Torchlight Frontiers Alpha Impressions

Hey guys, this is Mrs Stix logging in to Torchlight Frontiers, a game currently in alpha testing and an up and coming online ARPG. This is the third installment in the Torchlight series but comes with a new twist, it’s in MMO format so now you can play with friends and stumble across others in the world. The developers behind the game, which spawn from games like Diablo and Fate to name just a couple, are called Echtra Games have been taking slow and steady steps towards this game. Torchlight started out as a single player, then in Torchlight II they introduced partying with up to six different people, and now the game they’ve all been heading for has been put out there and is filled with story, fun, and friends. You’ll be able to play this game on PC, Xbox One, and PS4!

As you can tell the art style for this game is pretty awesome looking. It’s a top-down isometric style and reminds me quite a lot of Diablo III mixed in with Dauntless’ cartoon style. The world itself is set in the same universe as the other Torchlight series. You’ll be able to pick between three different classes that you can custom build as you go along. Another class is being teased currently, but we’ll have to wait and see! The first is the Dusk Mage, basically the light and dark forces combined into a pew pew magical medley of melee and ranged. This class can go both male and female with a range of skin colors. Nextly is the Forged, a robot with only one gender, robot. There’s currently no customization for this class but it does seem to be more melee based with the ability to shoot fire out of its chest. But if being a robot doesn’t appeal to you but the aspect of mechanical pieces does then Railmaster is the class for you. I almost think of this class as a tank as it has a literal train following it that can provide protection in the form of a shield for the party while the player swings its giant melee weapon at its opponents. It can be both male and female with the same choices of skin colors as Dusk Mage. Hopefully more customizations are on the way as this is only Alpha.

Something that isn’t new to Torchlight are pets. After creating your character you’ll be faced with choosing between three different pets. You can choose between an owl, rat, cat, or toad….no wait, that’s Hogwarts…erm. Ok, so you have a dog, owl, and a llama to pick from. I really debated on going with the llama but the dog just looked so much like Doug from Up, I just had to do it. The base pets all have the same skill which is damage boost, but as you go along you can farm different types of pets from boss drops to unlock more skills for your pets to have. You can also get gear for your pets to ensure they stay with you longer, and when you use a healing potion, they get healed too, and thank goodness, Doug almost died a few times. But if you’re really low on healing potions or your pet is just really annoying, you can send it home for a period of time to heal up. I may have died a few times, but I never let Doug down.

The weapons system is also very impressive. I went Dusk Mage and found myself faced with many weapon types from drops. I could have a staff and beat someone to death close range, a mace, a high-fiving hand of death, or a sword and shield, or heck even just a two handed sword. Each new weapon would affect your base attack. There were just so many options that affected the way I could play my character that I found myself curious on what the next weapon would be just so I could see the skills at work. You can also unlock Relic weapons, something that will level up just like your character does, unlocking its own special selection of skills that you can use in the heat of battle. The skills themselves that you unlock and level up are also diverse as you only have six skill slots, so it’s best to choose your build wisely. I on the other hand just did what looked cool. Don’t judge me!

The world itself is pretty neat to just wander around in. You’ll have a quest hub, or main city to return to, but as you venture out you’ll find the different areas are fun to explore as you slash your way through varying monsters. You’ll also find yourself facing different enemies between the day and night cycles, something refreshingly classic from older games. But as you go along you’ll stumble across other players and also materials to collect. These materials can be taken back to your own personal fort that you can build up and craft in, something I’ve only dabbled in a little to make my relic weapon. And of course, erect a statue in my honor, because I’m awesome and my fort needs to know it. A new feature they just added as well is something I find very interesting in this game and that is the difficulty setting. You can pick between a scale of casual to ridiculous, the choice is yours, or well, your parties too. You need to be careful when partying as the instances you enter into will be set to the lowest set person in your party. In the public world though you’ll be facing monsters of your own set difficulty, regardless of party. And I’d like to stop here and give a big thanks to SledgeAxe and Memnoc, who were hapless wanderers who agreed to help me in a dungeon I was struggling with, because I’m special.

So overall, I’d like to say if you’re into this style of game and you like to hack and slash, this is a great game to play. Personally, I’m already trying to get Stix into the Alpha with me so we can play together. Plus, it’ll be free to play, and let’s be honest here, it’s worth a try! I look forward to seeing you in-game!