Developer: Echtra Inc.
Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Torchlight III – Preview
It’s been a while since we saw something new happen to the Torchlight franchise. We recently saw the second installment, which is nearing 10 years of age, being ported to the Switch, and we did enjoy diving down that rabbit hole again. Echtra Inc, in cooperation with Perfect World Entertainment, is eagerly building up the third installment of the series, which we were lucky enough to explore in its Early Access phase.
For an Early Access experience, everything feels really fleshed out. You’ll get a proper cinematic story introduction of how the world is once again under the threat of having evil forces pretty much invade all bastions of mankind. The clips themselves are animated in a comic book style, which suits the overall graphical style of the game. Just like the second installment of the series, everything looks quite bright, colorful, and somewhat cartoonish. Everything is detailed, and there are many different monsters to battle, and some have different appearances, depending on their rarity and strength. The environments are also neatly detailed and actually have a lot of clutter, making the world around you feel alive.
Like its predecessor, the game is a dungeon crawler along the lines of the Diablo games. You’ll pick a character, kill monsters, collect gear, and become stronger. While the main motivation in games like this is often to plow through the story, at least at the beginning, you’ll want to perfect your gear the longer you play, and the further you get.
Things already feel quite definitive when it comes to the four different classes, who play differently from those in the previous game. We loved the difference, as well as the different skill sets and balance. You’ll of course be able to go full melee, ranged, or depend on spells. The game does allow you to properly customize your character in terms of skills, more along the lines you were able to do back in Diablo II, where you’d pick the skills you like, level them, and base your build on them. Of course, certain builds work better than others, but the freedom is very nice.
Torchlight III includes a completely new part of gameplay, namely your own personal fort you can customize. You can place random items in it, to make it look nice, as you’ll unlock and collect more objects to place as you progress. There will also be practical items to add bonuses or allowing you to store items. You can bring people to your fort, and you can also encounter other people’s forts, but we haven’t had this so far during our Early Access run.
Another new mechanic, or option, in the game, is that there are now Lifebound items. These items can enhance items you own, making them stronger. The only catch is that, when you die, you lose the item. This is pretty much a risky way of enhancing your endgame gear, allowing you to become a ‘lot’ stronger, but it also comes with a hefty risk upon dying. We are a bit impartial about this option, as we weren’t properly able to dive too deep into the endgame content.
Overall everything actually feels quite finished, safe for a few things in terms of the controls. When wandering around the world, battling monsters, you’ll sometimes have issues properly targeting, as this game feels a bit ‘loose’ in terms of actually clicking on monsters. Unlike other games where you get a certain type of feedback on how you are locked on, TLIII doesn’t have this same feedback. Nonetheless, after playing for a bit you’ll get used to this.
Conclusion
Even though Torchlight III is in its Early Access stage, the game feels pretty finished. The game builds further on the foundation of the previous game, and throws new classes into the battlefield. While some new mechanics might not cater to every player, be it gear-wise or having to do with your own personal fort, the overall mechanics and quality of the game will certainly entice fans of the older games to have a lot of fun with this one.
Torchlight III – Preview,
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