The Suffering (video game)

The Suffering

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	2004
Founder	Surreal Software
Products	The Suffering (video game)

The Suffering is a horror shooter video game combining first- and third-person perspectives, developed by Surreal Software for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The design received input from Stan Winston Studios. While Midway Games published the PlayStation 2 and Xbox editions, the PC version was distributed by Encore in North America and Zoo Digital Publishing across Europe. Its North American release occurred in March 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, followed by a PC launch in June; European availability came in May and July respectively. A version intended for the GameCube was ultimately cancelled. In 2017, after acquiring Midway's assets post-bankruptcy in 2009, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment reissued the game on GOG.com.

The storyline centers on Torque, a death row prisoner charged with murdering his family—a crime he has no memory of committing. When an earthquake strikes Abbot State Penitentiary on Maryland’s Carnate Island, supernatural entities tied to the island’s dark history assault the prison. Torque must battle these forces while grappling with his own inner turmoil and seeking the truth about his family’s demise. The narrative features three distinct endings shaped by player decisions, each offering a unique interpretation of the murders.

Critically, The Suffering garnered predominantly favorable reviews. Some reviewers felt its blend of action and horror lacked sufficient fright, although designer Richard Rouse III highlighted its "action horror" approach as opposed to classic survival horror titles like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame. The game earned acclaim for its creature designs, atmospheric tone, and morality system, which impacts both endings and character interactions. Commercially successful, it sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide across all platforms. Its sequel, The Suffering: Ties That Bind, was released in 2005.

Gameplay

In The Suffering, players assume control of Torque from either a first-person or third-person viewpoint, with full functionality in both modes. Torque is capable of running, shooting, jumping, engaging with NPCs, and utilizing various items such as flashlights, flares, flash grenades, TNT charges, shrapnel grenades, and molotov cocktails. The weapon arsenal includes melee tools like a shiv and axe; firearms such as a .357 revolver, tommy gun, dual revolvers, shotgun; an improvised flamethrower; and M2 Browning machine guns. Players also collect Xombium tablets to replenish health along with documents advancing the story, maps, ammunition, and flashlight batteries.

Adversaries embody methods of execution historically employed on Carnate Island: Slayers represent decapitation victims; Marksmen reflect firing squad casualties; Mainliners derive from lethal injection cases; Noosemen symbolize those hanged; Burrowers correspond to individuals buried alive. Additional monsters draw upon the island’s past—Festers are reborn slave traders while Infernas are spirits of children who once accused others of witchcraft. These entities often clash among themselves when not targeting Torque.

As Torque dispatches foes, an "Insanity meter" gradually fills; upon reaching capacity, he can temporarily transform into a formidable monstrous form with enhanced attacks and combo capabilities. This transformation continuously depletes health automatically and poses a risk of death if not reverted promptly.

A pivotal gameplay mechanic revolves around Torque’s morality. Players encounter choices involving NPCs that can be approached by aiding (good), killing (bad), or ignoring (neutral). These selections influence Torque’s morality meter and ultimately affect which ending unfolds. His wife’s voice encourages benevolent actions while an inner demon tempts malevolence. NPCs spared may later provide combat assistance but can also be permanently lost if killed. Not every decision allows all options—for instance, subjecting an inmate to electric chair torture offers only bad or neutral outcomes. Changes in morality visibly alter Torque’s appearance as well as the state of a family photograph he carries—pristine for good alignment or bloodstained for evil—shaping one of three possible conclusions.

Plot

The story opens with Torque, a silent protagonist, being escorted by CO Ernesto Alvarez to death row within Abbott State Penitentiary, situated on Carnate Island off the coast of Maryland—an island steeped in a sinister past. Torque faces execution for the alleged murder of his ex-wife and two children, although he insists he blacked out during the event. Shortly after he is locked in his cell, an earthquake occurs, and all other death row prisoners are slain by Malefactors—supernatural entities born from the numerous deaths on Carnate Island. One such creature liberates Torque, prompting him to attempt an escape from the besieged prison. He then receives a call from his deceased wife, Carmen, who warns him that the island breeds evil and urges him to flee.

In the prison’s basement, Torque encounters spirits of Abbott’s infamous former residents: Dr. Killjoy, a 1920s asylum psychiatrist fixated on "curing" Torque; Hermes T. Haight, a former executioner who took his own life in the gas chamber; and Horace P. Gauge, an inmate executed via electric chair for murdering his wife. These apparitions instruct Torque on how to channel his rage and mentally transform into a formidable monster.

Torque reunites with fellow prisoner Dallas and escapes through the eastern cellblock. Through Carmen’s visions, he uncovers her reasons for leaving him and learns about her pregnancy. After unlocking doors to aid Dallas’s escape, Torque encounters a fire blocking his path. He then receives a message from Consuela Alvarez, Ernesto’s wife, about a forest fire threatening their home.

Moving westward, Torque experiences another vision of Carmen filing for divorce. He discovers that the radio room is functional but jammed by interference originating from the asylum. At the asylum, Killjoy attempts to "cure" Torque using his Rebirth Machine; after completing tests and destroying Killjoy’s projectors, Torque returns to prison for evaluation.

