Torchlight 2 Review

Torchlight 2 is Runic Games follow up to Torchlight. The critically acclaimed and commercially successful hack and slash, diablo-esque RPG. Like the previous game, the world of Torchlight has fallen into some pretty deep trouble and yet again, it is left down to you and your trusty companion to clean-up the mess. You deal with everything, from disease stricken village folk, to large, grotesque beasts attacking soldiers, to running around looting as much gold as you possibly can from chests and dead bodies.

Torchlight 2 continues the story from the first game, the Alchemist has become corrupted and has set off on a killing spree so that he can try can corrupt the ancient Guardians. The other heroes from Torchlight appear in the game as NPC’s on your quest to defeat the Alchemist.

Gameplay:

When you begin the game, you get to create your character, choosing between the four class options: Embermage, Engineer, Berserker and Outlander, as well as choosing gender and appearance options. There are a fair few appearance options – face structure, skin colour, hair colour etc and you also have more options over your companion – choosing from eight different species, from dogs, to wolves, to hawks and even dragons! The original Torchlight lacked many of these options, so it’s a really nice addition to Torchlight 2.

As mentioned above, you get to choose between 4 classes, each class has their own unique skills to learn and upgrade, as well as being proficient with particular weapons, although the game does allow you to use any weapon you want. There is something for everyone in Torchlight 2, whether you want to primarily use magic ( Embermage), be more of a ‘sniper’ and use guns to kill from a distance (Outlander) get up close and personal with melee weapons (Berserker) or go down the steampunk route and use bots and heavy weapons (Engineer) the choices are varied. Or, if you prefer, you can grab yourself a sword, gun, bow or staff for combat and you still have a trusty pet to help you kill your foes and steal their loot!

Anyone who has played a Diablo game or any MMORPG like World of Warcraft will feel right at home when the game loads up. The UI, skills bar and mini-map are arranged in a similar fashion so most of the players will be able to jump right into the game, without worrying about what’s what. Having said that, even if you’ve never played another game in your life, Torchlight 2 is incredibly easy to get into, no tutorial is required for you to get stuck into the game, the whole game just has a nice ease of play throughout.

It’s easy to see that Torchlight 2 is heavily inspired by the Diablo series, with the isometric camera style and dungeon crawling gameplay almost exact, Torchlight 2 almost feels like a tribute to Diablo 2, albeit a much brighter and cartoon like version. This isn’t a bad thing though, it just makes the game much easier to pick up, for example, at the start, your character uses their base skill and weapon in combat, but as you level up and access more abilities, you need to find a way to effectively manage your resources, particularly mid combat so that you don’t run out of mana or health for trying to spam a certain ability.

The Environments are much larger and more detailed in Torchlight 2. The maps are randomly generated so you won’t be exploring the same area too often, especially considering that this time around there are over six times as many areas as there were in Torchlight and about 1200 different room layouts! Killing enemies gives you experience which helps you level up, each level unlocking new points to spend on stats or new abilities – both passive (becoming more proficient in certain weapons) and active (unlocking a huge, glowing magma mace that whips across in an arc). Torchlight 2 has also added a nice touch to your stat points. You can use your stat points in one of the four areas – Focus, Vitality, Dexterity or Strength. Usually, I’d upgrade a category that corresponds with the class I am playing as, however, Runic have been very clever and added multiple effects to each stat point. For example, Focus gives you more mana and mana regeneration, but it also affects your skill with duel-wielding weapons. Meaning there are many ways for a single class to be played. Pretty neat huh?

Fans of the original need not worry, Torchlight 2 still has all the best bits from the original game, such as fishing holes, socketable items, enchanting, earning fame to get extra skill points and of course, looting. I have to mention the looting for a minute, there is loot, EVERYWHERE. Enemies drop tons of it, chests are full to the brim with it and you can even control what types of loot to show on the ground, so you can see just the items that you want, which is another super cool feature.

Co-op play obviously allows you to play with friends and you have the option to play via the internet or LAN, Runic Games recommends you play with a group of two to six players. The chat system works well, so communication isn’t really an issue and with multiplayer mode, the challenges are far easier with a friend.

Graphics & Sound

This game is stunning. The graphics are really vibrant and clear, and it meshes well with the game’s style – exaggerated and cartoony. The world of Torchlight is also very bright, full of colour as well as having nice effects from spells and weapons, a nice change from more serious games that boast a darker, grungy feel. You get some really cool effects from the characters, such as blood spurting out of your enemies from smacking them into the ground (sometimes actually cracking the ground at the same time) or bright flames or ice shooting out from your Embermage.

The soundtrack for Torchlight 2 is equally as stunning. It nails the feeling of the game spot on. Really helps pull you into the atmosphere of the game, without being annoying or repetitive (as sadly, is the case with many games these days). One thing I really liked was that you’ll never be distracted by the soundtrack, it fades into the background, subtly enhancing your experience of the game.

Overall

Torchlight 2 is an addictive, fun game, and dare I say it, even better than the original! Fans of the first game will not be disappointed and newbies to the series will no doubt fall in love with this game. It is sheer brilliance, catering to new players with its casual mode, allowing you to slowly get used to the levelling system, whilst appreciating the environments, as well as offering fun for hardcore players with its challenging gameplay. Runic Games really have made a masterpiece, you should definitely get it!

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.