Runic Games' dungeon crawling RPG is one of the best titles of the year

Dec 21, 2012 16:41 GMT  ·  By

The role-playing game genre has seen a resurrection in recent years, even if titles that fit into this category don't have "popular" attributes like a multiplayer mode.

We've seen quite a few RPGs appear in 2012, ranging from blockbuster efforts like Diablo 3 to more independent ones, like Krater.

Among the best was Torchlight 2 from Runic Games.

Torchlight 1 impressed lots of people by managing to deliver a faithful, almost sequel-like experience in comparison to Diablo 2, still one of the best role-playing dungeon crawlers of all time.

With the actual sequel to Torchlight, Runic Games, a studio formed by former Blizzard employees, managed to further improve on its first title.

From the big open world, to the new character classes, ranging from the Embermage to the Outlander, Engineer, or Berserker, lots of different playstyles are supported by the RPG and each can be taken into all sorts of directions by investing points in their core skills and in their different abilities.

The novel pet mechanic, which made Torchlight 1 stand out from other RPGs, also made a comeback in Torchlight 2 and this time you can choose from a wide array of animals the one you want to accompany your character on his various adventures. From different dogs, to cats, or even small velociraptor-like lizard, the choice is yours.

While it's pretty fun to explore Torchlight 2 alone, it's even more fun with friends and you can play alongside others no matter your current situation. If you have internet access, you can play online but if you're just connected in a LAN, you can still explore the game's dungeons together.

From the lengthy story, to the sprawling open world, the variety in terms of characters and builds, not to mention the polished mechanics, Torchlight 2 manages to impress and is certainly one of the best RPGs of 2012.