Iâve spent the weekend mainlining Runicâs Torchlight II. As of this writing, my level 39 engineer has killed 8,800 monsters, collected 161,207 gold, imbibed 535 potions, broken 771 crates and urns, and caught 9 fish.
This game is much more of a beast than its predecessor; in terms of scale and ambition, itâs right up there with the biggest names in loot-collection and click-based combat. And so of course, Blizzardâs Diablo III looms large over the entirety of Torchlight II. How could it not?
Below, Iâve catalogued some of the many ways that the two games are different.
As Iâve been playing, itâs been very difficult to evaluate Torchlight II on its own terms, rather than constantly thinking âOh, so X is different from Diablo III in Y way.â Rather than letting all that mess get into my review, I thought Iâd write down my impressions of the campaign about 18 hours in, and put them entirely in the context of Diablo III. Hopefully that will get all the comparisons out of my system.
But letâs get this out of the way: If you liked Diablo III, you will almost surely like Torchlight II. Both games feel similar at their core, both have the same randomly generated replayability, and both games are satisfying in the same compulsive, clicky way. Seriouslyâthis doesnât have to be some winner-take-all deathmatch. Both games are fun, and the two can co-exist. That said, if you didnât like Diablo III but have liked past Diablo games, Torchlight is different enough from Blizzardâs newest game that it just may be your thing.
Here we go:
No Internet Required
Diablo III: Internet Only | Torchlight II: Internet? What Internet?
Blizzard made the controversial decision to require an internet connection for Diablo III at all times, but Torchlight II can be played offline in single-player. While I do like the idea of a persistent, online world, in the end, I think that Blizzardâs always-on requirement was and is too much of a headache. Torchlight IIâs approach is the clear winner. Whatâs more, you can bring it to your next LAN party.
Faster, Avatar! Kill, Kill!
Diablo III: Easy does it. | Torchlight II: Time for another level!
Torchlight II feels much faster than Diablo IIIâyouâll level up much more quickly, and that speed sustains throughout the game. The result is a steady drip-feed of new skill- and stat-points, and everything feels a touch less grind-y. As a result of all that leveling, youâre going to have a lot more skill points to divy up. Which means youâll have to makeâŠ
Decisions, Decisions
Diablo III: Pre-ordained skill trees. | Torchlight II: You choose everything.
In Torchlight II, youâll have far more control over your character build. Iâve been playing as an engineer, and have been choosing from among three different skill trees, each of which are tied to a different kind of combatâtwo-handed, sword and shield, or gadget-based. It feels much more like a standard RPG (or more like Diablo II) than the slot-based, interchangeable upgrades of Diablo III
On a related note, itâs also worth mentioning that Torchlight IIâs skill trees are much more permanentâyou can undo your last three skill upgrades in town (for a price), but you canât just swap your skills around all willy-nilly like you can in Diablo III. Itâs more restrictive, but also truer to its roots. It could be that you can fully re-spec on New Game + or something; Iâm not that far yet. Itâd be nice! But when it comes down to it: Not counting the mouse, Diablo III has four hotkeys for powers; Torchlight II has ten.
More Character Flexibility
Diablo III: Very limited skill combinations. | Torchlight II: Choose your own play-style.
Fortunately, whatever you choose, youâll still be able to change up your playstyle. Thatâs because the character classes are much more versatile than in Diablo III. Iâll occasionally find loot thatâs restricted to another class, but for the most part, my engineer can do just about anything. Sheâs an up-close-and-personal kinda girl, but sheâs got a secondary weapon slot for a wicked crossbow, and if she wanted she could even wield an embermageâs staff or a berserkerâs gloves. Of course, some of her bonuses are tied to specific types of weapons, but the game never tells her that she canât use an item.
Fishing
Diablo III: No fishing. | Torchlight II: Fishing.
Er, basically, that. Thereâs fishing in Torchlight II, just like in Torchlight. Just go with it.
Also, Pets
Diablo III: No pets. | Torchlight II: So many pets.
Every character has a pet that follows him or her around, and itâs one of my favorite additions to the Diablo formula. Basically, instead of one of the three boring NPC followers that solo-players got in Diablo III, you get a cat, or a dog, or a wolf, or other beastie. My engineerâs cat, Hans, is a damn sight cooler than any of those three prats from Diablo III, and heâs smarter, tooâI can send him off to town to sell my loot and even give him a shopping list of potions and scrolls to pick up for me. Sometimes, as a reward, Iâll feed him a fish that magically turns him into super-sweet giant spider.
More Loot, More Numbers
Diablo III: Lots of loot. | Torchlight II: Insane craploads of loot.
If you are into loot, and numbers, then you will love Torchlight II. Itâs a hardcore numbers-gamerâs kind of game, with vast statistics screens showing your charactersâ every ability and adjustment.
Unfortunately, itâs also a lot less user-friendly than Diablo IIIâthereâs no way to immediately tell, for example, how your item will affect core traits like damage per second and armor rating. There are also three subsets of armor types, one for each element, so youâll have to take a ton of things into account when comparing gear. And youâll be comparing gear a lot
It can all be a bit ungainly and confusing â if a weapon gives you +10 strength but has a slightly lower DPS than the weapon youâre holding, itâd be great to see at-a-glance exactly which one will end you up with the higher DPS (since strength changes your weaponâs damage.) Ditto for pieces of armor that raise your physical armor rating magically. Itâs all a little bit opaque, and while the obsessive stat-counting player may like that, thereâs so much loot in the game that I canât really keep track of it all.
More Hardcore. Hardcore-er. Hardercore.
Diablo III: Normal = Always doable. | Torchlight II: Normal = You may even get stuck.
