Tech Blog

[#1]

Hands up who loves Diablo or Diablo II. Come on, don't be shy. Wherever you are (most likely sitting in front of a computer, though) raise your hand if you love Diablo. Well, if you haven't raised your hand (and it's not just because you're too shy) then honestly I'm surprised, and this isn't the article for you, because I'm going to discuss Torchlight, which is exactly the same kind of hypnotic drug that Diablo was.

There's a reason for that! Torchlight was developed by Runic Games, whose staff include the developer of Fate (a well known Diablo-a-like), the developers from Flagship Studios who were working on Mythos, another Diablo-a-like that was created as a network test for the ill-fated Hellgate London, and, er, the designers of Diablo and Diablo II.

It's a perfect storm of Diablo-inspired developers, and kind of makes you worry about how good Diablo III is going to be with so much talent at Runic. But, um, I've kind of digressed completely because I haven't even explained what Torchlight is; instead I've just repeatedly said "Diablo".

Torchlight is a classic dungeon crawl. First you pick a character archetype--from the Destroyer, the Vanquisher, and the Alchemist--arrive in the small town of Torchlight for reasons related to the plot, which is so slight it's really irrelevant. You then proceed to go deeper and deeper into Torchlight's local mines, clearing out the monsters that infest it, collecting loot--mostly weapons and armour--equipping the good stuff and then returning to town to sell the stuff you don't want. Rinse and repeat.

It sounds uninteresting, but anyone who has played Diablo will know that the rhythms of the game--from frantically clicking the mouse to attack enemies, to carefully considering which armour and weapons to keep and which to sell--create something that is hard to tear yourself away from. There's always a reason to play a little longer, be it to reach the next floor of the dungeon, or to fill up your inventory so you have a reason to return to town.

If there's a problem with Torchlight it's possibly that it's simply too faithful to the classic Diablo experience, but with one important missing feature.There's no online or co-op play. It makes dungeoneering a little bit lonely, but admittedly your character does have a dog (or cat!) that serves as an adventure companion and can fight baddies (even cast spells) and return to town for you to is great. 

And to be honest, the game is budget priced (and available at Runic Games' website and Steam) so it feels kind of churlish to complain considering how many joyful hours this week I've already sunk into it.Give it a shot!