Some attempts at comedy occur and the overworld can look bright and inviting at times despite the invasion of the Netherim. Torchlight III as a whole is much less dark and broody than others in the hack-and-slash genre. Who doesn’t love a gun-toting locomotive? None of the combinations are completely incompatible and creating multiple characters to try out each variation is encouraged.
Relics help round out characters, making them more suited to specific roles for use in co-op or more self-sufficient for a solo playthrough. On top of having two unique skill trees for each class, the hero can choose one of five relics to augment their skills.
Who is this hero? That’s up to the player to decide, choosing from of one of four base classes: base classes: the speedy long-range Sharpshooter, the all-encompassing magic-wielding Dusk Mage, the melee specialist Railmaster who brings along a unique, fully automated locomotive companion and finally the Forged, a steampunk robot built like a tank that can be used in any situation. Players go out on quests to try and stop their efforts and stop the invasion. After beating back the goblins, the hero soon finds that dark powers led by sisters Brall, Sadista, and Varis are behind the attacks, bringing with them the demonic Netherim forces who are in turn being ordered around by the mysterious entity known only as Mother. The empire’s forces are backed against the docks of one of their towns, Trevail Point, when the hero emerges from a ship that just sailed into the doomed town.
This time around in Novastraia, the Ember Empire is slowly crumbling, being pushed back by the goblins. However, those looking for an exceptionally deep experience won’t feel fulfilled. Players looking to simply loot, slash, shoot, and fireball their way through dungeons will not be disappointed. Echtra Games creates a world that is a lot of fun to play through with many different options for customizing the class of choice into a perfect slaying machine. A century after the events of the previous game, Torchlight III largely succeeds in bringing a fond and familiar experience to fans of the dungeon crawler.