The stat stuff isnât the only thing about Torchlight II thatâs more hardcore than Diablo IIIâthe game itself is more difficult and interesting, even at ânormalâ difficulty. This may be because of some mid-game tuning issues, but Iâve found that the latter halves of the second and third acts are difficult, and if Iâm not careful, Iâll get wrecked even by basic enemies.
It bears mentioning that Iâm only playing on normal, and I havenât had any time at all to explore Torchlight IIâs post-gameâit could well be that the high-level Diablo III stuff is every bit as hardcore as Torchlight II, just in a different way. But for a more casual player, Torchlight II is harder core. And yes, just like Diablo III, Torchlight II offers a âHardcore Modeâ where death is permanent.
Potion-Fest 2012
Diablo III: Some potions. | Torchlight II: All of the potions.
In Diablo III, I played as a Monk, and as a result had a few abilities that caused me to regenerate health mid-battle. My Torchlight II engineer has no such abilities, and as a result Runicâs game is much more about potion-management than Blizzardâs is. Thatâs actually kind of coolâit feels a lot more like Diablo II in that way (or at least, what I remember of Diablo II), and combines with the higher difficulty to make the game more fraught.
Still Just Wrist-Slapping
Diablo III: Not very punishing. | Torchlight II: Not very punishing, in a different way.
Hereâs a difference thatâs also a similarityâboth games donât really punish you much for death. In Diablo III, you respawn right next to where you die with some damage done to your armor (Well, unless youâre playing in hardcore mode). In Torchlight II, youâre given an option: Respawn where you died for a big chunk of gold, respawn at the beginning of the dungeon for less gold, or respawn in town for free.
Itâs a bit weird, since you can usually sprint through the dungeon really quickly and save yourself some money, so youâre really just paying for some time. Which feels a tad arbitrary. But then again, Blizzardâs armor-damage was also just a tax on time and money, so I guess Iâm not much of a fan of either approach.
No Real-Money Auction House
Diablo III: Want loot? Buy it! | Torchlight II: Want loot? Play the game!
Adding this one because itâs a not-insubstantial difference, even though I donât use the RMAH: Torchlight II has no equivalent to Blizzardâs Real-Money Auction House, and so no way to pay to get the best gear. If you want good loot, youâll have to earn it in the game.
Better Bosses
Diablo III: Decent bosses. | Torchlight II: Excellent bosses.
So far anyway, Iâve found Torchlight IIâs bosses to be more varied and interesting than the bosses in Diablo III. Iâd usually run up to Blizzardâs bosses and just start wailing away, maybe drinking a potion if I needed to, until they died. In Torchlight II, bosses follow varied attack patterns, use environmental tricks to trap and disorient you, summon clones and minions, and generally follow more interesting routines. It also helps that the game feels, as stated above, a little more difficult.
Itâs a Whole Wide World Out There
Diablo III: Linear, fast-paced narrative. | Torchlight II: Feels more exploration-based.
Something about Torchlight IIâs world feels more open and fully realized than Diablo III. Which is weird, given that Diablo III has such exhaustive lore and such an involved story, but something about the apocalyptic, heaven-and-hell nature of Diablo IIIâs story left the world feeling like little more than an arena for battle, especially in Acts III and IV.
Torchlight II, on the other hand, has a world that feels more lived inâthe enemies youâre fighting arenât always demonic invaders, often theyâre just the beasties that roam a particular area. Fungus monsters inhabit caves, roach-beasts skitter from hidey-holes, and werewolves leap out of cottage basements. It feels more like youâre exploring and less like youâre breathlessly running from point A to point B. I find that preferable.
Storytelling Shortfall
Diablo III: Silly, cockamimi story. | Torchlight II: Somehow even more nonsensical.
Hereâs something I never thought Iâd say: Torchlight II manages to have a story that makes even less sense than Diablo III. No, really! Iâm sure that fans of the first game will understand what the heck is going on, but I played a good bit of Torchlight back in the day and I often have literally no idea what the hell is going on in Torchlight II. Thatâs not to say it really hurts the game, itâs just surprising that Blizzardâs mess of a narrative still feels more interesting than Torchlight IIâs gobbledygook hodgepodge.
That saidâŠ
Superior Sidequests
Diablo III: Mostly forgettable sidequests. | Torchlight II: Lots of sidequests, mostly meaty.
Torchlight II has some really good sidequests. Overall, Iâd say theyâre more interesting than the sidequests on offer in Diablo III. In fact, given that the main story feels like a bunch of random sidequests, the whole of Torchlight II just sort of feels like a ton of quests over a big, sprawling world. Thatâs more my speed than Diablo IIIâs breathless sprint against the forces of darkness, and as Torchlight II opens up more and more, I bet that feeling will only grow.
What do I mean by Torchlight II opening up? WellâŠ
The Futureâs Bright
Diablo III: Get your mitts off our game! | Torchlight II: Please, mod our game!
The biggest difference between Diablo III and Torchlight II is one that we havenât seen yet. Namely, that Diablo III is completely closed and controlled by Blizzard, while Runic has invited the modding community to tweak and re-invent Torchlight II however they want.
That means that weâll be seeing new, user-generated content for Torchlight II for the coming months and even years. As much fun as the basic click-loot-click flow of Torchlight II is, I sense that Runicâs smartest decision may have been to put the future of their game in the hands of their fans, rather than holding all of the cards for themselves.
So, there you have âem: My impressions regarding how Torchlight II stacks up with its most obvious rival after 18 hours spent playing. Iâm still banging away at the game and doing more multiplayer (which is still something of a question mark until itâs been out in the world for a bit), and will have a full review later this week. And in that review, I promise that Iâll keep talk of Diablo III to a minimum.
