{"id":120199,"date":"2020-11-02T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/torchlight_iii"},"modified":"2020-11-02T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T16:00:00","slug":"review-torchlight-iii-a-rewarding-dungeon-crawler-that-plays-it-a-little-too-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/11\/02\/review-torchlight-iii-a-rewarding-dungeon-crawler-that-plays-it-a-little-too-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Torchlight III &#8211; A Rewarding Dungeon-Crawler That Plays It A Little Too Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c56bda9bd4a57\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c56bda9bd4a57\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110008\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110008\/900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/torchlight_iii\">Torchlight III<\/a><\/strong> has endured a rather rocky journey to its initial release. The project originally began as a free-to-play title called <strong>Torchlight Frontiers<\/strong>, which was all set to finally deliver on the grandiose MMO plans that Runic Games has been building towards since the first <strong>Torchlight<\/strong>. Alas, it wasn\u2019t meant to be, as early reception to Frontiers was lukewarm and the game design wasn\u2019t coming together quite how the team wanted it to. After nearly two years of development, Frontiers went through a big shift in January of this year, in which it was officially rebranded as Torchlight III and changed into an experience more in line with the previous two entries. The final product, then, proves to be worthy of the Torchlight name, but it also highlights that the series is in desperate need of a refresh.<\/p>\n<p>The story picks up a few centuries after the events of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/torchlight_ii\"><strong>Torchlight II<\/strong><\/a>, in a world where the empire is in decline. The Netherim are trying to take advantage of this weakness by attempting a take-over of Novastraia, so it\u2019s up to you and your friends to repel the threat and save the day. As is typical for an ARPG, the story proves to be virtually nonexistent for most of Torchlight III, merely serving as a light means of giving context to your endless dungeon crawls. While it would be nice to see a little more effort put into telling a compelling narrative, the lack of emphasis on storytelling here actually proves to be a move in the game\u2019s favour. Torchlight III is all about balancing stats, comparing gearsets, and offing goblins by the truckload, and frequent stops of exposition or cutscenes would only serve to get in the way of the main draw of gameplay.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110002\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110002\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Those of you familiar with the ARPG genre will find yourselves right at home with Torchlight III, as this release adds almost nothing new to the tried and tested formula. You begin by picking one of four classes of warriors who will then embark on a long journey through dungeons and environments packed with enemies and precious loot to improve the character. Cutting through the masses of monsters is sure to see some choice pieces drop which passively raise your character\u2019s stats, and every now and then, you\u2019ll level up and get an upgrade point to invest somewhere in your skill tree to deepen your build. It\u2019s the sort of thing that\u2019s almost mind-numbingly simple on a moment-to-moment basis, but the long-term planning that goes into picking skill progression and equipment loadouts is a <em>huge<\/em> part of the draw. There is an overwhelming amount of ways to spec out a build, and plenty of satisfaction is gleaned from teasing out an effective build and seeing how well it holds up against swarms of enemies.<\/p>\n<p>Through this, the gameplay is less focused on player dexterity or skill than it is on overall resource management. You have a basic main attack which you can use indefinitely, but the majority of your combat effectiveness is pulled from how well you manage the cool-downs and limitations of the various skills you can fire off. For example, the archer class has an \u2018ammo\u2019 mechanic wherein arrows can be either picked up from the environment or slowly regenerated. Many of the archer\u2019s skills will expend a certain amount of arrows in the quiver, so you must constantly balance your needs in battle against how many arrows you can reasonably use. In practice, this gameplay system works quite well, as you slowly come to better understand your build and how to best ramp up damage in a typical combat encounter.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110006\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110006\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>This is all well and good, but one area in which Torchlight III notably drops the ball is in the disproportionate amount of importance it places on the very beginning of the new player experience. Those first few minutes in which you\u2019re tasked with picking a class and subclass can be <em>enormously<\/em> overwhelming as you\u2019re expected to read through all the densely-written class and skill descriptions to best figure out which are to your liking. Whatever you choose, you\u2019re permanently locked into that decision, which can lead to scenarios where a few hours of play are wasted when you realize that the class you picked just isn\u2019t your thing.