Still, the only games of this genre that do the raw gameplay better are the ones that snuck their way into this review as a modifier to explain the style of game this is. This is a Diablo-like game that feels a whole lot like Diablo, but doesn’t carve out enough of an identity on its own to leave a lasting impression. This version makes a few changes to make the game playable on a controller while staying true to the original. It just doesn’t go above and beyond, feeling more generic overall. Published Torchlight II is finally coming to consoles. I wish I had more to say about Torchlight II, because it is a solid dungeon-crawling RPG that features a quality Switch port with some flexible and smart functionality and UI tweaks for the console in both docked and handheld forms. Disappointingly so, Torchlight II offers no means of local multiplayer on Switch, but four-player online play is present and ran well in my experiences. It doesn’t match up to the variety and expansiveness of Diablo III, but the more focused and uncomplicated scope might make for a nice alternative. This is a totally capable and enjoyable action RPG, likely the second best on the system next to Diablo III. A lot of options are crammed into a lot of menus, which is sometimes a tiny bit clumsy but rarely confusing. It’s a welcome sight to see that be a rare blip because Torchlight II on Switch runs extremely well and even features some noticeable UI tweaks for consoles that make the experience much smoother on Switch. While Panic Button’s other Switch work (Doom, Wolfenstein, Warframe), have been excellent, I found their Hob port somewhat dodgier. The port here is handled by Switch veterans Panic Button, who also handled the Switch port of Hob, Runic Games’ 2017 release. Overall it’s a somewhat by-the-numbers Diablo-esque RPG that might not be across-the-board exemplary, but it does everything well enough. Originally released in 2012, the version hitting the Switch now in 2019 is a polished experience that translates the quality dungeon crawling of the original release ably on the portable system. No one big thing that kills the game, but rather death by a thousand cuts.Torchlight II has a history that owes much to Diablo, both because of its gameplay and some of the original team at the now-defunct Runic Games having ties to Blizzard. Then there’s the usual range of glitches and rarely even crashes. New Game +1 becomes +2 and so on, meaning everything gets harder, but you remain the same and all quest progress is lost. Every time you exit the game after starting it, the next time you re-enter the game difficulty is increased +1. One of the nastiest bugs is with the New Game + mode. Online barely functions, with full connection losses common. The UI has a few visual glitches where the wrong tool-tip pops up for the chosen attribute which can be annoying while assigning your hard earned points. A variety of skills, especially movement based ones such as the Embermage’s teleport or the Outlander’s leap either glitch out or simply don’t work. The problem is, far too often you’re required to fight the game in order to enjoy it. It’s certainly nowhere near as unplayable as the Titan Quest port was, for sure. It is still technically fully playable, even fun. Sadly, after plenty of time with this console port, broken is the word that comes to mind. This game came out at the time when every game had fishing. It’s not exactly broken, but there are far too many issues that bring the gameplay down. Sadly, despite how great a game Torchlight II truly is, this port veers far too often towards the former over the latter. Then there’s the Diablo III/ Pillars of Eternity approach with smooth performance, wholly rebuilt UI’s and controls, and every piece of content ever released packed in. There’s the Titan Quest/ Cities: Skylines approach with optimization issues, UIs and controls that don’t work as well as they need to, and content left out to resell later. There are two ways to handle PC to Console ports. Yet at it’s long awaited console release, it’s Diablo III that has the upper hand. It came out at the perfect time to capitalize on that disappointment, with its shameless and proud adherence to the standards of the genre a strong contrast to vanilla Diablo III’s perversion of it. When Torchlight II originally released on PC all the way back in 2012, it was after Diablo III had released to near universal dismay.
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