Dungeon crawlers rejoice: Runic Games has announced that Torchlight 2 is in the works.
Torchlight was a hit, and for good reason: The team at Runic is made up of veterans of games like Fate, Diablo and Mythos, so it's fair to say that they know which end of the action-RPG genre is up. And while a forthcoming sequel may not be an Earth-shattering surprise, it's welcome news nonetheless.
Torchlight 2 will expand on the "whimsical and quirky world" of the original game and add several new features to the action, most notably multiplayer. Players will finally be able to adventure with their friends both online and over LANs, while a free peer-to-peer matchmaking service will make it easy to embark on journeys with other gamers of similar skill levels.
The new game will take players from the town of Torchlight to the Estherian Steppes and across the continent of Vilderan, following clues left by the missing Alchemist, who was attempting to find and defeat the mysterious force that destroyed the Estherian race. Aided by the Guardian-warrior Syl and the remnants of the Estherian Guardians, the player must confront and battle dark forces of evil every step of the way to protect the world as we know it from complete annihilation.
Other new features will include an improved interface, overland areas with weather, time of day effects and randomized events, random dungeons, the return of pets and fishing, and an updated version of the Torchlight editor that will let players create and share mods and new content. Torchlight 2 is slated to come out "initially as a digital download" in spring 2011 and in the meantime, you can learn more at Torchlight2Game.com.
UPDATE: As one or two of you have pointed out, Runic was supposed to be working on a free-to-play MMO version of Torchlight. What happened to that?
"We still are going to make the MMO, but it became apparent that Torchlight 2 was the logical next step for us given the phenomenal enthusiasm of gamers petitioning us for multiplayer," Runic Games CEO Max Schaefer explained in a statement.
"We're so proud of everything Torchlight accomplished, and we feel that Torchlight 2 will not only give the fans everything they've asked for, but far surpass its predecessor in terms of fun, balance, customization, story, and just being a great game to play with your friends," he added. Runic plans to show Torchlight 2 at GamesCom, running from August 18-22, and PAX, which takes place September 3-5.
Flying-Emu: I'm hoping they have a hardcore mode, similar to D2's permadeath thing.
Well Torchlight has hardcore mode, no reason to think the sequel won't have one.
Anyway, this news made my day. I was hoping they'll release another standalone game with multiplayer before that F2P MMO they announced. It was the logical thing to do after the first one was a huge success and I'm glad they saw it that way too :)
The first one was a some what shallow experience. I bought it based on the art style and the pedigree of the development team. There was no real sense of player progression, As you leveled up your stats got better, but so did that of your opponents (regardless of dungeon level). It didn't feel like Diablo 2 (the gold standard for this type of game) where you were crafting a miniature god. For kicks and giggles I would walk my high level Amazon through act 1 normal difficulty and watch as the kindred exploded at my mere presence.
Obviously a quick money grab before the crushing concurrent Diablo 3 is released. That would be fine normally but they already did that with Torchlight 1. Again taking no time for a title just to release it before Diablo 3? C'mon.
And the first game was so bland I certainly won't pick up the second one.
Torchlight was...okay. I didn't really enjoy it all that much. The story wasnt compelling, there were far too many lvls. weapons/armor for the most part sucked, imo. The game looked good though. they just need to work on some things. I sincerely hope TL2 does WAY better. It's sounding like it will be more like D2 was. Which is kinda what I had expected the first one to be like. So We'll see. I'm skeptical for the time being.
The reason I say this is because Torchlight does NOT have multiplayer. Permadeath is a bit more worrisome when your supposed 'friend' can turn on you, kill you, and take all your phat loot.
Hell.. fucking.. yes! Can't wait for that which reminds me I should get round to playing the first one again because it's so fun and I need something to do at the moment.
I loved TL and can not wait til the next one. When I spent two weeks in the hospital recently, it was what kept me relatively sane. the nurses would laugh cause at 3am I'm be playing TL instead of sleeping.
Neato. I really enjoyed the first one. Hell, it was my first and currently only Steam purchase. Well worth the 20 bucks but of course, a week after I got it, it went on sale for 15. Oh well, still worth it.
Flying-Emu: The reason I say this is because Torchlight does NOT have multiplayer. Permadeath is a bit more worrisome when your supposed 'friend' can turn on you, kill you, and take all your phat loot.
So far only co-op is confirmed, dunno if there will be PvP at all.
3nimac: Im slightly confused as to whether this is the MMO they planned, or just a sequel with multiplayer?
It's not the MMO, the MMO is still in the works, this is just another sideproject.
I'd prefer this over the MMO, pay once for a game instead of subscription fees or microtransactions. One payment, I get everything, I get multipalyer, and I can die happy. (and/or wait for Diablo 3)
Hopefully they can take a look at Nethack and steal some ideas, like hostile ghosts of old characters who died in hardcore mode, or a pet you can train to steal from shops.
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Torchlight 2 Coming Next Year - UPDATED
Dungeon crawlers rejoice: Runic Games has announced that Torchlight 2 is in the works.
Torchlight was a hit, and for good reason: The team at Runic is made up of veterans of games like Fate, Diablo and Mythos, so it's fair to say that they know which end of the action-RPG genre is up. And while a forthcoming sequel may not be an Earth-shattering surprise, it's welcome news nonetheless.
Torchlight 2 will expand on the "whimsical and quirky world" of the original game and add several new features to the action, most notably multiplayer. Players will finally be able to adventure with their friends both online and over LANs, while a free peer-to-peer matchmaking service will make it easy to embark on journeys with other gamers of similar skill levels.
The new game will take players from the town of Torchlight to the Estherian Steppes and across the continent of Vilderan, following clues left by the missing Alchemist, who was attempting to find and defeat the mysterious force that destroyed the Estherian race. Aided by the Guardian-warrior Syl and the remnants of the Estherian Guardians, the player must confront and battle dark forces of evil every step of the way to protect the world as we know it from complete annihilation.
Other new features will include an improved interface, overland areas with weather, time of day effects and randomized events, random dungeons, the return of pets and fishing, and an updated version of the Torchlight editor that will let players create and share mods and new content. Torchlight 2 is slated to come out "initially as a digital download" in spring 2011 and in the meantime, you can learn more at Torchlight2Game.com.
UPDATE: As one or two of you have pointed out, Runic was supposed to be working on a free-to-play MMO version of Torchlight. What happened to that?
"We still are going to make the MMO, but it became apparent that Torchlight 2 was the logical next step for us given the phenomenal enthusiasm of gamers petitioning us for multiplayer," Runic Games CEO Max Schaefer explained in a statement.
"We're so proud of everything Torchlight accomplished, and we feel that Torchlight 2 will not only give the fans everything they've asked for, but far surpass its predecessor in terms of fun, balance, customization, story, and just being a great game to play with your friends," he added. Runic plans to show Torchlight 2 at GamesCom, running from August 18-22, and PAX, which takes place September 3-5.
And now you know.
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