<\/p>\n<p>Matters are made worse by the fact that your only means of taking back spent points in the skill tree are governed by an extremely scarce consumable resource, which punishes experimentation. It\u2019s all too easy for a new player to learn that they\u2019ve created a build \u2018wrong\u2019, but the options for fixing it late in the game are unfortunately hard to come by. We would\u2019ve better appreciated a more flexible system that allows for new players to freely try out several build types, as the current system only proves to be frustrating in the long term.<\/p>\n<p>One new feature (which seems to be a holdover from the free-to-play days) is the \u2018fort\u2019 mechanic, in which your character has a small castle you can decorate to your liking with materials you find out in the wilds. It\u2019s a neat diversion, but one which feels awkwardly inserted into the main quest without much justification. Aside from some decorations which grant you passive stat boosts, the fort just feels like an aspect that\u2019s sort of undercooked, as there isn\u2019t much reason to spend time there other than for the sake of it. You can build some decorations which offer passive stat buffs, so there is <em>some<\/em> incentive to come back here every now and then, but there\u2019s a lingering sense that the fort was meant to be a much larger part of Torchlight III than it actually is. Still, the developers deserve some credit for attempting to include something that breaks up the traditional ARPG game loop, and though the fort is disappointing, those of you who enjoy decorating a personal space like this will likely find some mild enjoyment in it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110013\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110013\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>As far as replayability goes, Torchlight III fortunately doesn\u2019t disappoint. The main quest should take you about twenty hours to clear, and then there\u2019s the virtually endless endgame to take your character to the <em>absolute<\/em> limit. Here, you\u2019re presented with a series of cards which will modify existing dungeons in both positive and negative ways. If you can clear the modified dungeon, you\u2019ll then be treated to some shiny new gear, which enables you to take on further modified dungeons. Beyond that, you can always start over with new characters to try out different classes or different skill builds within your chosen class. As you\u2019ve likely surmised, all of this revolves around that same central conceit of grinding enemies and dungeons to get gear that lets you grind <em>harder<\/em> enemies and dungeons. Your mileage may vary, then, depending on how hooked you are by the ARPG gameplay loop, but rest assured that Torchlight III clearly demonstrates it understands its genre well.<\/p>\n<p>That being said, the flipside is that Torchlight III introduces almost nothing new to notably iterate on its predecessor or the genre at large. Those of you that have played the previous Torchlights, <strong>Diablo<\/strong>, <strong>Path of Exile<\/strong>, or any other stalwarts in the genre will know exactly what to expect here, as the gameplay in Torchlight III does nothing to carve out a unique identity for itself. Whether this is a good or bad thing is ultimately a matter of opinion. Those of you who enjoy just putting on a podcast or Netflix show while grinding through this sort of game will find that Torchlight III nicely fills that role. Those of you looking for something that builds upon what came before, something that brings in some exciting new innovations, will be left wanting. In short, Torchlight III can be best defined as a \u2018more of the same\u2019 release. Make of that what you will.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110004\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110004\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Torchlight III Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In terms of its presentation, Torchlight III manages to satisfy, even if it doesn\u2019t impress all that much. The Blizzard-esque art style with exaggerated proportions and bright colours works well in the game\u2019s favour, although it feels a little bit uninspired as a result. Still, the various dank caves and hostile locales you trawl through are nicely detailed and feel well put-together, even if this is muddled a bit by performance hitches. Whether docked or handheld, the framerate stays consistent for most of the experience, but notably hits some snags when a lot of enemies pour onto the screen at once. These drops were never bad enough that it affected gameplay too significantly, but they still showed up enough to be a frustrating nuisance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Torchlight III is the sort of game that we can only describe as genre filler. It does absolutely everything that you would expect of an ARPG, and it often does these things extremely well, but it also doesn\u2019t do anything particularly interesting <em>or<\/em> revelatory. Those of you that love a good ARPG will find plenty to love here, then, just don\u2019t come into it expecting to be blown away by anything on offer. And while we\u2019d sooner recommend that interested newcomers jump on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/diablo_iii_eternal_collection\">Diablo III<\/a><\/strong> for their first experience, it\u2019s pretty tough to go wrong with Torchlight III. Despite some of its shortcomings, Torchlight III is a rewarding experience that we\u2019d say is certainly worth your time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) Torchlight III has endured a rather rocky journey to its initial release. The project originally began as a free-to-play title called Torchlight Frontiers, which was all set to finally deliver on the grandiose MMO plans that Runic Games has been building towards since the first Torchlight. Alas, it wasn\u2019t meant [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}