Torchlight / PC – “Diablo meets Pixar”

Sure, the recently-released Torchlight / PC (86 at Metacritic) is another in a long line of Diablo-alikes. But it’s an extremely well-done and inexpensive Diablo-alike, produced by people who have spent their careers refining their Diablo-alike development skills. (Some of them started with developing Diablo, even.)

As usual, you pick a character-type (wizard, warrior, ranger), and a pet (cat, dog), then start off into dungeons that are randomly generated, accumulating stuff and leveling up your skill tree. Torchlight is easy to play — but scales up for the die-hards; it’s deep, pretty, and runs on just about any PC that’s been made in the last 10 years. (Windows 2000 or later, x86-compatible 800MHz processor, 512MB of memory!)

Here’s a short list of features, helpfully compiled by the developers:

• Randomization – Our level layouts are randomly created, so each adventure is unique. Monsters, treasures, puzzles, and items are also different each time you embark on an adventure.
• Easy, approachable interface – Torchlight is designed to be easy to play right from the beginning. The intuitive interface gives players easy access to a rich and varied world.
• Retirement System – Once characters are sufficiently leveled up, they can “retire” and bestow specific benefits and perks to new characters.
• Pets – Players will choose a pet to accompany them. Pets can level up along with the player, and will help in battle, carry items, and perform a variety of helpful services.
• Character Classes – Players will create and customize a character and choose an animal companion. Through cosmetic choices, skill path decisions, and the treasures they acquire, each character will be custom-tailored and different.
• Fishing – Players can take a break from the high-energy pace of adventuring to visit one of the fishing holes and relax and see what they can catch. Fish have interesting benefits for the player and pet, and other rewards can also be discovered.
• Editor – Runic Games is embracing our modding community by providing an editor so our players can create and design their own content.

In their 8.75 review, GameInformer said:

Pinning down exactly what separates Torchlight from the dozens of similar titles on the market isn’t easy. Part of it is the responsive interface, which never gets between you and the next monster on your hit list. The slick animations and sparkly effects create variety that keeps the visuals engaging after hours upon hours of gameplay. Most of all, though, the impressive depth of character progression and clever enemy design that keeps combat new and exciting are what have me coming back to Torchlight.

It’s $19.95 at Direct2Drive, Steam, or direct from the development team. A free demo is available.