Parents' Guide to

Torchlight II

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Bloody fantasy tale is easy to play, stands test of time.

Game Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One 2019
Torchlight II Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

CSMContentDefault
CSMContentDefault Adult
April 24, 2014
age 12+

A Great Family Game

We bought Torchlight 2 for everyone in our family, and we play it together sometimes on Family Game Night through our local Ethernet. (We wired all the rooms in our house with Ethernet, so we have our own network.) The game is a fun point-and-click adventure that takes up where Torchlight left off. To begin a new game, you pick your character, either a berserker, an embermage, an outlander, or an engineer. You can choose to be either gender, with a plethora of choices for hair style, hair color, and face. Then you pick and name a pet. Pets are important, because you can send your pet back to town to sell items you don't want and buy items you do want, like healing potions. You start by getting a quest to go to a nearby town. The beginning leg of the journey is rather easy, regardless of difficulty, allowing the player to learn the interface as he goes. Once in town, you get more quests and uncover more of the storyline. I have played the main quest to completion three times, as an embermage, outlander, and engineer. Torchlight 2 contains lots of side quests, a hidden quest, and a lot of entertaining options along the way. For people worried about privacy or safety, you can play the game all the way through by yourself. You do not need to log into a network. Torchlight 2 also has a local co-op option, with is how I play with my family. Again, only known people can (hopefully) access your local network. While the game is mainly played for fun, if you play with others, you learn how to work as a group. Also, figuring out which weapons or armor to use requires some math knowledge. Overall, I give Torchlight 2 a five-star rating.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
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What’s It About?

The sequel to a surprise hit downloadable PC game released back in 2009, TORCHLIGHT II delivers a very similar type of action role-playing experience. Players begin by picking an avatar and a pet, customizing their gender and appearance. They then set out on a journey across a fantasy world on the hunt for a character known only as the "Alchemist." He was corrupted by a magical substance called ember and is now wreaking havoc on every town he passes. Players spend their time exploring dungeons, fighting ghastly creatures by clicking on them, and then grabbing the loot dropped at the feet of their corpses. You can pick through the plunder, choosing items to equip based on your character's level and statistics before shipping off the rest to nearby vendors who purchase it for virtual currency. The entire game can be completed playing alone, but gamers looking for company can opt to join up with others online in a traditional cooperative adventure mode.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (8):

Like its predecessor, this role-playing game nails the strangely compelling formula of kill monsters, collect loot, equip weapons and armor. Part of Torchlight II's appeal is that it's instantly accessible. It has controls that just about anyone -- gamer or not -- should be able to figure out within a few minutes, as well as a slowly elevating difficulty curve that nudges players toward combat mastery before things get too challenging. It also sports a polished, cartoonish aesthetic that should prove welcoming to most fantasy fans.

But Torchlight II's real appeal, most likely, is in the satisfaction it delivers as players continually grow their characters by distributing statistic enhancing points, acquiring new abilities, and equipping new gear. There's a constant and gratifying feeling of progression that lasts throughout the game's lengthy story, and the game's New Game Plus feature lets you take your favorite hero on a new adventure with a much higher difficulty level to keep you playing for additional hours. But what's even more telling is the fact that the re-release of the game on modern consoles, which comes out almost seven years to the day after it was released, manages to withstand the test of time. The gameplay still feels fresh, fast-paced, and easy to dive into. Plus, there's a surprising amount of depth available in making each character and pet your own that will keep you engaged, from equipping gear to transforming your pet into various creatures thanks to the food you feed it. Torchlight II may not be quite as sophisticated as a game like Diablo III, but keep in mind it's just one third the price. This one's an easy recommendation for folks who like a little hacking and slashing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in games. Is the impact of the violence in Torchlight II affected by the cartoonish nature of the visuals? Would the impact be intensified if the visuals were more realistic? Is it rougher than other animated titles because of the splashes of blood that are seen when enemies are killed?

  • Do you prefer playing games by yourself or with other people? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each kind of gameplay?

Game Details

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