Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Nicholas does, as he wanders a dungeon on his hands and knees.
Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.
And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.
This review was submitted by Nicholas Gibbs. If you’ve played Torchlight, or just want to ask Nicholas more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Torchlight (PC)
Torchlight is a hack-and-slash RPG continuing the tradition of Diablo and the numerous imitators that have followed since. The fighter, mage and rogue archetypes are on offer to dungeon crawl through the numerous levels, fighting bosses and collecting loot in a game that provides all the things you have come to expect from the genre.
Loved
Streamlined: The interface is simple, clean, and concise while borrowing heavily from industry heavyweights to create an instant familiarity that allows you to jump straight into the action.
It just works: Excellent animation and sound effects makes even the most rudimentary fights of the game satisfying. The strength of the core gameplay makes for a game that is hard to put down.
Like a lucid dream: The cartoony art style looks great and lends the game’s gratuitous violence an element of novelty. Also, it is not very demanding of your system’s resources, allowing Torchlight to run competently on modest gaming rigs.
Hated
All Alone: The omission of any form of multiplayer is confounding and hurts the game’s longevity a great deal. Once you have progressed through the hardest of the four difficulty levels there is not much left on offer.
Been there, done that: While Torchlight improves upon established conventions, it does little to drive the genre forward or send it in an interesting new direction. The derivative gameplay can as a result feel tired at times.
This is a game that is remarkably easy to recommend, refining a proven formula to create what is its best example since Diablo II hit the shelves. The lack of multiplayer is disappointing, yet for a budget price point this is a title with a wealth of content. Fans and particularly newcomers to the genre would do well to pick up Torchlight.
Reviewed by: Nicholas Gibbs
You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 300 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.
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