Torchlight: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Of all the PC games I played as a kid, few stand out from the crowd like Diablo. Though it was just a simple dungeon crawler, the formula came together so perfectly it created one of the most well-known and loved PC games of any generation. I spent countless hours scouring musty, dank dungeons for loot and demon blood. I eventually moved onto to Diablo 2 and, while a lot of fun, just didn’t have the same charm as the original.

Last week, while taking advantage of the XBLA deal on Deadliest Warrior, I happened to notice Torchlight in a queue of recently released or featured games. I’d heard plenty of good things about the title but never checked it out. Being that I decided to put Dragon Age on hold (read: given up on it. Maybe if the fight with Branka wasn’t impossible I would finish it), I was really jonesing for something new to play. I’d played Deadliest Warrior before and knew what to expect – and also knew that it wouldn’t keep my attention long. (It’s a fun fighter akin to Bushido Blade but without much depth – but that’s another piece altogether) The moment I started playing Torchlight, I was hooked. I knew I had stumbled onto something special when Torchlight’s background music kicked in, immediately returning me to Tristram – the hub town where players began in Diablo. I wasn’t aware of it before playing, but Torchlight was created by many of the same people who created Diablo and its sequel.

The influence of my all-time favorite dungeon crawler was evident in nearly every aspect of the game – the descending level structure, the hub world, the music and sound effects, even the “town portal” and “identify” scrolls seemed straight out of Diablo. Upon entering the Ember mines of Torchlight, I knew it’d be a while before I would have my fill of this game.

Like any other RPG, Torchlight gives gamers three character classes to choose from at the game’s outset – the Destroyer (melee), Alchemist (mage) and Vanquisher (ranged). Each character has their own backstory relating to their business in Torchlight but each will end up following the same path. Upon arriving in Torchlight, a mining boomtown for the powerful mineral Ember (which can imbue people and objects with magical powers), players enter the mines for their own gain but eventually are swept up into a larger conflict and must explore the mines to defeat an ancient evil.

Players aren’t alone as they venture through the numerous levels of the Ember mine. When choosing a character, you’re offered three companion pets to choose from – a wolf dog, a lynx and a lizard-type creature (the last of which, I think, is exclusive to the XBLA port). Your pet will join you in battle and you can also teach it spells (I have my dog casting Flaming Spirit Swords as well as a Heal All spell). Your pet will also be able to mule your extra junk around and you can even send it back to town to sell everything in it’s inventory – an ingenious idea to save you if you ever find yourself without any town portals. You probably won’t though. Playing on Normal, I was almost never experienced a shortage of essential items.

The Diablo style of gameplay translates perfectly to a console dungeon crawler. Players earn XP to upgrade stats and unlock new abilities that can be mapped to the B, Y, and Right and Left triggers. There are two sets of mapable skill sets which can be changed on the fly with the D-pad – essentially giving players 8 abilities to choose from instead of four. (I’ll be honest, I didn’t figure this last part out until I was almost done with my first playthrough - I’d go into my skill screen to switch my sets over.)

Of all the things I really enjoy about Torchlight (the art style, the gameplay, the atmosphere), I especially liked the addition of steampunk elements to the formula. Rather than just equating everything to magic, Ember is the source of most of the magical elements of Torchlight. The Alchemist, for example, has special Ember-powered gauntlets he uses to launch different attacks and pieces of Ember can be socketed into armor and weapons. Firearms, such a pistols and rifles, have also been added to the standard dungeon crawler weapon fare.

I’ve tried coming up with negatives I’ve encountered in Torchlight – so as not to sound like a big commercial for the game – but I really haven’t come across one element of the game I dislike. Everything about it is so familiar, well-made and fun that I couldn’t help but start a second character before I had even finished the main quest of my initial character. My only complaint would really be that Torchlight could’ve been a prime multiplayer experience but the mechanics behind that addition are undoubtedly more time-consuming to create - I’d rather have a solid single player affair than a bungled mess just to feature multiplayer. That and it would’ve been nice if they included more concept art for the load screens (than just the same image [the one at the top of this article] over and over again).

At just 1200 MS Points, Torchlight offers an incredible amount of content that will have any fan of Diablo or dungeon crawlers occupied for a long time. I can honestly say it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made from the Xbox Live Arcade and will easily keep me busy until Brink comes out in May.