Over a year after it entered closed beta, Torchlight Infinite launched worldwide on May 9. This launch was accompanied by a new season and refined gameplay, but while fans of the beta will be happy with the changes, there’s little here to recommend to newcomers. However, if you’ve exhausted all thebest RPGs on the Play Store, read on for our review of the latest installment in the Torchlight action RPG franchise.
In terms of performance, little has changed since Iplayed the open beta last year. But in case you want to try and spot some differences, I recorded the above hands-on video on an Asus Rog 6 for your viewing pleasure, and I also tested the game on my Pixel 7 Pro. I didn’t suffer performance issues on either device; framerates remained stable at 60FPS.
Torchlight Infinite aims to replicate the success of Diablo Immortal
The release of Diablo Immortal last year ruffled a few feathers for good reason. The absurd microtransactions and pay-to-win gameplay put many off the mobile ARPG, but that didn’t stop the game fromracking up over 10 million downloads on the Play Store. Torchlight Infinite offers a similar gameplay loop, but it’s just different enough to feel unique.
Before I dive into the gameplay, let’s discuss how the game is monetized. Torchlight Infinite’s monetization is fairer than Diablo Immortals', but you can still get an edge with your wallet. There’s a focus on cosmetics, revival tokens, and inventory expansions. While none of these things are essential for gameplay in the early stages, things get murky with the Pact Spirits and Hero Spirits. Buying these with money provides a fast track to a powerful character, but they can easily be acquired via gameplay. So while it’s not perfect, Torchlight Infinite’s monetization is not as disastrous as Diablo Immortals'.
Torchlight Infinite’s gameplay is a repetitive slog
While I couldn’t tolerate the monetization in Diablo Immortal, I found the gameplay to be the high point of the game, if a little uninspired. Unfortunately, Torchlight Infinite’s gameplay is nowhere near as satisfying.
There are two main issues with Torchlight Infinite’s combat. Firstly, while weak enemies don’t stand a chance against you, their large health pools mean wiping out crowds of minions becomes a chore. It’s not noticeable immediately, but after a while, you’ll realize that combat is waiting for health bars to drop while you check Facebook messages on your computer.
The second issue is that abilities feel underwhelming and lack impact. Their mana cost is negligible, so you’ll be spamming them as quickly as you can cast them. This quickly reduces what should be exciting ways to initiate combat into a novelty. For example, my initial character, a Berserker, had a leap ability to launch him into and out of combat. But rather than an exciting start to fights, I used it to bounce around the map like a frog. It would be much more enjoyable if it had a longer cooldown and greater damage.
Torchlight Infinite offers controller support, which I used in my review. However, many menus are incompatible, so you’ll jump back and forth between your controller and screen frequently. Regardless, the game is still best played with acompatible Android controller.
Most abilities suffer from similar issues. There are so many numbers and effects on screen that it’s impossible to tell exactly what result they have beyond reducing health bars. Combat becomes boring fast, which isn’t helped by the unnecessary amount of perks you’ll unlock.
Torchlight Infinite’s perk system is bloated and meaningless
Torchlight Infinite is a game of turning small numbers into big ones, providing plenty of opportunities to do so. Ability upgrades, sub-abilities, pacts, talents, bonuses, and traits are all ways to make numbers go up, and they quickly blur together into an incoherent mess.
Unlocking new perks in RPGs should be exciting, but in Torchlight Infinite, it’s a forgettable trip through some menus. While I initially took care to select the upgrades I thought were effective, I eventually gave up and randomly selected perks for the same result.
The Newbie Builds option helps make sense of all this. This suggests a build that can be unlocked after a few hours of gameplay and explains what each component means. However, this ought to be an optional tool, not a lifeline. Of course, you could alwaysstart your build off with our beginner’s guideand work towards what the Newbie Built suggests. This is the best way to make sense of what’s going on since there’s so much to absorb.
Torchlight Infinite’s upgrade system will be well received by those who love optimizing builds, but is it really necessary for percentage buffs to go into the decimal points?
Torchlight Infinite is let down by its tedious gameplay and perk system
Torchlight Infinite offers surface-level fun, but there’s little to recommend over Diablo Immortal. But I can’t recommend Diablo Immortal in good faith either, thanks to its awful monetization, so if you’re on the hunt for a fun ARPG that won’t drown you in microtransactions,try these Diablo Immortal alternatives instead.
