Story and Gameplay
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, the Torchlight series has been going strong as a lighter, more colorful alternative to the gritty Diablo-esque ARPG’s out there. I’ve enjoyed my time with the series and so when Torchlight III landed at my desk, I was giddy as a schoolboy to try it out. I’m happy to report for the most part that it’s a wonderful expansion on story and gameplay, albeit it a simple, addition to the series. The story, honestly, is at the back seat of the title and really just a continuation of Torchlight II but not much more than a setup for the new lands and heroes you encounter.
Honestly, I don’t remember much from the story as this game is focused on click click clicking your way through baddies and getting that sweet, sweet loot! Overall, the gameplay is solid enough for the standard ARPG fare but what really shines is the relic systems for each class, that provides a whole slew of ways to slay said baddies ranging from fire, ice, light, and dark with many more attributes that truly shine. The relic system is truly the best part of Torchlight III. Otherwise, building your own fort, true to it’s original free to play model is a nice diversion as well, allowing you to process materials and build items to boost drop chances etc.
Sadly, the gameplay is extremely simple and while combat feels ok, exploring the maps is very linear and you have to re-explore each map as it fogs over after every dungeon. Also, while there were a few pieces of interesting legendary loot overall, most of it was just boring TBH and I spent hours just trashing greens and blues. That is a massive oversight for a loot based ARPG..
Visuals and Audio
Torchlight III boosts some wonderfully colorful and detailed graphics, animations and effects that are a joy to behold. Ice shatters, fire dances around the screen and light/dark spells shine. I can only complement the art team behind the game for a beautiful evolution of the series. Some of the cutscenes are nice too though mostly hand drawn.
The audio is a strange mixed bag of awesome and weak. How so? Well, first off, this is Matt Uelmen, of the Diablo fame, on the soundtrack once again. His moody, brooding themes, though fantastic, sometimes clash with the colorful and light hearted visuals. Either way, the music is fantastic. The sound effects on the other hand, especially for combat, almost sounds like another game. They are light and don’t have the impact of slamming your enemies with a fireball to the face or a mace to the gut. I really wish that sound designers would put more PUNCH into sound effects for ARPGs.
What It Could Do Better
This is simple. Torchlight III is a good game. It could be a fantastic game with the following changes:
More exciting loot. Legendaries were the items that stood out whatsoever
More minimap and UI options (Transparent/scalable map)
Sound effects that pack a punch instead of sounding like small insects having a microscopic battle
More variety in maps to explore and treasure to hunt
Replayability and Verdict
You could play Torchlight III several times over with multiple characters and most likely have a great time. That is, if you really want to. Sadly, one time was enough for me and until some of the mapping/loot changes are made, this is a one timer which is unfortunate for an ARPG.
Overall, the game is what you’ve come to love from the Torchlight series but there is just some magic/spark that is missing from previous entries. I think the game will to continue to improve and get better over time but as for now, it’s just a good, light diversion with a ton of potential.
