Torchlight II
I got to admit, I’ve been playing this game since half a decade ago and got to enjoy playing most select characters after receiving it as a free gift. After beating the game three times or so while on different difficulty tiers, Torchlight 2 began to bore me with the same enemies starting with Estheria to the Broken Mines, and then on way to the Mapworks.
That all changed when I discovered the Steam Workshop for Torchlight 2. After finding the workshop, I went crazy and got my hands on a number of fan-made mods. This includes the Synergies mod, extra classes mod, extra gold mod and recently getting the storage mod. As a result, this breathe new life and interest into playing Torchlight 2 once more while sticking to play on the Veteran tier. In other words, it’s a great game that maintains its original storyline even while having mods installed from the workshop at the same time. I must admit, at the time I type-down this review, my record is at 661 hours of gameplay.
– Real player with 1531.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Hack and Slash Games.
After 2-3 years of not actively playing it, I gave this game another try for nostalgic purposes. These are my thoughts.
A great game for its time, but destroyed by nearly every other ARPG to follow after it. Most of my hours on this game were put before Diablo 3, Marvel Heroes, and Path of Exile made substantial improvements to their games. First couple years this was out, game was bliss. Only other viable options were Titan Quest, Diablo 2, and Torchlight 1.
The game was designed to be played in Multiplayer, apparently, but I spent most of my time solo. The multiplayer is actually very bad and scales terribly with the more players you have. Monster damage and health isn’t properly tuned and everything ends up doing too much damage and being sponges, especially the bosses. It also forces you to sign up for a Runic account because apparently this is a good idea for some reason. The network code happens to be abysmal as well, and handles lag in the weirdest way I’ve seen in a game. For the person lagging, the game creates a seperate instance, until the lag stops. Causing confusion for everyone involved (wait you already killed those monsters?).
– Real player with 431.0 hrs in game
Torchlight
IN A WORD: UNMISSABLE
IN A NUTSHELL:
WHAT TO EXPECT: Fantasy themed ARPG. Few classes but with multiple roles. Satisfying class abilities. Extensive inventory of items. Large variety of enemies and variants. Heavy on the crafting. An avalanche of quests. Wonderful ambience. Colourful, pretty graphics. Very replayable. Repetitive without apology. Singleplayer only.
ACHIEVEMENTS: A NUMBER ARE GRINDY.
STATUS: COMPLETED.
WHEN TO BUY: WHENEVER. 2x SEQUELS EXIST.
– Real player with 228.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Hack and Slash Games.
★ I wrote this review to help you decide whether you can get YOUR MONEY’S & TIME’S WORTH from this game.
TL;DR
★ I only recommend buying this game when it’s on sale or included in a bundle. If you like Torchlight series in general i’d recommend getting Torchlight 2. It’s way better and you won’t miss much if you skip this one.
SUMMARY
★ Good people decided to settle down near a mine that contains a rare and powerful ore and now they are in danger because bad creatures also want that ore. You get to play as a warrior, an archer (can also equip guns) or a mage. The story takes place in a 35 floor dungeon and in the form of voiced text. After completing the story you’ll unlock an endless dungeon which is the endgame. Almost all of the gameplay involves clearing dungeons. There’s a horse with whom you can engage in philosophical conversations. Your inventory is small, junk loot is a lot and some enemies have huge damage spikes. You have a pet that’s actually useful. You can fish, feed that fish to your pet and watch it transform into a spider. There are fame and character retirement systems. Most difficulty options are easy but there’s a hardcore mode which makes death permanent. The environment is randomly generated, interactable but lacks puzzles. Visuals are cartoonish. Soundtracks are few. The game is highly moddable but not multiplayer.
– Real player with 200.0 hrs in game
Last Epoch
I am a longtime ARPG player.
I discovered Last Epoch while looking for a guide on Wolcen (yeah… i know…).
Since then I have been playing Last Epoch and I have given up on Wolcen.
Last Epoch is the best Early Access ARPG yet, and definitely one of the best ARPG, period!
The game feels incredible.
The story is great.
The itemization is solid.
There is a wide variety of builds.
Personally, I don’t do theorycraft, I usually rely on other’s build guide. But I manage to create fun skills combinations that work for me and are relatively viable or modify other’s build to my liking.
– Real player with 336.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Hack and Slash Games.
There are two major things that draw me to this ARPG. The Skills, and the Masteries. I’ll go over both here.
