Some of the best experiences I had with the game involved me stumbling across some weird enemy hive and having to fight for my life as they tried to overwhelm me. There are hidden dungeons, challenges, chests, keys, and more to find and if there is anything this game does better than its contemporaries, it’s beckoning players to keep looking, keep searching, keep unlocking every inch of that map. You really are encouraged to explore every nook and cranny of each area you unlock. What I love more than the art direction are the layouts of the vast overworlds. When I rolled a second character, the gun-heavy Outlander who I paired with the unicorn, I played mostly in handheld mode and really found the colors on the Switch screen to be quite moody. With my first character, I mostly stayed glued to my TV. Torchlight II‘s art and enemy design really pop on my big screen but look just as creative and captivating while playing in bed. It truly is a spectacle to behold, and thanks to Panic Button’s knowledge of the Switch hardware, I didn’t experience a moment of slowdown or frame drops when I smoked a massive swarm of zombies with five different magnificent skills.Īnd all of that is true whether playing while docked or in handheld mode. The hack ‘n’ slash action is incredibly satisfying, especially when I unleash a fireworks show of ice and lightning attacks. The rest of the game, from the dreamy music to the bright and colorful art direction, is perfectly retained with this port. That’s probably the only concession made with bringing Torchlight II to consoles. The lack of attack options never negated my attempts to take down enemies, but I do feel I was never able to truly show off my vast power because I could only pick and choose just a few of my skills and spells at a time. It’s as limiting as it sounds and, in practice, it meant I focused on overpowering my Embermage’s initial skills rather than investing in those unlocked at later character levels. Add in quick access to mana and health potions, which you will 100% need to properly function in this game, and that leaves just five buttons to map with your various skills and spells.

With your general attack button taking up one, that leaves you with seven. You have just eight buttons to configure to your liking. If you’ve played Torchlight II before on PC, the biggest change you’ll probably notice with the console version is the truncated number of attack options. Pet choices include various dogs, cats, flying creatures, a headcrab, pre-order exclusive Yapper from the upcoming Torchlight Frontiers, and the Nintendo Switch exclusive chonky unicorn.

Choosing between Engineer, Berserker, Embermage, and Outlander, players can pick the look of their hero from an unfortunately small number of options and pair them with a companion pet to accompany them throughout their quest.

Taking place years after the end of the original game, Torchlight II offers up new character classes who are tasked with taking down a corrupted Alchemist, one of the character classes from the first game. It was good enough to pave the way for a superior sequel in the form of Torchlight II, now available on Switch, PS4, and Xbox One from publisher Perfect World Entertainment. The original Torchlight was a moderate success, eventually selling more than two million copies. With Max and Eric Schaefer on board, two of the creators of the original Diablo, the team set out to fill the void left by that franchise’s absence in the hack ‘n’ slash genre. Runic Games released the first Torchlight during that excruciating 12-year gap between Blizzard’s Diablo II and Diablo III. Torchlight II is yet another feather in the developer’s cap, even if its plumage is not nearly as ornate. It’s porting games to the Nintendo system most people thought would be impossible, each time delivering a polished and thoroughly playable experience that is always worth the asking price. With Warframe, Doom, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Rocket League under its belt, developer Panic Button has proven itself to be the crown prince of Switch ports.

Torchlight ii outlander