Torchlight Mobile E3 Preview

Released in 2009, Torchlight has achieved near-cult status. A beautiful, cartoonish alternative to Diablo, Torchlight is fun, immersive, and addictive. I have killed countless hours killing monsters and looting corpses; I love it. And with Torchlight 2’s massive critical and commercial success, it makes sense Runic Games would release a mobile version of Torchlight, making it accessible to anyone, anywhere.

Lately, the developer has remained extraordinarily tight-lipped about Torchlight Mobile, refusing to release even a hint of gameplay, graphics, or interface--until now. Collaborators Runic Games, Fedeen Games, and Perfect World officially released Torchlight Mobile at E3 earlier this week, and I was able to get some exclusive one-on-one time with it. Here are my impressions.

Torchlight Mobile

To be honest, I was expecting a direct port of Torchlight with adapted controls. A lot of successful games have transitioned straight to iOS and Android and experienced moderate success (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Quest, and Baldur’s Gate come immediately to mind). But those games, while successful, feel clunky at times. I managed to finally complete Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on my iPad a couple months ago, despite its controls.

But Torchlight Mobile is a completely new game. It has been rescaled and reworked to fit mobile devices. And, for the most part, it works. It looks beautiful, controls have been reworked and optimized, quests have been shortened and streamlined, and a monetization system has been added.

Visuals

For starters, the game looks incredible. Mobile games have gotten progressively prettier over the last couple of years, and Torchlight Mobile is no exception. This is definitely a Torchlight game. The game is still stylized and cartoonish (as expected), but colors are vibrant, lines are crisp, and details are remarkable. While walking across a wooden floor, I can see every board and nail. As I walk past vents, I see fog rising from them.

Even minor visuals (the things players never notice) look good. The font used for scenery, item descriptions, and player names is simple, concise, and crisp. And on-screen buttons are pretty, yet unobtrusive. Notably, the control pad on the left is transparent, giving players a chance to take in the entire screen with minimal interference. Looking at it, I can understand why Runic Games would want to unveil Torchlight Mobile at E3: it’s gorgeous.

Controls

Like most mobile games, the controls have been optimized for tablets, not phones. While playing the tablet version at E3, I couldn’t help wondering how the game would play on my iPhone. Combat is very busy; enemies come from all directions, and I can see a phone screen getting very crowded very quickly.

As far as controls go, the game’s biggest pitfall is its left-hand joystick, a problem for several mobile ports. No matter where the joystick is placed, my finger still covers a sizable portion of the screen. I want to see the game. The designers spent hundreds of hours designing it and styling it; I want to enjoy it. Some mobile games like Vainglory get around this obtrusive ‘finger in the middle of the screen’ problem by optimizing tap controls. I hoped Torchlight Mobile would have taken a note from them. While not game-breaking, the joystick problem can get exponentially worse on devices with smaller screens.

That said, all the other buttons are clear and unobtrusive. The basic attack button lies in the bottom right-hand corner, and four special moves hover around it while fighting. Stats are found along the top of the screen: character stats lie in the top left, and money, energy, and gems line the remaining space. The “Goals,” “Quests,” and “Arena” buttons can be found at the bottom, and “Events,” “Shop,” and “Bag” can be found on the right.

Quests

Admittedly, I did not get a lot of time to play quests, so I cannot talk at length about them. And, due to my character’s level, I only had access to one special ability. That said, the single player dungeon crawler mode was a lot of fun. It’s definitely Torchlight--enemies, interactions, and combat are surprisingly similar to the original game. The same look, almost the same feel. I did notice quests are notably shorter, lasting only a few minutes. This isn’t a bad thing, though. In fact, I rather enjoyed the quick rebound. Mobile players don’t have time for hour-long games. They need something they can play on the go--something with high replayability that can be dropped after a couple of minutes. This was Torchlight Mobile’s biggest strength, I think.

The game is still pretty early in development, so several other gameplay modes and mechanics were unavailable. Online multiplayer, daily events, and miscellaneous features like fishing were inaccessible.

Monetization System

Torchlight Mobile is free-to-play, but it does feature a monetized currency system. Players that want to play more, longer can purchase energy and premium gems with real-world money. Quests require energy, and gems are used to purchase materials in-game. And while Torchlight Mobile’s money system isn’t overly aggressive like other games (gems can be earned by actually playing the game), there are better business models out there. Fallout Shelter, for example, is a complete game without in-game purchases. There are no timers and no premium currencies. True, players can purchase lunch boxes that offer supplies, caps, and Vault Dwellers, but almost all of those assets can be earned organically within the game--and lunch boxes can be earned by completing daily objectives. There is virtually no need to spend real-world currency. Going into my E3 hands-on, I was hoping Torchlight Mobile would avoid such pitfalls, but completely free F2P games are hard to capitalize. I understand why the money system is there.

Conclusion

Torchlight Mobile is a beautiful game, and it’s a lot of fun to play. Quicker dungeons keep the game fresh and lively, and the controls (for the most part) are easy and intuitive. It does fall into some of the pitfalls of other mobile games--like money walls, timers, and ‘finger in the middle of the screen’ navigation. But these setbacks can be overlooked, I think. On the whole, Torchlight Mobile is the perfect game for dungeon crawler fans looking for an on-the-go fix. I can’t wait to see what comes next.