Halls of Torment feels like the brilliant lovechild of Vampire Survivors and Diablo, and the absolute pinnacle of autobattlers

GamesActionHalls of Torment feels like the brilliant lovechild of Vampire Survivors and Diablo, and the absolute pinnacle of autobattlersWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Chasing Carrots)

Halls of Torment

Personal Pick(Image credit: Future)In addition to our mainGame of the Year Awards 2024, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We’ll post new personal picks, alongside our main awards, throughout the rest of the month.

Personal Pick

(Image credit: Future)In addition to our mainGame of the Year Awards 2024, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We’ll post new personal picks, alongside our main awards, throughout the rest of the month.

(Image credit: Future)

GOTY 2024 Personal Picks

In addition to our mainGame of the Year Awards 2024, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We’ll post new personal picks, alongside our main awards, throughout the rest of the month.

The best games ask the bravest questions. ‘What if cowboys, but post-apocalypse?’ gave us Fallout: New Vegas. ‘What if Indiana Jones, but roguelike?’ Gave us Spelunky. ‘What if Indiana Jones?’ gave usIndiana Jones.

But only most games start from a basic premise of ‘Indiana Jones’ before getting made. Some, somehow, start from completely different principles and still end up great. For instance, my personal game of the year for 2024 asked itself the brave question ‘What if Vampire Survivors, but Diablo?’ and turned into Halls of Torment, the most devilishly compelling thing I’ve loaded onto my Steam Deck since Slay The Spire. Or Vampire Survivors.

I admit, though: What really drew my attention to the game at first was the look. Vampire Survivors' pixel-art aesthetic is all well and good, and no doubt very sentimental for people who grew up on NES games, but I’m a child of early Blizzard. The roots of my nostalgia curl around stark, gothic maps and sprites, not the perky, charming bundles of pixels that make up Vampire Survivors' whole vibe.

(Image credit: Chasing Carrots)

Halls of Torment

But break the skin and you’ll find something more granular, more deliberate, maybe moreconservativethan Vampire Survivors' whizzbang laser-light show. Halls of Torment has north of 20 stats to keep track of—health, defence, crit rate, but also piercing, multistrike, force, block strength—and the gear you can find across levels deals its bonuses in decimals. There are more paths and actual, honest-to-god builds you can apply to its 11 classes.

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These choices are more complex than the ones I’m used to in games like this. It’s not just a matter of choosing the weapon you like most and carrying on, but trying to create a harmony between your stats and your gear in a way that makes long-term sense for your arena, enemies, and playstyle.

You know, like Diablo.

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