The Torchlight series has gained quite a few loyal fans on the idea of being a budget title with the depth of a full blown AAA game, and that reputation was well deserved with the second entry as some would consider Torchlight 2 even better than its big brother, Diablo 3.
One common misconception about the developers of the Torchlight games is that they are all refugees of Blizzard Entertainment. That isn’t entirely true. Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer were behind the founding of Runic games, yes, but other than the composer of Diablo 1 and 2, Matt Uelmen, their project was not some rebellion from the Blizzard empire so much as an attempt by a company to build on the success action RPG’s have had since the Diablo series started.
Honestly, that’s a good thing, as the music of the original Torchlight was a little bit TOO much like the original Diablo. If you compare the music in town between Diablo 1 and the original Torchlight, it would be hard to spot the difference. The game play sounds in both Torchlight 1 and 2 are solid, and they complement the colorful yet simplistic graphics (more on that later). Sound is important in an Action RPG because you want the skills to feel as powerful as they look on screen. When you bludgeon a goblin to death with a mace, you want to hear the cracking of bone. The franchise did this well, and I never really had a moment playing through both of these games where I felt disconnected by the sound.
In terms of depth, the original Torchlight admittedly seemed more like a tech demo for the second game than anything else. There was an infinite dungeon you could access that extended the games length, but the plot dungeon was very limited. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but in order for a feature like this to be appealing you also need for there to be incentive. With that said, I have to make my first negative comment about the original game.
The tech tree’s for the three characters were very bland and a bit too similar from each other. The Alchemist, Destroyer, and Vanquisher all had skills that were very similar up until you got to the mid point of leveling, and by then nothing really seemed “class defining”.
So why was the game loved? Because simply, it was fun, it was nearly free, and there was absolutely no DRM attached to it. You could mod the game to your hearts content and Runic games was not going to knock on your door trying to sue you. They are a very consumer friendly company that knows why their audience is so attracted to their titles, and the original Torchlight was a perfect example of developers knowing who will buy their game. I’m also fairly sure that the game could run inside a cardboard box as the system requirements were very low, almost entirely eliminating the barrier to experience the title.
As of July 2011, Torchlight 1 sold more than a million copies, and I have to assume that the number has only increased, especially since those who pre-ordered Torchlight 2 received a free copy of the original game.
So then we come to the second title in the series, the beloved princess of Action RPG fans, and the ultimate straw man argument to come in a digital download if there ever was one; Torchlight 2. To put it lightly, at twenty dollars, the game was a steal. According to STEAM, I’ve put 178 hours into the title, and I am not someone who has the time to throw at any game I fancy.
The game play itself tugged hard at the strings of nostalgia which came with having played Diablo 2 for hours on end, and in a matter of speaking it was like finding a new line of coke in the urinal. Each of the four characters could be played in half a dozen ways each respectfully, and the official forums are rife with optional builds. Furthermore, there were four New Game Plus modes for when you finish the plot, allowing you to obtain all the loot and hit the level cap, smiling as you do it.
Runic knew that at the heart of every good ARPG is it’s gameplay, and as a result the title was fun to experience. The pinnacle abilities in each character tree are incredibly powerful, and with the pace of the game, you can easily throw an hour or two down the drain without realizing it. There is a story to the title, although to be honest, it took me about five runs into the game before I gave a damn about what was going on. You might take this as a criticism, but it’s really not. Truth be told, despite what you may hear at the water cooler, people do not play Action RPG’s for the story. It’s more of a nice bonus than anything else, but what people really boot up these type of games for are the loot.
Unlike Diablo, Torchlight does not rely on RNG to generate the statistics on gear. Instead, a unique or legendary item will always have the same stats no matter what, and it’s only a matter of finding it one time. This was an interesting design decision, but one that I could appreciate. Some would argue that taking the RNG element away from a game like this cheapens the feel of finding equipment, but I think that it really depends on the type of player you are.
They also developed a fairly nice graphics engine under the hood of Torchlight 2, and the artwork in the game experienced a massive overhaul over the original. Part Chrono Trigger, part Hayao Miyazaki film, every area felt original and fun. I could have done without yet another Act 2 Desert, but most of the game was a joy to see. It isn’t quite the technical powerhouse Diablo 3 is, but the art style was built for longevity.
So where did Torchlight 2 belong in the realm of social media?
To be quite honest and at the risk of receiving dead kittens in my mailbox,the game has the honor of being one of the biggest straw man arguments known to man. Why? Because there’s an offline mode to the game. There’s no real money auction house. There’s no authentication or patch day to worry about, nor do you have to worry about your favorite class being balanced or changing. Runic games simply gave you the car keys, the manual to the engine, and said “hey, have fun kid, I’m outta here”.
That being said, when you take a closer look at global steam achievements, it becomes clear that what people say and actually do may be do different things. Only 19.9 percent of all players beat the game on normal mode, (7.1 percent on Veteran and 1.7 percent on Elite respectfully). There may be more than one way to enjoy a title, but if so few people are actually finishing what they start, then I have to call into question the very vocal crowd that crowns this game superior to Diablo and other titles in the same genre.
On most popular gaming forums, Torchlight 2 is the darling of action RPG’s, and it finds itself as a centerpiece in the ongoing war of games as a service vs games as a product. I’ve commented on it before, but I don’t like mixing drama with video games. For a while, all you could find were detailed descriptions of why TL2 is amazing and why Diablo 3 is literally Hitler. It became cool to hate on one game while fawning over the other, and while I respect both opinions, I don’t really like to acknowledge the extremes of either side.
Earlier this year, the GUTS modification system was released for TL2 via STEAM, allowing players to make their own classes, dungeons, potions, skills, and other content without having to wait for it. This is a feature that I would argue should be in every game, and it really can add to the longevity of play ability.
TL1 received an 82 average on Metacritic, while TL2 garnished an 88. Both games also retain a very positive user score. What does this mean? Everything or not much at all, depending how you look at it. We’ve hit a point in the gaming world where a companies reputation is only as good as it’s last game, and in this department, Runic Games has built up some loyalty. They have proven that they know how to make a solid title while appealing to the parts of us that stayed up until 2 AM during summer break grinding out levels.
Torchlight 2 sold over a million copies to Diablo 3’s 14.5 million. Sales are not an element of game design, but what this tells me is that Blizzard sacrificed popularity and instead forced players to put their money where their mouth is. Runic Games on the other hand simply wanted people to have a good time. Would you rather be hated and rich or loved and modest? I’m not so sure there’s a middle ground anymore.
When you take gaming politics out of the picture , every fan of the genre should at least try out this franchise. I know this isn’t a review, but if nothing else the game is a great example of how to combine addictive qualities with the nostalgic ideologies gamers drool over.
Categories: Games, Rant, Review, Technology
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