Torchlight: Infinite is a free-to-play game that is in Early Access on Steam. It is loosely inspired by the Torchlight series in that it's an isometric RPG. It does some things well (like skill and build variety) but ultimately feels like what it is: a knockoff mobile game. Doesn't mean you can't have some fun with it, though.
Gameplay
After only 6.5 hours in, I'm done with the story. Of course, it does say more coming, but for now, it dropped me into the early stages of end game, which is what the video covers. As you can see, it's incredibly easy. Laughably so (just like the campaign). The vid also includes seasonal content, which is the Blacksails Pirates stuff at the end. In effect, clearing the map lets me choose some buffs and then fight another boss. I'll be the first to admit I haven't worried about learning the details of this system. I've played so few hours I'm not even sure if I'm invested or not!
With that said the basic loop is there. Map, farm, improve gear, harder maps. At least, I assume maps get harder. It feels like a direct copy of Path of Exile, in which I have sunk almost 500 hours into.
The Good
Controller Support
I really enjoy being able to relax with a controller and play games like this. Overall, I give the controller support a B+. It's solid for gameplay, but managing menus I still drop back to the mouse. You don't have to! The right joystick on my xbox controller moves the cursor and pressing down on it 'clicks'. I just don't like it. If you're on the couch, though, it will work.
Skills
They definitely invested into the skill system, and the results are pretty great. You unlock active and passive skills, and as you level up, you unlock the ability to add support skills. It's of course Path of Exile, but if it isn't broke, don't fix it. The energy system is nice in that it forces you to think about how many support gems you want to add to a skill. In the image below, you can see that I have 60 energy total (top right). That's my cap, but I can choose how to spend it.
It takes 10 energy to add the first support skill. It will take 50 to add the 4th to my Ice Lances skill. If the game was challenging at all at the moment, I'd probably spend my remaining energy to unlock a few supports for my other skills.
My character's special ability is to create a clone of himself:
He shoots your main skill once per second. You also unlock the ability to customize this special/ultimate ability as you level up:
There are also talents:
In other words, there are plenty of different ways to upgrade yourself. This has become a trend in these games, which has been on the whole positive. It keeps the progression feeling incremental as you have different level ups popping in different systems at different times. It also affords a high degree of customization even when each system itself is pretty simple.
The Bad
OMG The Voice Acting
It's just terrible. One of his quips starts with "Hella annoying." Your main partner in the story keeps calling you "partner". Not like a western movie, but like a cheap mobile game. This had to happen "hella" fast.
Story
It's present. That's about the best I can say for it. I quickly started skipping every cutscene.
Mobile Feel
It feels like a mobile game. It has the daily log ins, the season pass, the premium currency. Diablo Immortal has all the same stuff, but DI just looks 10x better and feels a lot closer to a PC game. If DI felt too mobile for you to enjoy, then this game isn't for you.
Conclusion
I stopped playing after my first hour due to the above negatives, but I'm glad I came back and played more - even if I stop now at 6 hours! I had fun playing through and not taking things too seriously. For now, I'm enjoying being a god among monsters, but from back in my Diablo 1 duping days, I know that gets old. If the game gets challenging enough to drive the need to upgrade gear, then I think the core RPG gameplay loop is there.
The game is early access, which means tweaks can be made to the difficulty curve and a few other things. The core flaws will remain, but on net, I think the good outweighs the bad as long as you're just looking for a game to have some fun with.
▶️ 3Speak