Torchlight 2

I generally favor my RPGs to be single player rather than have them as Co Op. I knew getting into a Co op experience would break my concentration and I wouldn't feel immersed as opposed to getting lost in a world that is designed specifically for one player. It's a whole other topic of seeing Single player experiences versus multiplayer experiences. Torchlight II is an Action RPG that is all about dungeon crawling and mindless and often boring fetch quests and tasks that really broke me out of my zone and generally broke me due to its ridiculous and frequent... Loading Screens... At least I had +Tamim Kashgari to share some of that pain.

Having company while playing a game starts out really well for me and turns into an obligatory experience that I generally want to shy away from and be done with as soon as possible. I have Torchlight II to thank for that. I played similar games before hand like Titan Quest or Diablo III and even those managed to break out my immersion although not as much as Torchlight II. There is a huge issue of presentation that might either be a design flaw or it is merely my preference in how I don't care much about the world created here and feel the endless tide of quests to be worse than the errands my family gives me. Don't get me wrong, this game looks beautiful and it certainly is enticing in the way it presents itself, one thinks one will be lost in a world full of experience, puzzles and spells but I ended up getting lost in loading screens, asking where my friend is on the map and... more loading screens.

Aside from my apparent distaste for the game and the genre it represented, I still went with the whole experience which is rare for me since I give up quickly if I am not into a game. There were many motivating factors including my achievement whoring and hunting as well as my relentless hope of the game to get better. Getting 10 hours into it, I decided I want to stick with being an Engineer and would be a ranged character to my friend's character melee counterpart. He'd go in and do AoE damage to me nuking them from afar. I didn't feel engaged shooting countless bullets and following a set of macros through my skills. When I compare other top down Action RPGs to this, it is not all that different however there is a sizable difference in terms of character builds and variety in skills. At least in Torchlight II, there is a clear distinction between character variety as opposed to sticking to a class and ending up with the same set of skills based on the level you reach and only depending on the rarity of the gear you pick up (I'm looking at you, Diablo III). Regardless, Torchlight II doesn't lie to its fans, it knows what its fans want out of it even if it is mindless and mundane tasks.

Speaking of mundane tasks, this game is full of them. Find these stones, deliver this item, slay this monster. I know, I have no reason to be mad at such trivial matters but I instinctively found myself skipping dialogues and following them regardless for more XP and coin rather than actually care as to what I am doing. While traversing the often barren lands filled with hungry mobs to die by my hand or waiting for the loading screens to finish which took at least two minutes to finish, I listened to my friend's backstory of the first game and the setup to the second game to which I replied that I could not care less. Dungeons are apparently filled with secrets and the whole game is filled with collectibles and jars awaiting to be broken and I simply commented that ain't nobody got time for that simply because I saw this whole experience as a time management between going from Point A to B and waiting on a loading screen to finish.

For my character, I chose to be an Engineer and being a ranged character, I can at least avoid getting killed every minute or so. There is the usual kiting and being chased by countless mobs only for my friend to pull them off me. I liked the engineer tree solely because there is a huge potential for nuke damage as well as having a turret that would do as much damage as I am doing as well as another turret that heals me. When it comes to classes in RPGs, I like a class that has an element of support even if it isn't a full on support class. After leveling up, players can upgrade their stats as well as their skills and there is a lot of room for variety.

I may be exaggerating but I am not. If you weren't even immersed as much as I was in how the world of Torchlight II is shaped up to be, rest assured that the loading screens will help you memorize the said world and I just find it ridiculous given how there is a helping modding community in the Steam Workshop that they couldn't find a way of exploiting a performance issue for the loading screens and including a mod that perhaps would distract the player during these tiring moments. I wouldn't have minded if the modders incorporated a minesweeper or a solitaire mod for loading screens. It's not so much that it bothers me in a single loading screen as much as how frequent they can be. Whether you are entering a city or leaving it, entering a dungeon or escaping from it, teleporting to a friend or dying, there will always be a loading screen waiting for you. Waiting to punish you for not thinking twice about purchasing every item before embarking on your next task. I could write a whole review about this loading screen and the philosophical perspectives it represents in terms of teaching the player how to be a better one. I am actually glad the whole pet system exists in Torchlight II so I wouldn't have to be punished by a loading screen for having my potions depleted and just sending my pet back to the village to buy more items.

Looking back, I think I enjoyed my time the most in towns and there is a lot to do in towns including combining items, socketing gems into your items and desocketing. There is gambling for a better item at the higher risk of increased expenditure as well as item and weapon shops. Preparing for your next task can take a while to prepare and I enjoyed those times more than mindlessly going through a dungeon and trying not to die. When it comes to dying in Torchlight II, there is not much of a consequence the way I saw it since you have the option to pay gold to be back at the dungeon entrance or just go back to town and teleport back to your friend (and suffer 2 loading screens OKAY I'LL STOP) at simply no cost. 

All in all, I think Torchlight II has a following, one that I will be glad to admit I am not part of. It certainly has an endless tide of content whether it is original or mod based and there is a high replay value for it including a New Game + as well as high level content. For those that love dungeon crawling RPGs and enjoy a good co op experience, you will feel right at home. Otherwise, if you are expecting a great story, I fear I'll have to stop you right there and think twice about buying it.