suffering series…both one and two and I’d kill for a remaster. I can’t wait to play them again this new coming year.
Awesome video. I loved both 1 and 2. I loved how you could transform in the game. Can't recall many other games that did that other than DMC. And the game giving you an option to take either a good path, not killing the CO's and certain enemies or killing everything. A remaster is overdue.
It was a game that shows there's a monster in all of us and that true evil ain't a fiction character, it's us and we all walk a fine line between Good and evil
This would've been an awesome movie and I miss the suffering. A reboot should come with next gen. Glad you did this vid bro,. Didn't know I needed it
Both games were legit terrifying and the gameplay was above average imo. I was in I believe the 8th grade when I played them with my older brother. Great video bro
What i always thought was so cool was how after beating the game was u went in again to do another run the beginning would start off different not by much but still a cool little addition and miss the times when games would link both games to work the story according to ur choices in the previous one such a cool idea!