Dungeon crawlers are a wonderful genre of games probably best know for the mega series that is Diablo. With that said we are starting to see more games looking to put their own unique stamp on the genre. Torchlight is probably one of the earliest series to really get a good spotlight for being close enough to Diablo to offer a similar experience yet feature some distinct differences. The first big thing you'll notice is a colorful art style which pops out a bit more than Diablo's fairly realistic visuals. I don't want you to think Torchlight 2 just stands in the shadows of other similar titles so I'll help shine a light on all the elements that make this game a real treat.
In Torchlight 2 you start by picking between one of four very distant classes. The ember mage and the outlander are generally range classes with a focus on guns and magic while the berserker and engineer get up close with claws, axes, and hammers. Each class features three different skill trees which will dramatically shape your progression and offer a variety of builds for different play styles. For example you may want to focus on being a weapon master or you could instead be attuned to a certain element such as fire of lightning. Each character has a basic attack but everything else requires mana. Eventually you'll have several abilities mapped out so you can trigger the right attacks for each situation.
In each skill tree there are seven active skills and three passive abilities. You can invest up to 15 skill points into each ability and at every five levels those abilities will unlock a new perk. As you level up you'll slowly unlock access to all these cool powers. Many of the skills and upgrades are locked till you reach a certain level so you are not overwhelmed or too reliant on any particular ability. Also this gives you something to look forward to as you progress through the story. You also get stat upgrades as you level up which you use to increase strength, dexterity, focus, and vitality. While each stat carries some natural perks yet it is worth saving stat points to a extent; certain equipment will be locked by either reaching a minimum level or access via stat requirements.
It is important to note while creating a character you can pick out one of many adorable pets to be your companion. Your pets can help you out in combat especially if you give them some fun magic spells. Also when you find yourself with too much loot your pets can carry off your junk to town to sell for you. Speaking of equipment, a huge aspect of torchlight is hunting for loot. Like many other games loot is color-coded making it easy to tell which items are worth looking over. You have several pieces of gear you can equip which offers a range of perks in addition to just attack and defense. Your gear can help raise your stats, add elemental damage, give you bonuses (health, damage, gold, experience), along with numerous other one off abilities.
I loved Torchlight 2 from the moment I first played it many years ago and I'm so glad I finally got around to finishing it. Although I had some fun I personally struggled to stay motived playing single player. Playing co-op is great because you can get excited as you talk about new gear and overcome bosses together. There is a good variety of locations and enemies in this decently long (25+ hour) game. Of course there is tremendous replay value in both trying new characters and builds in addition to a new game plus mode. I will say as a dungeon crawler there is a natural bit of repetition in the moment to moment grind but I feel like the new equipment and skill upgrades always give you something to look forward to. Overall this was a joy and I highly encourage if you take the plunge to bring a friend or two along.