Torchlight

When my wife suggested I start this blog a month ago, this was the kind of game I was looking forward to reviewing. Torchlight is exactly the kind of game I wanted to spend my time playing. If I was going to buy a game this month, it would be Torchlight.


This game is beautiful. Even on the lowest resolution setting, the visuals were wonderfully clear. Artistically, it looks like a wonderful mix between Diablo II and D&D Temple of Elemental Evil, with TF2 character styling. There's a lot in common between Torchlight, Diablo and, in some ways, WoW. Some people criticize the game for this reason, but I don't see it as a bad thing. Runic took what works and polished it, and the user interface is at and almost mirror shine. You may wear out the left-click button on your mouse, but that almost comes standard with the action-RPG subgenre. The inventory problem that runs rampant in this sort of game has been solved in a very interesting way with the introduction of a pet/familiar system that is actually good! The variety in pet choices is very, very limited. You can have a dog or a cat. That's it. When I saw the cat option, I was a little skeptical, because the pets are advertised as co-combatants and beasts of burden, and I wondered how much use a housecat would be in either of those roles, but it turned out to be a rather intimidating lynx/bobcat thing.
The coolest part about these pets is not only their separate inventory and subsequent ability to carry items for you, but the option to send them to the surface to sell the things in their inventory. This comes in extraordinarily handy when you find yourself mid-quest and out of town portal scrolls. True, you lose the pet and their added firepower while they barter with the townsfolk for you, but you may continue questing uninterrupted. That factor alone increases the flow exponentially and makes the game seem much less grindy than the games it is often compared to. One of the strange things about the pet system is their reaction to fish. You may feed fish to your pet, which transforms them into a different animal entirely. I was almost reluctant to feed my pet for fear of the ethical ramifications. Does poor Spot really have a choice in this? What am I doing to him? Who am I do play god with my beloved Spot? But the fish make Spot more powerful, so I decided that it was better for his overall welfare to increase his survivability than worry over his genetic stability. Another nifty thing about the pets is the amazing AI. Your pet fills the role you need it to fill automatically. If you are a tank, the pet runs crowd control for you so you don't get swamped. If you're a dex monkey, the pet tanks the strongest enemy while you take out the minions. And it does this automatically!
High fantasy with an almost spaghetti-western soundtrack make a great game I would recommend and even require for anyone claiming to be a gamer. Even the casual gamer can enjoy it in half-hour spurts or through the sleepless nights. At $9.95, this game is well worth the money. Go pick it up. This is not a request.
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. There are kittens.