I don’t know how it happened. One minute I was just downloading this cute looking ARPG game that was recently added to Xbox Game Pass. Then, the next thing I know, I’m playing Torchlight III till the early hours of the morning while listening to epic eastern European metal.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, I am even laying in bed thinking about how to build my characters. That’s right, characters!
I ended up making one character of each class to see which one I preferred… but… I like all of them!
Here’s why I am addicted to Torchlight III. Keep in mind I haven’t played the first two, but after playing this one, I want to.
Classes
From a quirky looking steam-powered robot with a gun in his chest to a railmaster who lays down tracks for his little train, Torchlight III has some cool character designs.
My first character was the Sharpshooter. The Sharpshooter is the quick damage character and has abilities revolving around arrow shots. The character also has adventurer skills which involve throwing balls of rat bones at enemies or summoning a bunch of demon hands to grab enemies.
Then, I created a Robot character who has this big gun that pops out of his chest. This character is quite explosive and I like how all of his skills revolve around the heat and steam in his engine.
Spitting out hot coals as an Area of Effect skill or hammering enemies to death with his steam-powered fists have some nice animations. I still need to level this character up a bit more to see what else he can do. But I find his gameplay to be so fun, he has become my favourite.
The Railmaster was my third character. I like how he summons a little train to follow him. He feels like a tanky engineer to me. I’ve swapped out his melee basic weapon for a rifle because I prefer attacking from afar in these games.
However, Torchlight III has such an open form of combat that I could pick up any weapon and use it with my characters. No character is locked to a certain weapon type. Although some skills are more effective with a certain weapon, so this is something players have to consider.
I only started using the Dust Mage last night, but so far I like the character. I’m trying to balance both light and dark skills to see what happens and, as a habit, I got her a gun. I’m a sucker for ranged attacks.
Players can choose relics which add to their power. Ranging from Blood, Fire, Ice, Poison and Electricity.
The character customisation was pretty basic but the loot is a lot of fun to collect, as it normally is with these types of games. I like changing my character’s look as I go and there are some pretty cool gear designs.
The Fort
Building up my Fort has been fun as well. I’ve already maxed out my Luck Tree, which gives me more luck in finding good items when out and about.
I’ve also made a kennel for my pets and I’m processing raw materials into usable building materials to add to my fort’s character.
It’s a fun little addition, but I’m spending more time hunting down Goblins and doing dungeons than messing around in the Fort.
The whole cartoon aesthetic really adds to the charm of the game, which is what appealed to me. I really like these cartoony looking games. I’m still early on with all my characters but I am enjoying it immensely.
Though, I do have one gripe. The game isn’t very hard. I started on normal and it was too easy. Then, I bumped up the difficulty to Hard, but bosses were still dying without much effort.
Finally, I put the game on the hardest difficulty and while it is a challenge, the only times I have died is when there has been a lag-spike and my character wasn’t responding.
Other than that, the game does feel a bit more laid back. My friend who is a die-hard Diablo fan pointed this out immediately when playing.
I am interested to see what the endgame is, but until then, I’m just going to carry on being addicted to this charming and quirky game.
It took every fibre of my being to tear myself away from Torchlight III and write this article and I’m heading back as soon as it’s uploaded because writing about it has made me crave it even more!
For loot and for glory!