On the beach, Torque meets Clem, an elderly inmate planning to escape by boat but needing assistance fighting creatures tied to a historic slave shipwreck. After setting the wreck on fire and helping Clem flee, Torque ventures into the sewers where Horace warns that Abbott desires his soul. Destroying the electric chair releases Horace’s spirit. Back on death row, Killjoy’s diagnosis reveals that Torque’s monstrous transformations are imagined—his strength actually derives from adrenaline.

Torque sends out a distress call; although a Coast Guard vessel is en route, it cannot approach because Carnate’s lighthouse is inoperative. Passing through Fort Maleson military barracks, he defeats Hermes by pushing him into a furnace and restores power to reactivate the lighthouse with Ernesto’s assistance.

They proceed to a nearby village built atop an old Puritan settlement in search of Ernesto’s family. Horace unlocks the gate in exchange for freedom; Hermes aids them in crossing a broken bridge but they are separated by fire near the village. Ernesto continues alone while Torque heads toward the docks.

At the docks, Killjoy urges Torque to face what lies ahead using the Rebirth Machine. Torque confronts a massive creature connected by an umbilical cord to a miniature version of himself—a physical embodiment of rage and hatred—and defeats it while recalling the truth about his family’s deaths.

The game concludes with one of three possible endings based on player decisions:

• Good ending: Torque discovers that two criminals murdered his family under orders from "The Colonel," who framed him. The Coast Guard rescues him; subsequent prosecutorial misconduct leads to reopening his case and potential retrial.

• Neutral ending: Torque remembers accidentally killing his wife during an argument; his eldest son drowned his brother before taking his own life. He commandeers the Coast Guard boat and escapes alone.

• Bad ending: Torque confesses to killing his family. When the Coast Guard arrives, he transforms into his monstrous form, kills them, and flees into Carnate’s forest.

Story and Influences

The Suffering began development in early 2002 under the working title Unspeakable. Richard Rouse III, a game designer at Surreal Software, envisioned it as "a stylized horror third-person shooter combining the fast-paced action of Devil May Cry with the eerie atmosphere of Resident Evil and the immersive storytelling found in Half-Life." The concept grew out of Rouse's previous work on a cancelled western RPG called Gunslinger, which featured an overly complex morality system that affected entire towns based on player choices. For The Suffering, he simplified this into a more manageable morality mechanic supported by streamlined AI to monitor player behavior.

The development team took substantial inspiration from horror cinema, unanimously citing Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining as their primary influence. Rouse described how this shaped both narrative and gameplay components, particularly influencing the protagonist Torque’s backstory. The team incorporated slow-motion blur effects reminiscent of Kubrick’s visual style to represent flashbacks and the island’s dark history, crafting a distinctive and unsettling mood. The narrative intentionally remains ambiguous, inviting players to interpret missing details on their own, following a tradition established by horror classics such as The Birds, The Shining, The Blair Witch Project, and The Ring.

Gameplay and Design

Early in development, Rouse decided to steer The Suffering more towards an action-oriented experience rather than conventional survival horror. This decision influenced much of the design philosophy, prioritizing intense combat while avoiding lengthy cutscenes, vulnerable protagonists, awkward controls, fixed camera perspectives, and scarce ammunition—elements commonly associated with console horror titles. Another deliberate choice was to maintain an air of mystery around the main character, focusing primarily on his raw physical power. Artist Mike Nichols highlighted that Torque’s almost Neanderthal-like appearance was intended to reflect primal strength without suggesting any specific ethnicity or nationality.

Designing the creatures was a crucial aspect, with the team committed to crafting original enemies. Rouse explained that instead of relying on stereotypical zombies, they themed monsters around historical execution methods linked to Carnate’s grim past. After initial conceptualization, Stan Winston Studios contributed by refining these designs through a process known as "Stan Winstonizing," which added disturbing and intricate details.

To enhance authenticity in the horror elements, the developers rooted both the creatures and storyline in real historical atrocities. Rouse emphasized integrating aspects of American history including prison culture, slavery, systemic racism, unethical medical experimentation on inmates, mob justice executions, and capital punishment. This grounding in serious social issues intensified the game’s unsettling atmosphere beyond typical action-adventure narratives.

Game Mechanics

A central design goal was to empower players by granting them considerable influence over the morality system and allowing them to shape whether Torque was deemed guilty or innocent.

Originally, the game featured a target-lock aiming system inspired by titles like Syphon Filter and Devil May Cry. However, after recognizing that the gameplay better aligned with PC-style shooters such as Half Life, developers transitioned to a free-aim mechanic. Following the successful implementation of double-stick controls in console shooters like Max Payne, Halo, and SOCOM, which emulate PC mouse-and-keyboard aiming, the team abandoned target-locking. This shift resolved prior gameplay challenges and increased both depth and player engagement.