Skills are typical fare. You can have 5 on your hotbar at a time. Where the skills really start to shine are in the trees/webs. Picture the runes from Diablo 3, but each one is placed somewhere on a web for that skill. You take lesser, but still valuable and build enabling nodes, such as adding a DoT, reducing mana cost, increasing base damage while you work your way to major nodes, like making the physical skill Javelin a lightning skill instead. You can also change it from a piercing line attack to a batch of 3 AoE targeted spears. Even further you can make those 3 spears into 1, increasing the damage and adding a banner to it that increases your damage and defenses. Further down that branch, the banner can cast a spell, Smite, for free at enemies near it. There are a lot of skills like this.
– Real player with 267.0 hrs in game
Anima: Gate of Memories
Despite some bugs, none game breaking, and some occasional balance issues, this is a good game, with a very appealing artistic direction, great soundtrack, and a story which does not start very strong but builds up pretty finely over the course of the game.
The game isn’t all shiny though. The voice acting, overall, is quite weak, although some character do stand out of the bunch positively, and the gameplay can be a frustrating mess sometimes as you will be ganked a lot, and have to deal with quite a lot of projectile spamming.
– Real player with 33.5 hrs in game
Intro:
I’ll start by saying that I absolutely love this game, it’s a brilliant piece of true art. There are some glaring issues which could be attributed to having a small indie dev team, thus forgiveable. But those flaws could easily be forgotten as well because of the beautiful soundtrack, amazing level-design, very challenging gameplay and a deep story with multiple endings which all have different in-game paths.
– Real player with 31.4 hrs in game
Numen: Contest of Heroes
Numen: Contest of Heroes is a third-person hack & slash RPG. Having demonstrated enormous courage as a child, you are selected by a Greek God to be its hero and must compete against those of other Gods in order to find the Sickle of Kronos first.
Pros: You get to pick from a boy or a girl, although can’t actually customize your appearance. When beginning the game, you are given the option of using different weapons, and your class is determined by the type you used the most. Your mastery of any weapon comes from using it. Each of the three classes allows you to pick from three different Gods to be the champion of, so the game offers a total of nine sets of spells and powers. There is a large variety of equipment you can find (common, enchanted, rare and unique) and may equip up to 16 at a given time. Some of the items you find are only good for one gender, but can be refitted to your character. Rather than being class-specific, items are attribute-specific, meaning a mage that works strongly enough on its Strength will be able to use that badass sword usually meant for Warriors. Graphics are ok, most textures are pretty good, and each piece of equipment have a different look on your character.
– Real player with 42.0 hrs in game
Numen: Contest of Heroes basically plays like a single player MMO, complete with hotkey bar, ability cooldowns, and combat that doesn’t feel like it’s quite connecting. It isn’t a great game, but it’s at least a decent one, and well worth the huge sale prices I’ve seen it (currently $0.99 as I write this review.) I myself picked it up for $7.50 soon after release, and don’t really regret it, though $5 or less is the sweet spot here IMO.
The introductory / tutorial section is pretty boring, but persevere and the game becomes more enjoyable later. You start out as a kid, and through a few quests learn the basics of the three primary classes - Warrior, Archer and Mage. At the end of the tutorial you get to pick which of the three classes you want to become, and appear as a leveled up adult with only the abilities of the chosen class. At the same time you also pick which God to worship, granting you additional abilities and bonuses, which increase as you make your God more proud of you through your actions.
– Real player with 31.7 hrs in game
Angelwood
Have you ever felt like living through the 2019-2020 school year?
I sure hope you haven’t. But now you can simulate living through it! The school year starts off unsuspectingly enough, but you very quickly realize that the town’s mafia is controlling people through an unseen world. As Sophomore John Smith, it’s your job to infiltrate the mafia’s bases with your friends and take down the evil lurking in broad daylight.
There’s a story to be told
You’re not going to be facing the same cut and dry school year like you used to. Taking down the 21st century mafia isn’t an easy task for a Sophomore, after all. Don’t like reading? Some scenes are voice acted!
Action based combat
Live in the moment! Fight your way through the mafia’s ranks with real time combat. From sword fighters to gun slingers to robotic mech users and more, your friends have your back throughout the whole journey.
The mafia isn’t the only threat you’re facing!
If you enjoy living, you better hit the books! As a student, you have to keep up with your school life, social life, AND mafia life. If you thought the mafia was scary, just wait and see what happens when you don’t do your homework! Most importantly, you need to be there for your friends.
Work on yourself outside of battle
Fighting enemies isn’t the only way to become stronger in this game. You can take a well-deserved break from combat by playing some computer games to make more equipment to use in battle. There’s even a skill tree you can customize! Or perhaps you’d wish to train with your allies directly…?
