Torchlight

Diablo, released in ’96, created the genre of action RPG games, and proved to be probably the most influential RPG title of the 90s. It had been created by a small games firm called Condor, which was bought by Blizzard shortly before the game launched. Condor became Blizzard North, and produced Diablo and its smash-hit sequel Diablo II, as well as being involved in the production of Warcraft and Starcraft. In 2003, Blizzard’s owners Vivendi started screwing around with Blizzard North, and the entire team left on mass.

Large chunks of the old Condor/Blizzard North team are now working together as a small independent company, Runic Games. The team has fallen back on its roots and just released Torchlight, an action RPG with its roots back in Diablo. Like the original game, it’s an isometric-view RPG in which your character delves down into a randomly-generated dungeon to fight monsters, collect treasure, and complete quests. You have access to three different character classes — thumpy, sneaky and blasty — and a town you can pop back to in order to sell your ill-gotten loot. Also like the original game, it’s one hell of a lot of fun.

This is not a game out of the 90s, though. The controls feel slick and easy to get to grips with, the graphics are good — taking a cartoony style somewhat reminiscent of WoW — and the quests owe a bit to it as well. The story is non-intrusive, there are plenty of NPCs up in town, the skill system is as satisfying as you’d expect, and you even get to choose a pet cat or dog to help you in your battles. Assorted enigmatic dungeon features, like altars and fishing pools, add some crunchiness. The sound comes from the same guy who did the sound in Diablo; it is charmingly cheeky in places, and always works well with the action.

There isn’t really anything ground-breaking in Torchlight, but they have managed to do what no-one else has been able to achieve since Diablo II shipped: release a pretty, accessible, fun game that actually captures the spirit of Diablo. The fact that they’ve done it as a small, independent team in less than a year just makes it all the more impressive. The game comes with a full set of constructor’s tools too, so you can be sure there’ll be lots of fan-made extensions available in the very near future.

Torchlight costs a measly $20* to download from the publishers, but if even that is too pricey for you to take a risk on, there’s a free demo too.

* That’s £12.36 at today’s rates, which is less than a large pizza. Yes, I have put my money where my mouth is!