Torchlight - PAX Hands-on @ Joystiq

Joystiq has some hands-on impressions of Travis Baldree's Torchlight from PAX that also includes a trailer and some concept art. Here's a snip:

Initially, you enter dungeons near the town of Torchlight and quickly pick up different quests. We were set off in search of someone who had wandered into the dungeons -- how foolish! Controls are simple to grasp, making it easy to engage foes, blast off spells, gather loot and explore the dungeon. What makes it so much fun is the whimsical design. The cartoon style really doesn't seem like an art direction you'd choose for a hack 'n' slash RPG, but the entire world has a fantastic look and feel. At one point, our Alchemist went to open a chest, and it tried to bite him. It then sprouted legs and ran around before we finally took it out with a spell. Apparently, those are called "Mimics" and will appear throughout the game.

Thanks leth and ActionTrip.
More information.

"Apparently, those are called "Mimics""

Who'd of thunk?

This game gives me a headache; am I imagining things or isn't this a re-hashed version of Fate, which was already re-hashed in Fate:Undiscovered Realms? In other words it seems to be the clone of a clone of a Diablo clone.

You anticipated me.
After reading this article…. I remembered a game I tried out some month ago.
This game looks like a copy of Fate Undiscovered Realms.
I re-installed it tonight just to be sure.
1) Character creation: you choose gendere, face, hairstyle, your pet: a dog or a cat.
2) First village: you can buy a fishing tool and start to fish. Every fish you catch transforms your pet (permanently or for some time) in another animal / monster.
3) The game's a cartoonish style.

Now…..
After the Hellgate failure, are they so "sad" they can't invent ntohing more innovative?
They could at least change the starting pet appearence (cat / dog with snake / bat?)

Originally Posted by Bargeral
"Apparently, those are called "Mimics""

Who'd of thunk?

I imagine since they rarely appear in games, there could be people who don't remember them from the (A)D&D rule-set.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
I imagine since they rarely appear in games, there could be people who don't remember them from the (A)D&D rule-set.

Who could ever forget about mimics?

You're right about them being rarely used though, I remember there was one in Baldur's Gate 2 (Umar Hills?), but I believe it was unique.

Eh eh.
I remember mimics.
My first encounter in D&D pnp was with a treasure chest…………. who tried to bite me!
A nasty mimic.

I continue to think this game is too similar to Fate.

The real trick is that there is a new FATE expansion dealie coming out of WildTangent about the same time this comes out, though nobody knows anything on it versus Torchlight.

I'm probably down for this due to the crazy good looking editor and the $20 price point. Pet "gimmick" is, in part, a fair bit different this time around and generally derived from Nethack as that's where FATE got it---lots of little Roguelike touches in the game it seems.

I just hope that the pet doesn't drive me mad, like it did in Fate. I have moved neighborhoods to get away from barking dogs, I don't want them barking (and cats meowing) constantly in my games as well.

I think they learned with Hellgate that innovation is way more dangerous than playing it safe - which is what Torchlight seems to be.

A light little thing with a relatively short development time, and a proven concept.

Yes… maybe you are right.
But a clone of a clone of a clone risks to be another terrible error.
Let's wait the demo anyway.

Originally Posted by Gragnak
Yes… maybe you are right.
But a clone of a clone of a clone risks to be another terrible error.
Let's wait the demo anyway.

True enough, but I think the investment is relatively small - where Hellgate was basically the entire company at risk.

If it's more complex than FATE then I'll give it a shot, but I've had my fill of simple rogue games. I'd much rather just play an old rogue or even Diablo 2 than try out a watered down version of one.

This is on my wait and see list. I'm hopeful that it could be fun, but not expecting it to be.

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
If it's more complex than FATE then I'll give it a shot, but I've had my fill of simple rogue games. I'd much rather just play an old rogue or even Diablo 2 than try out a watered down version of one.

This is on my wait and see list. I'm hopeful that it could be fun, but not expecting it to be.

D2 = King

Am I the only one, that have never heard of Fate? Fore the catoon style, I do think that Darkstone used it 1st.

Originally Posted by Phonix
Am I the only one, that have never heard of Fate? Fore the catoon style, I do think that Darkstone used it 1st.

FATE was technically excellent for being budget game, and it was quite pretty.

Beyond that, I think it was utterly inferior to even Diablo 1 - which is why I'll never get why so many liked it so much.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Beyond that, I think it was utterly inferior to even Diablo 1 - which is why I'll never get why so many liked it so much.

I still don't get why so many people like the Diablo games to such a degree.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I still don't get why so many people like the Diablo games to such a degree.

It's because they're fun. Killing lots of stuff is fun, getting loot is fun, leveling up is fun.

And I don't know if it still makes sense at this late time to call every overhead third-person action RPG hack-em-up "a Diablo clone". Do we still call every FPS a DOOM clone? These games are their own little genre, and sure they all have similarities, but that doesn't make them clones.

Originally Posted by Yeesh
It's because they're fun. Killing lots of stuff is fun, getting loot is fun, leveling up is fun.

It was fun in the first game, back in 1996.

I guess I can somewhat understand the popularity of the hack & slash sub-genre, but it's just not my thing.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
FATE was technically excellent for being budget game, and it was quite pretty.

Beyond that, I think it was utterly inferior to even Diablo 1 - which is why I'll never get why so many liked it so much.

Why must it be the equal of Diablo? I didn't play it much but Kayla played the ass out of it. You can't play the one game forever, you know, so the fact that Diablo is superior is irrelevant if you don't want to play that again. She loves the pets, the fishing and the humour - Diablo doesn't offer a Grand Cheese Head of Extra Sharpness and it doesn't offer a cute little cat that can take your loot back to town for you. It's surprisingly robust and offers a different atmosphere.