New Game Plus!
:O
Arcane Waters
Arcane Waters is an online pixel RPG, featuring trading, exploration and combat. On your own, or with friends, explore handcrafted sea and land maps, travel in your ship to visit remote towns to trade goods, and hunt for treasure in dangerous waters and lands filled with monsters. In the meantime, tend your farm to grow crops, buy and upgrade your fleet of ships and craft items to use or sell.
Create and customize your character and begin exploring a huge and open world full of surprises!
TRADE
– Whether you grow your own food, or buy it from traders, you will need to find the best price to sell and make a profit. This will mean sailing far from home to discover new continents and towns where your goods are highly sought after.
FIGHT
– However, if you do decide to delve into the darkest regions of the world, you are bound to end up having to fight to survive! On the high seas, fight tense real-time cannon-blasting battles against pirates and huge monsters. On land, take part in thrilling active-time fights with strange creatures to reveal hidden treasures. Whether you fight with swords or pistols, you’ll need your wits about you!
JOIN
– Form a team with friends and go on adventures! Explore six different biomes, each with their own unique towns, valuable goods for sale and dangerous monsters, to complete quests and help each other level up.
LEVEL UP
– Stay neutral to avoid being attacked by other players, or join a guild to help fight for your place in the world. Level up by completing quests, finding new locations, and utilizing your skills. Use Perk points to increase stats based on your chosen specialties, and use your hard-earned gold to buy new equipment to help you progress even faster.
FARM
– Starting with a humble farm, plant seeds, water them and pick your crops. Eventually you will unlock other farms to increase your yield and diversify your produce.
CRAFT
– Use items dropped by enemies or sold at stores to make your own weapons and armor, and either use them yourself or sell them on the public Auction for a profit!
Arcaxer
This game is an extremely enjoyable, albeit very physical VR experience. There is a distinct ebb and flow to the combat this turn-based RPG provides, an element I was initially skeptical about. Having come from playing many VR titles with real time combat, I excepted a turn-based VR game to get tedious.
I was incorrect.
Your turn is spent selecting which of the eight abilities you can bring into battle you will use, determined by AP(action points), and expending them. You are free outside of battle to tailor your loadout at any time, providing the ability to incorporate new abilities on the fly, or tailor your kit for upcoming challenges. There is also melee combat which allows you to expend your health rather than your AP to attack, providing a way to mix up your choices in combat.
– Real player with 56.5 hrs in game
A unique experience, one you would not expect from a VR game.
One of few VR games that run heavy against the VR trend of first-person EVERYTHING. Arcaxer plays like the third person RPG game with hawk-eye’s view. While there is the option to play through any part of the game in first-person, the hawk-eye’s view is an enjoyable experience, one reminiscent of watching a tabletop RPG playing out before you. Even the combat pays homage to classic RPG games. This is the only part of the game (to my knowledge) where you are limited to first-person perspective. The combat plays out with turn based systems similar to classic Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. Unlike those classical RPG games, however, you’re never stuck waiting for your enemies' turns. You will duck and dodge and you weave through incoming attacks. You will swing your blade and literally throw spells as you strike down your foes. Combat is turn-based, how you play is not.
– Real player with 8.9 hrs in game
Blood of the Alchemists
Fantastic indie rpg. The story is entertaining and the attention to detail is impressive.
– Real player with 16.4 hrs in game
Bring Me Hope
Bring Me Hope is an adventure RPG with roguelike inspirations, drawing from other indie titles such as Risk of Rain and Enter The Gungeon. This is a story rich role playing experience with a nontraditional approach to player progression and a major focus on playtime. Mix and match your equipment to experiment with wacky combinations! Fine tune your build to match your preferred play style, and discover entirely new ways to lay out a beat down.
Key Features
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Combat with an emphasis on creativity - High stakes and fast paced.
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Item building - Hundreds of items with a massive amount of variety. Unique passives, abilities, and more nonsense such as time travel! 48 item slots to with an additional 12 item slots for actives.
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Story - A massive adventure that will take you from the bottom of the ocean through cities and between planes of existence. We aim to deliver carefully tuned level design, music, and branching character dialogue that leaves you wanting more.
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Arena - Quickly develop your character and see how far you can make it against increasingly difficult waves of enemies.
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Boss battles - Powerful and unique boss fights will challenge you, and often make you reconsider your build.
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Hidden content - An unreasonable amount of hidden bosses and areas to explore. Discover interesting side quests and secrets.
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Customize your experience - Easily modify the game to fit your preferences. Options include screenshake, controls, graphics, and more.