Torchlight II cover art

Torchlight II

A colorful loot ARPG where theorycrafting builds beats anything your hands do.

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Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION3 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE5 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    3/10

    Faster combat asks for dodging and skill timing

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Enemies are scripted swarms, never adaptive

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    5/10

    Loot rolls and random maps drive the chase

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    8/10

    Skill trees and gear synergies decide character power

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2012
Developer
Runic Games
Platforms
PS4, Linux, PC, Mac, XONE, Switch
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
IGDB critics
86/100
IGDB users
78/100
Role-playing (RPG)Hack and slash/Beat 'em upAdventureIndieActionFantasy