Torchlight III first launched in early access on Steam back in June, and I thought it was a bit of a disaster. It had numerous issues left over from its original MMO design, no singleplayer mode to speak of, and a general sense of lag to its gameplay that made it less enjoyable to experience compared to its two lauded predecessors.
I didn’t think that developer Echtra Games would be able to turn the title around without some serious and lengthy re-development. But, to my surprise, they’ve done that and more! In only four short months they’ve radically overhauled the game and released new versions this week on the PS4 and Xbox One. It’s available now for a price of $40, and it’s coming to the Switch next Thursday, Oct. 22nd.
The list of changes made is gargantuan, so I’ll just hit some of my personal highlights. The game now has a true singleplayer mode that doesn’t require a constant server connection, alongside co-op multiplayer. The feel of the game is much snappier regardless of mode, and in a brilliant move, difficulty choice now affects movement speed of the enemies. The skill tree system has been redesigned…
