Skip to main content

Torchlight 2 Preview: The Devil's Work

As Diablo enthrals, another dungeon crawler waits in the shadows.

This is ridiculous. I must've pressed the wrong button somewhere, selected the wrong option, because every time I step into the Torchlight 2 beta my experience is less akin to a game and more like an orgy of destruction, spiralling further and further out of my control until everything becomes a bloody mist of damage numbers and body parts. I feel like Caligula with a carving knife. I hope that's not my own voice I sometimes hear cackling.

The numbers just keep getting larger. All the stats increase, the body counts rise, the monsters enlarge, the percentages double and the sheer magnitude of the powers at my fingertips is only matched by the volume of the things I have to fight. And it never ends. And I never want it to, either, until I glance at the clock and, once again, see how many more hours of my life I've lost. Playing Torchlight 2 is like being drip-fed a powerful, soothing and hypnotic drug in ever-greater quantities.

That's not to say it's bad. Not at all. The game does one thing and it does that one thing very well indeed - that thing being hurling stuff at you to slaughter, carefully metering this carnage with rewards of commensurate size. Every other monster is a self-propelled piñata just waiting to gift you gold, a shinier shield, a deadlier dagger or a slightly sleeker pair of pants. (Although saying that, right now one of my characters has the most astounding pair of mechanical pants that I can't ever imagine trading in. I try to show off my pants to other players in the beta, but they never seem to want to stick around).

Ram a magic gem into your weapon and socket to 'em.

This isn't quite as constant or linear an experience as it was in the first Torchlight, since the sequel has many more hub-like areas that are ripe for the exploring, but the basic experience is nevertheless still something of a marriage between a treadmill and an abattoir, forever propelling you toward more slaughter. All the fun is in killing bigger things with bigger weapons, pausing occasionally to micromanage your inventory and make the most of whatever new things you've collected and, well, that's it. That's all.

Sure, you can claim there are different quests to complete and distinctive bosses to fight, but these are all handled in the same way. Everything boils down to fighting and looting. Similarly, you're only exploring those hub areas because you'll find more to steal and more to stab.

Actually, that's not quite true. Torchlight 2 is looking very pretty indeed and on more than a few occasions I wanted to stop simply to admire the scenery. The art style, cartoonish but not overly cute, is excellent, while a plethora of monsters and magical items compliment the detailed and often gorgeous environments. You name it, you can kill it, whether it's a skeleton or a goblin or a giant wolf, using weapons from shotguns to spittoons.

Cuirasser and cuirasser, said Alice.

And everything feels enormously satisfying to fight against or to fight with. Legless, lifeless skeletal torsos crawl after you and swarms of poisonous spiders scuttle all too fast across cold stone floors. You hack and you thrust at your attackers, scattering your enemies with your powerful blows. Bigger weapons feel bigger, and shotguns and cannons thunder in your hands, sending the hordes reeling. The game makes you feel like a hero, like the ultimate authority in arse-kicking, and it's this satisfaction that keeps you entranced, draws you further and further into the game.

That, and the pride that comes with knowing you built your hero yourself, that every item of their precisely managed inventory was personally selected by you. That gun I just unloaded in that zombie's face? I chose that weapon, I dropped that gem into its hilt that makes it fire poisoned bullets. Here, you say to a friend, let me take you through all the awesome stuff I've collected...

There are a few tweaks under the hood, such as your strength stat now determining all the damage you inflict, even with ranged weapons. There's also a charge bar that measures your momentum, gradually filling up as you kill more and more stuff, and maxing out to give you a special bonus. As a melee character, I found this much easier to fill with any ranged or magic character I used, but perhaps that's just a reflection on how I played. There's also a much, much clearer map, which is a welcome addition indeed.

In melee it can sometimes be difficult to see exactly what's happening.

Most of the game is immediately familiar to players of the first Torchlight, but unfortunately this means your pet still looks like something of an afterthought, much as it did in the original. The animal that tags along, be it bird or bulldog, is never particularly distinctive and is still most useful as a pack-horse, shunting supplies back and forth, saving you from having to haul your plunder home yourself every ten minutes.

I couldn't care about my pet getting hurt because I knew it would never die, and I didn't care about what it did in combat because I couldn't direct it well enough anyway. In fact, whenever it killed something for me, I ended up feeling a little bit cheated. I wasn't able to notice any difference between the different breeds I could select and eventually decided that, as long as they hauled my stuff home and didn't make my PC shed actual hair, that was all I could ever expect of them. I'm hoping something more is made of this before release.

Now, if I was a smarter writer, I'd have been able to compose this feature entirely from paragraphs that all repeated the same point, but with increasing emphasis and ever more elaborate language. It would be like a jazz improv building around a theme, gradually reaching a crescendo, cleverly echoing the repetition and growing intensity of the game. I'm not that writer, though, and I'd come off like a fool, so instead I'll just say this: It looks like Torchlight 2 really is going to be good at that one thing it does, at being a game where you just bash your way through armies of tougher and tougher monsters, over and over. Though, like jazz, it will probably remain an acquired taste.

The environments are frequently gorgeous.

I can't avoid making reference to Diablo 3, since the two are so closely related in style and release date, but I only want to say one thing: Torchlight 2 doesn't feel like a budget Diablo 3. It may be priced at a third of Diablo 3's download, but it holds its own. While Diablo 3 remains grimy and grim, perhaps seeming more mature by being so, Torchlight 2 simply celebrates its colourful excess.

For example, just before sitting down to write this, I cut down an army of increasingly powerful undead creatures, all summoned by a giant glowing obelisk. The last of them defeated, the obelisk manifested surrender by suddenly regurgitating a stream of twenty different magic items, vomiting them into the air like a violently ill volcano. I didn't bat an eyelid, simply filled my pockets, patted my pet and turned the corner to find the next, undoubtedly bigger experience, cackling as I went.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com