Parents' Guide to

Torchlight

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Fun fantasy role-playing game with moderate violence.

Game Mac , Windows , Xbox 360 2009
Torchlight Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Torchlight Game: Screenshot #1
  • Torchlight Game: Screenshot #2
  • Torchlight Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 1 parent review

magreen9
magreen9 Adult
November 1, 2014
age 9+

OH MY GOSH THIS RPG GAME IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

Torchlight is a RPG (Role-Playing Game) where you can play as three different classes. The Destroyer who excels at melee combat, the Alchemist who excels at Magic and the Vanquisher who excels at archery (Bow's and Arrow's). In this game you an also have pet's to access you with our journey. (Each pet is available no matter what class you choose) You can get a Wolf, a Lynx and a Sea monster. There are also fish, that you feed to your pet and it will turn into something else. Like for example (this is true) : the Improbably Large Fish will turn your pet that you have in to a troll. (Each pet you choose the fish will be the same and have the same effects and turn your pet in to the same thing). The game contains quite a bit of blood, but you can turn it off in the options section. The game has a lot f weapons such as: Swords, Bows, Staffs, Cannons (Pistol), Clubs and Hatchets. This is a great game that will keep your kids entertained for a long a time!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use
Too much violence
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

TORCHLIGHT is an action role-playing game that sees players delving ever deeper into a cavernous dungeon filled with all manner of fantastical creatures, from big bugs to growling trolls. After choosing one of three character archetypes -- a big, strong melee fighter, a woman skilled at fighting from range, and a young spell-caster -- players chat with non-player characters who inhabit the mining town of Torchlight, which was built over a rich vein of a valuable but dangerous material called ember, to acquire missions and objectives that provide reason to journey into the dungeon. As the game progresses players earn experience used to level up their characters and find loot -- equipment, items, weapons -- which they can keep or sell. Players also have a pet companion who travels and fights with them while providing additional inventory slots for item storage.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

Torchlight is brilliantly habit-forming in its accessibility, simplicity, and ability to satisfy people's natural urge to explore, discover, and collect. Beautifully designed dungeons help make players' travels through the mine a pleasure, while one-click combat mechanics provide for speedy, satisfying battles. Plus, a clean and simple inventory system makes it easy to manage all of the goodies you collect. Players can even send their pets back to town to sell excess items for them, allowing them to continue exploring without leaving the dungeon to visit vendors every few minutes or dropping valuable loot for lack of space.

If Torchlight has one weak spot, it's a lack of compelling characters and interesting dialogue. Our heroes have little in the way of personality, and the same can be said of most of the people they meet. It's a minor qualm for a game like this, but a stronger narrative would have made this great little budget dungeon crawler even better. Perhaps it will come in the highly anticipated Torchlight 2.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in games. Torchlight presents a cartoonish world filled with monsters that bleed when struck. For what age is this sort of action appropriate? What would you think if the graphics were more realistic?

  • Families can also discuss collecting. Games like this one tap into our interest in discovering, evaluating, and determining whether to keep things. Is this something you enjoy doing? What sort of collections do you have?

Game Details

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