Torchlight

I don't think it should be called a successor of Diablo II. There is no problem with it really, but it offers no extras. It can be addicting at the start, but it gets monotonous after a while. For an indie game, it is very good... but hide the fact that it's an indie game for a while... what do we have left? A mediocore Diablo-wannabe.

It's a fun game with crisp, visceral action, but there's not a lot of depth to keep you coming back for years like the Diablo games. The skill trees with their no-turning-back point system feel tired in light of modern hack-and-slash RPGs like Diablo III and Guild Wars 2 which give you much greater freedom and flexibility to redesign your character at any time, and Torchlight's embarrassment of riches that rain down in an almost constant stream make finding even the best items the game a mundane and largely unrewarding experience simply because it happens with such regularity. Still, it's not a bad game for what it's worth, an it's worth playing if you're a fan of genre, but don't expect it to have any long-term staying power.

Torchlight was made in 2009 by Runic Games, a company formed by former Flagship Studios employees (Hellgate: London), themselves former Blizzard North employees; mixed in with some developers of FATE. It is a Diablo-like RPG set in Torchlight, a small miner town that mines Ember, an ore used for imbuing magical powers into items but also corrupts miners, turning them into monsters. You have to investigate what is happening inside the mines and how to save Torchlight from corruption. Pros: + Well-developed combat + Pets + Plenty of loot + Plenty of mods (Runic Games Fansite is the place to go) Cons: - Gets repetitive (fighting enemies over and over again) - Too easy, stick to hard or very hard (except for floor 30 onwards) - Story is not as good as it could be Recommendation: pick up Torchlight for free (it goes free once or twice every year, whether on GoG.com or Steam), otherwise get Torchlight II, it's better in every way. For fixes and enhancements, check out PCGamingWiki.

I picked this up a bit ago and just recently got around to playing it. What can I say, it's a good game. Now, it's not perfect. But most of the flaws I'd bring up have mostly to do with age. The art holds up surprisingly well. not well enough to totally hide the dated graphics, but only the most picky snob is going to have much an issue there. I have a tendency to accidently open up bits of the AI unintendedly. And I also somehow keep going out of window. That has not killed me yet, but it will. People talk about how this is basically Diablo, and kind of. The game play has almost the right feel. Looting, it does get that part right. It's basically Diablo II, but a little simplistic comparatively. But that's ok, sometimes that's good. Especially in my older age. The music, could basically be right out of Diablo II. And while I do enjoy both the art and the music, they don't go together. That's a bit jarring, but if you can get past that. You've got a solid hack n slash dungeon crawl looter that's a better spiritual successor to Diablo II than three ever was. (and I liked three, still stands)

Better characters, nice gameplay, a sure improvement on the genre.