Torn

About

Torn is a single player puzzle game with mystery and science fiction themes. It was developed by Aspyr and was released on August 28, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Torn is a single-player Mystery Adventure game built for VR, featuring compelling graphics and a good soundtrack. As video blogger Katherine Patterson, explore an abandoned mansion and discover experiments by the famed Dr. Lawrence Talbot. Initially a narrative puzzle game, it evolves into a dark character-driven story, revealing the truth about Talbot and his new dimension, The Parallel."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

60%

Audience ScoreBased on 257 reviews

story72 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and immersive environments that enhance the overall experience.
The story is engaging and well-designed, with interesting characters that become more relatable as the game progresses.
The puzzles, while simple, can be enjoyable and provide a fun way to interact with the game's physics.

The controls are frustrating, particularly the locomotion system, which is slow and lacks proper support for various VR controllers.
The gameplay becomes repetitive quickly, with many puzzles feeling like the same task of matching shapes over and over.
The ending is widely criticized for being unsatisfying and jarring, detracting from the overall narrative experience.

story
158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
8%
The game's story receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-designed, particularly appreciating its intriguing twists and character development as the narrative progresses. However, others criticize the pacing, repetitive gameplay, and a lackluster ending that detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals and voice acting are often praised, the story's execution can feel drawn out and at times frustrating, leading to a divide in player satisfaction.
- “The story was well designed and made sense from start to finish.”
- “Overall, the story is intriguing and kept me wanting to know how it turned out.”
- “Extraordinary atmosphere, artwork, gripping story, mysteries, and fun puzzles with the story progressing while you're solving puzzles.”
- “The story/writing is terrible.”
- “There is nothing redeemable about this game, with regard to story-craft.”
- “The story almost hooked me, but never really went anywhere.”
graphics
109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
25%
6%
The graphics in the game receive a mixed reception, with many praising their detail and immersive quality, particularly in VR settings, while others note issues such as blurriness and subpar performance on certain controllers. Overall, the visuals are often described as beautiful and atmospheric, showcasing a unique art style and meticulous attention to detail, though some reviewers feel they fall short of being exceptional. Despite the graphical strengths, the repetitiveness of puzzles and control issues detract from the overall experience for some players.
- “First of all, the graphics are very detailed and the VR experience is totally immersive.”
- “The graphics in this game are truly lovely… so much attention to detail and the physics are accurate to real life!”
- “Meticulous attention to detail in some of the most extraordinary graphics I've seen in VR.”
- “Graphics very blurry, terrible control because the game does not support touch controllers.”
- “Do developers know about graphics?”
- “I'd say what the game does best is the graphics, and what it does worst is the repetitiveness of the puzzles.”
gameplay
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
64%
15%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it simple and fun, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth. Many noted that the mechanics can be awkward and flawed, particularly in VR, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, while the game features interesting storytelling and high production values, the gameplay often feels uninspired and fails to engage players effectively.
- “Good and fun, simple gameplay.”
- “Interesting storytelling, fun game mechanics.”
- “If you like exploring cluttered rooms or solving vaguely mechanical puzzles, there is plenty to enjoy here.”
- “I would like to give a positive review, but the mechanics are deeply flawed, using my setup anyway, and it makes the game unplayable.”
- “Unfortunately, the core gameplay is really repetitive and boring.”
- “The gameplay and story have clearly had a lot of effort put into them; however, the VR locomotion and controls are just awful and completely ruin the game.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
26%
12%
The music in the game has been widely praised for its stunning quality and atmospheric presence, with a soundtrack by Garry Schyman that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers noted the effective orchestral score and professional voice acting, which contribute to the immersive environment. While the music is described as beautiful and fitting, some players wished it had been utilized more effectively during key story moments.
- “The music and cinematics were stunning and never tiring to hear.”
- “Good things first... visually gorgeous, and the music and sound design are excellent.”
- “A beautifully made game, with a lovely soundtrack.”
- “The soundtrack is right out of a movie too.”
- “Even the music itself is mysterious and matched the general mood of the game nicely.”
- “From the shadowy final reveal of a character NPC, to the solid voice work throughout, effective musical backdrop, and occasionally cavernous settings, it's a great place to spend a few VR hours.”
optimization
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
20%
7%
The game's optimization is highly praised, with users reporting smooth performance across multiple platforms even at maxed-out graphics settings. Despite the presence of numerous interactive physics objects, players experience no dropped frames or reprojection issues, contributing to an overall solid and visually impressive experience.
- “Performance is somehow great despite this profusion of interactable junk, and the elegant decay arrayed around it.”
- “Well optimized graphics, detailed world and nice atmosphere.”
- “Maxed all graphic settings and it appears to be very well optimized.”
- “Despite having rooms full of physics objects, performance stays generally solid.”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
85%
15%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful graphics, excellent music, and immersive world, creating a captivating experience for players. Many reviewers highlight the engaging story and detailed artwork, although some express frustration with certain gameplay elements that detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, the game's atmospheric qualities leave a lasting impression, making it a memorable experience for many.
- “Great graphics, excellent music, very atmospheric.”
- “Well optimized graphics, detailed world and nice atmosphere.”
- “Extraordinary atmosphere, artwork, gripping story, mysteries and fun puzzles with story progressing while you're solving puzzles.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently criticized for being tedious and lacking meaningful payoff, with many puzzles described as easy yet overly drawn out due to excessive searching for pieces. Players noted that while the game starts off promising, it quickly becomes confusing and repetitive, leading to a frustrating experience. Some found enjoyment by pacing their play sessions, but the overall sentiment leans towards disappointment in the grindy nature of the gameplay.
- “No payoff for all of the tedious hide and seek puzzles.”
- “Starts promising and then just gets tedious and too confusing too often on what the game wants you to do.”
- “It has easy puzzles that are made tedious because you have to tear up the room to find the pieces.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional impact from the game, particularly during intense moments that evoke feelings of discomfort and empathy, such as a character experiencing sickness. The immersive experience is further enhanced by gameplay elements that allow players to feel like they are in a significant role, akin to being a character in a beloved sci-fi series.
- “One time, towards the end, [spoiler]she began to feel sick and make nauseous sounds and it really just made me feel terrible[/spoiler].”
- “The tool made me feel like Doctor Who, so I applaud the game for that alone.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its significant stability issues, with users reporting numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. This instability is compounded by repetitive gameplay, further diminishing player enjoyment.
- “Unfortunately for the game, it's quite repetitive and very, very buggy.”
- “Buggy mess”
- “Buggy mess”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as highly entertaining but short-lived, with players finding it hilarious for only about 10 minutes before it loses its charm.
- “This is absolutely hilarious, for roughly 10 minutes.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers an engaging VR story and puzzle experience, but players note that it lacks significant replayability, making it more of a one-time adventure despite its fun elements and unexpected ending.