Check out our video review:
The first Torchlight is a solid dungeon crawling loot focused action RPG in the same vein as Diablo. It didn’t revolutionize the genre or anything but it is fun to play and can be modded, allowing players to keep the game alive for years to come. Torchlight did spawn a sequel and in my opinion, the jump from Torchlight to Torchlight II is very similar to that of Diablo to Diablo II. It comes with refinements, more content, and a bunch of new features. Developed and published by Runic Games, Torchlight II was released for PC in September, 2012 and Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in September, 2019. For this review, I played the PC version. Diablo III released the same year and in my opinion, it sucked at launch. And I remember others that were disappointed with it moving to Torchlight II when it came out, myself included.
Set after the events of the first game, The Alchemist has become corrupted by the Ember Blight and destroys the town of Torchlight. He then sets out to upset the balance between the world’s elements. I can’t say the story is any better or worse than that of the previous game. You don’t really need to know what’s going on to enjoy the gameplay but the narrative here does come with animated cut scenes. Torchlight II and even its predecessor share many similarities with the first two Diablo games and I would say Torchlight II’s story structure is similar to that of Diablo II’s. The story plays out in acts and each one is set in a different location. The plot revolves around your character pursuing a character from the previous game who is now corrupted by an evil force and wreaking havoc.
If you’ve played any loot focused action RPGs that have released before or after Torchlight II, then you should know what to expect going into this. All the mechanics from the previous game have been carried over along with refinements, changes, and new features. Torchlight II is a bigger game and takes longer to get through. There are more character classes, pets, and character customization options. Here’s how it works; you slay monsters and complete quests for experience, fame, and loot. Loot is all the items and equipment. Every time you level up, you can distribute points to your character’s attributes and skills. This should be nothing new to veterans of the previous game. You are free to build your character however you see fit and in all my playthroughs over the years, I can’t say I ever hit a wall because of my build. The game is somewhat forgiving in that respect. At least in my experience. You can look up build guides but you should be able to experiment without much issue, at least on the Normal difficulty, and you can respec skills.
So what’s new here you ask? Well for one thing the game comes with multiplayer, although I was only able to play through it solo. As mentioned before, the story plays out in acts. Each act is set in a different location and features its own quests and dungeons. You spend a lot more time outdoors in Torchlight II and as expected, many areas are procedurally generated. When compared to the previous game, I do feel the loot drops here are better. That said, you can still make items powerful via enchanting. You can now transmute items to create new stuff, add sockets to items, and you can even create spells this way. There are a ton of gem types that come with various affixes or bonus properties and some items can be augmented by meeting certain requirements.
In many other games in the genre, players often spend a lot of time in the end-game improving their character in various ways and the end-game is often where you can acquire the best loot or equipment. I can’t say Torchlight II’s built-in end-game content is super deep but it does allow you to keep going and improve your character after beating the story or main quest. There’s actually two types of end-game content. One is new game plus. You start over with your current stats and equipment and face tougher challenges. The second is Mapworks. You buy randomly generated maps which equate to dungeons that come with different conditions. Mapworks is basically an endless mode. You can keep buying maps and play through as many dungeons as your heart desires to improve your character and acquire better gear. Also, keep in mind there are a lot of mods out there, some of which alter and/or add more end-game content.
I like Torchlight II for the same reasons I enjoy the first game. It’s easy to pick up and play and understand and it doesn’t punish you severely for making mistakes, like if you make a mistake with your build for example. That said, Torchlight II also shares the same problem. It doesn’t really bring anything new to the table for the genre. Basically, everything here has been done before. On the plus side, it does do everything well, making for a very fun time. When compared to its predecessor, I do feel the gameplay here is faster-paced, there’s a lot more visual and environmental variety, quests are more interesting, and their rewards are better. For the most part, quests are typical for the genre. You know, slay specific monsters, retrieve items, that kind of stuff. But some offer interesting challenges and obstacles or simply take you to cool places like Plunder Cove. What I love about this dungeon is the location and atmosphere. You’ll engage undead crewman, spirits, and skeletons, making for a cool pirate theme of sorts.
Torchlight II does offer plenty of quests and dungeons to explore. The environmental variety is excellent and exploring every nook and cranny will take time. Every location has its own town and this is where you can find vendors, access your stashes, and accept quests but NPCs and vendors can also be found out in the world. The general gameplay can get repetitive much like any other game of this kind. You move your character around and mash the attack and skill buttons to defeat enemies. Luckily, the loot is pretty good. In fact, I feel the drops are better than those in the first game. I would find shiny new toys to play with often enough that I was always eager to keep going. The bestiary is also good with an excellent variety of monsters to kill. The combat is fun and satisfying, enemies can explode into gibs, and each character class comes with its own unique skills that are fun to experiment with.
Like its predecessor, Torchlight II showcases a colorful and cartoon-y presentation that’s very pleasing on the eyes. Each location feels distinct and there’s a lot of details packed into the environments. As a result, I find the fantasy world on display to be compelling from a visual standpoint. I like the locations and enemy designs as well as the visual and gore effects. The visual and gore effects combined with the sounds that accompany the strikes, slashes, and hits make for satisfying combat. Matt Uelman returned to compose the music and the soundtrack is wonderful and perfectly fits the atmosphere and action. On the technical side, I’m happy to say I encountered no major issues.
I love Torchlight II. It’s one of my favorite loot-focused action RPGs. It improves upon the first game in basically every way and gives you more. More classes, more locations, and more ways to build your character just to name a few. I really enjoy the multiple act structure, or to be more specific, the locations the game takes you to. While I feel the narrative isn’t all that interesting, I think the game does convey a cool sense of adventure. Torchlight II is also a very accessible game in the genre. Experimenting with your build is all part of the fun and if you mess up anything, you’re not really screwed. At least I never felt that way. I never felt I had to pump points into specific skills and equip specific gear to just to overcome hurdles. And being a loot-focused game, I’m happy to say good loot drops are frequent enough that I was always eager to keep going. I admit Torchlight II isn’t entirely original. A lot of what’s here has been done before but the gameplay is very enjoyable and the replay value is very high.
I absolutely recommend Torchlight II. In fact, I would recommend this and it’s predecessor to anyone looking to get into the genre. These games make great gateways for newcomers in my opinion. They’re fun, accessible, and come with enough depth to keep you engaged and coming back for more. Torchlight II is a great game and wonderful sequel that expands upon basically everything established in its predecessor. Definitely check it out.