In a nutshell, Torchlight is an inexpensive single player action RPG. An online multiplayer version is expected to release sometime in the future, but this gives a look at things to come. Mechanically, the game hits all the right notes. The game is easy to pick up and learn, even for completely new players. Players choose from usual trio of class types, the Destroyer, Vanquisher and Alchemist, which translates into melee, ranged and area damage classes respectively. Each class has access to three skill tree branches, some of which are designed specifically to overcome class weaknesses. For example, the Vanquisher can be tooled to become an assassin and the Alchemist can summon creatures to his aid like a necromancer. However, characters all start off generally pre-disposed to certain roles. Players will have to plan carefully as they develop their characters, since there's no way to have skill points refunded. So there's not a lot of room experiment with different abilities or builds outside of starting brand new characters. Fortunately, there's a shared storage chest included, so players are free to pass on valuable gear from one character to another.

Players also get a pet that follows them around, which serves a variety of purposes ranging from having a companion in battle to extra storage space. Pets can be outfitted with rings, necklaces and spells to increase their capabilities and they can be sent back to town to sell off gear so players don't have to run back and forth themselves. Players can also feed them fish, since the local water is imbued with the strange energies that course through the Torchlight underground, these meals will grant special abilities that include the power to temporarily transform into different creatures. Transformations take some planning, since players aren't always sure when a boss creature will appear, but the game lets players assign fish to the action bar. It's quite possible to get wrapped up entirely on stockpiling fish and almost forget about the peril the world is in.

Once characters and pets are chosen, players delve into the depths of Torchlight. Players battle through 30 levels of tunnels and dungeons, but the entire game happens under the town of Torchlight, so there's no epic sense of traversing into the greater world or meeting a long cast of characters. Dungeon maps and loot are randomly generated so that each run through provides a unique experience. We wished a little more attention was put into how loot is generated, since all-too often we'd find a nice piece of a set, but never find any of its matching components to take advantage of its bonuses. However, we won't overlook how useful the enchanting system is, where players have to option of imbuing normal items with random special properties. The system also lets players adds properties to special items. There's a chance that the imbuing process could fail and all the player ends up losing is a bit of money, but this is an excellent way to get more use out of favored items and to pay extra attention to items that might otherwise get thrown out.

The game's difficulty can be a tad uneven depending what class is selected. We never died once while playing as a Vanquisher on normal mode, and in some ways, the Vanquisher's abilities almost made the Alchemist redundant. However, we found playing as a Destroyer on hard mode and using the Alchemist - with its low hit points and heavy reliance on mana - to be a strong challenge. Players looking for the ultimate challenge have the option of activating "hardcore" mode, where if they lose everything should a character die. However, difficulty settings cannot be changed mid-game. The only way to make things more challenging is to start everything all over again.

Aside from a few weird bugs, like one where certain quest items wouldn't go away, and the fact that we couldn't bring up a proper map besides the game overlay, Torchlight plays very nicely. This isn't necessarily the kind of game that introduces new or spectacularly innovative gameplay features compared to similar games, but it is a example of a game that's done well. The game has very low system requirements and even has a special setting to work on netbooks. However, all this only highlights the fact that there's no multiplayer, since its portability and ease of play would make it ideal for LAN parties. As stated earlier, a free-to-play online multiplayer version is expected to release in a year or so, but that's little consolation for players looking to adventure with friends right now.

The game compensates for the lack of multiplayer by offering mod tools so players can create custom scenarios. Players also have the option of "retiring" maxed out characters to bestow benefits onto new ones, but it's really the twenty dollar price tag that makes up for the lone wolf gameplay. On the bright side, you get to keep all the loot, so if you don't mind facing the subterranean monsters alone or the fact that the game isn't dark and brooding, Torchlight is well worth the money.