Announcement and promotion

The game was initially revealed unofficially on March 17, 2003, when Midway included it in a list of forthcoming titles for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, aiming for an October 2003 launch. The official announcement came on April 15, describing the title as an "action-packed survival horror" set within a maximum-security prison, with creature designs crafted by Stan Winston Studios. Helene Sheeler, Midway’s vice president of marketing, highlighted the game’s distinctive horror aspects rooted in a penitentiary setting.

Midway revealed that the fictional Abbot State Penitentiary drew partial inspiration from Alcatraz, and emphasized the use of real-time 3D graphics as a differentiator from other games relying on pre-rendered backgrounds. The title made its first public appearance at E3 in May.

In September, the release date was postponed to early 2004 to allow further polish on horror elements, narrative delivery, artificial intelligence, and puzzle mechanics—enhancements credited with improving the overall quality of the final release.

In October, Midway organized a promotional event at West Virginia State Penitentiary, where journalists experienced a demo within a reportedly haunted gothic prison environment. Later that month, Midway decided to cancel the GameCube version to concentrate development efforts on PlayStation 2 and Xbox platforms.

The game achieved gold status on February 23, 2004, with its North American launch following on March 8. CEO David Zucker forecasted $140 million in revenue for fiscal year 2004—a 50% increase compared to 2003—primarily driven by The Suffering alongside other titles such as NBA Ballers, MLB Slugfest, and upcoming releases including Mortal Kombat: Deception.

On May 5, Encore announced plans to release a Windows edition slated for late May.

Musical score

Erik Aho composed the soundtrack for The Suffering, having previously collaborated with Surreal Software on Drakan: The Ancients' Gates. The lead sound designer Boyd Post introduced the idea of crafting "instruments" from objects found within the game’s environments, merging sound design seamlessly with musical composition. Post described the approach as

Aho further explained,

Seattle-based musician Ela Lamblin created unique instruments such as the Stamenphone—a hybrid instrument combining bowed and struck metallic drone elements—and Orbacles, large hollow metal pods played either percussively or with bows to generate ambient textures. These were complemented by sounds produced using hubcaps, railroad spikes, hammers, and glass jars. Long metal rods were played by rubbing rosin-coated gloves to produce eerie drones that were later sampled and layered into atmospheric tracks or struck to yield shrieks and metallic percussion effects. Additionally, a bicycle wheel was manipulated through cranking and scraping to generate distinctive noises.

Interestingly, subtle whispering sounds—unintended radio interference—were captured during sessions at Robert Lange Studios and incorporated into the ambient soundscape for the Asylum level.

Aho summarized the musical style as follows:

Digital distribution

In October 2008, the PC edition was made available as freeware by the United States Air Force via FileFront (which is no longer accessible). On September 8, 2017, both The Suffering and its sequel The Suffering: Ties That Bind were launched on GOG.com as DRM-free downloads. However, on September 1, 2024, these titles were withdrawn from GOG.com following a request from Warner Bros. Interactive.

Reception

The Suffering garnered generally positive feedback, achieving Metacritic ratings of 80 for the PC version and 77 for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox editions.

The PS2 release received a 3/5 score from Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, which acknowledged its morality system and gameplay but felt it lacked genuine horror intensity as an action title. Eurogamer awarded it a 7/10, highlighting some successful horror sequences while criticizing the inconsistent blend of action and horror elements.

GameSpot gave it a 7.6/10, describing it as a competent action game with novel horror aspects but recommending additional monsters and puzzles to increase complexity. GameSpy assigned a 3/5 rating to the PS2 and Xbox versions, characterizing it as a gritty, violent survival-horror experience with mature themes; the PC version received a higher score of 4/5 due to its effective combination of survival horror and shooter mechanics despite minor technical issues.

Game Informer rated both console editions at 8.25/10, comparing the game more to a "splatter flick" than psychological horror, emphasizing its graphic violence and provocative content. IGN awarded all versions an 8.5/10 along with an "Editor's Choice" distinction, commending its intense gameplay, unsettling creatures, and grim narrative that distinguish it within a saturated genre.

At the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the title earned a nomination for "Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Sales

The Suffering achieved commercial success, surpassing 1.5 million copies sold worldwide across all platforms. This performance played a significant role in reestablishing Midway as a prominent video game publisher following several years of lackluster results.

In April 2004, Midway forecasted first-quarter revenues of $18 million, primarily fueled by sales of The Suffering. On April 6 of that year, Midway finalized the acquisition of Surreal Software, the studio responsible for developing the game. Midway's CEO David Zucker remarked that this acquisition would bolster their development capabilities and enhance their capacity to deliver high-quality titles aimed at an expanding audience of mature gamers. Alan Patmore, Surreal’s co-founder and director of The Suffering, highlighted that joining forces with Midway would provide increased resources and expertise to support future projects.

Film

On September 8, 2005, Midway partnered with MTV Films to announce plans for a movie adaptation based on The Suffering and The Suffering: Ties That Bind. The project involved Stan Winston as part of the team along with producers Jason Lust and Rick Jacobs. Despite this, no directors, writers, or cast members were ever confirmed, and no subsequent progress has been reported, indicating that the film adaptation was most likely discontinued.