It's not engaging in any sort of way, and it's slightly thicker than your average chocolate wafer, but it's enough of a motivation for players to swing from. But there's a story in there somewhere for those who need it. Now, obviously, the game's main trick is its combat. Estherian Steppes, the single region that players were limited to in the beta, was widely diverse and featured a dozen or so distinct different areas that propelled players from dusty tombs to snow-covered tundras and to mysterious, dark temples. The game is no longer a padded dungeon with layers upon layers of the same looking levels, but a fully realized world with diverse locations to explore and loot. The updated visual engine has allowed the developers to venture into massive open worlds which addresses one of the original's biggest gripe - the lack of varied environments. Torchlight II still retains the colorful tone of the original, but its slight grey overtone makes the game feel more mature than it looks. But what's to be expected from a game created under just 8 months? With Torchlight II, Runic Games have snuck a little more development time (it recently concluded a private beta), and from what I have played, has added a much needed layer of depth and features warranted by the series, while addressing most, if not all, the issues that held the original back. From its core mechanics to its combat and UI, Torchlight felt underdeveloped and unpolished. The biggest drawback of Torchlight was its roughness around the edges. It was true to some extent - the development team consisted of ex-Diablo creators so the inspiration was clearly there, and if you played Torchlight immediately after Diablo, the similarities between the two are quite obvious. Torchlight quickly became known as 'the poor man's Diablo', and while some developers would find that an undesirable comparison, it worked quite well for Runic Games.

The original Torchlight aptly filled a gap left by ventures that failed to grasp the true essence of the genre, and by Blizzard, whose decade long waits before an installment left fans wanting a similar experience they could sink their hours into.

Torchlight ii review ign