Torchlight 2 Review

Posted on 3rd Oct 2012 @ 9:09 PM

After a much-anticipated wait, the sequel to one of the most popular dungeon-crawling PC games of all time has been finally been released. Development for Torchlight 2 started back in August 2010 and hit the shelves on September 20, 2012. Compared to some other games that take 5 or more years to develop, I guess the development for Torchlight 2 didn’t take all that long, but it sure had fans of this new-age franchise waiting anxiously. 

Multiplayer

Possibly the biggest and most notable improvement made in Torchlight 2 is the addition of cooperative multiplayer. While the original Torchlight game received outstanding ratings and reviews from critics everywhere, it had one major flaw – there was no working multiplayer. We live in an age where gamers need to connect and interact with one another, and unfortunately Torchlight did not have this option. The game’s developer, Runic Gamers, promised that the sequel would in deed have the ability for multiplayer gameplay.

Multiplayer games in Torchlight 2 are able to host up to 6 different players simultaneously. Instead of forcing half a dozen players to fight over the same loot, Runic Games made it so that loot drops separately for each player. This is a welcomed change over traditional dungeon-crawling co-op games that forces players to rapidly click for dropped loot.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Torchlight 2 remains true to the original title with randomly-generated dungeons filled with monsters and loot. Before the game starts, you’ll have to choose from one of the game’s four classes – the engineer, outlander, embermage and berserker. Each class has their own unique abilities and skills that progress as the player gains experience and levels up. Unlike the original, Torchlight 2 allows the player to fully customize the look of their character during the creation process. You can change the facial hair, gender, hair color and hair style.

Another major addition that’s found in Torchlight 2 is the day-night cycles. If stay out fighting in a dungeon for a prolonged length of time, you might find the surrounding atmosphere getting darker as night approaches. When this happens, you can choose to high tail back to town and sell your look, or you can continue battling through the night. In addition, players can also have their pets go back to town and sell their items for them. This allows you continue your dungeon-crawling fun without being interrupted by making trips to town.

Torchlight 2 Video

Here’s a video that walks you through the first act of Torchlight 2.