Torchlight II is anaction role-playingdungeon crawler video game developed byRunic Games, released forMicrosoft Windows on September 20, 2012. It is the sequel toTorchlight, and featurespeer-to-peermultiplayer^[3] support and extendedmodding capabilities. The game was released forOS X on February 2, 2015,^[4] and forLinux on March 4, 2015.^[5] Ports forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4, andXbox One were released September 3, 2019 and were developed byPanic Button.

Torchlight II
Cover art with the game's four classes (clockwise from top: Embermage, Berserker, Outlander, and Engineer).
Developer(s)	Runic Games[a]
Publisher(s)	Runic Games[b]
Designer(s)	Travis Baldree
Composer(s)	Matt Uelmen[1]
Series	Torchlight
Engine	OGRE[2]
Platform(s)	Windows,OS X,Linux,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Xbox One
Release	September 20, 2012 Windows September 20, 2012 OS X February 2, 2015 Linux March 4, 2015 Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One September 3, 2019
Genre(s)	Action role-playing,hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player,multiplayer

Torchlight II takes place in afantasy world where the player character can be any of four classes, each with different skills and abilities. The plot starts with the destruction of the town of Torchlight, at the hands of the Alchemist from the first game, and has the character following the trail of destruction left in the Alchemist's wake as he searches for a cure to his illness which has driven him insane. The sequel to the first game was originally going to be anMMORPG howeverTorchlight II was released with both single-player and multi-player support, as the company felt they could release this much faster than the planned MMO. The game received mostly positive reviews from critics. A sequel,Torchlight III, was released in 2020.

Like the originalTorchlight,Torchlight II features randomly generateddungeons for the player to explore, and numerous types of monsters to fight forexperience andloot.Torchlight II maintains the same basic gameplay as its predecessor, but features overland areas with multiple hub towns, and a longer campaign.^[6] Other new features include time of day cycles, weather effects, and a redesigned user interface. Also unlike the first game, some weapons and armor can only be used by certain classes, as opposed to all of them. With the ability to pursue different unique builds and customize the almost unlimited number of spells, gear, and weapons it leads to intricate fights. The exploration is wide and vast with large quantities of different landscapes. You can make combinations of gear that support your class abilities or choose to try to make tricky strategies to outplay your enemies. Players are able to customize character appearance with choice of sex, face, hair style and hair color.^[3] Additionally, several elements from the first game return, such as pets (but now with expanded options and basic customization available) and fishing. A retirement system was originally planned, similar or identical to the one in the first game, but was replaced with the currentNew Game Plus mode.^[7]

The game features four playablecharacter classes. Each class has 3 skill trees to choose from which enable customization within each class. The three classes from the originalTorchlight do not return as playable characters, and are instead presented in the game world asNPCs.

As stated in the trailer forTorchlight II, Runic games has announced that they "heard their [the fans'] ideas" and criticism concerning the fact that the firstTorchlight was a lonely experience without co-op. In addition to single-player mode, an all-newcooperative multiplayer mode has been added, supporting both internet and LAN play.^[8] Each multiplayer game can host up to 6 players, and loot drops separately for each player. Optional PVP (player versus player) has been confirmed by Runic.Torchlight II requires a Runic Games account to play in online multiplayer games.^{[citation needed]}

Years after the end of the originalTorchlight, The Alchemist (one of the three playable characters in the first game) becomes corrupted by the Ember Blight coming from the Heart of Ordrak, the evil being who had been the source of the corruption under the town of Torchlight, and then destroys the town. The player character takes on a quest to stop this villain, who is using Ordrak's power to disturb the balance between the world's six elements.^[7]

As the game progresses, the player treks across large geographical areas, corresponding to three "acts" of the story and an epilogue.^[9] Act I, Wake of the Alchemist, is set in the mountainous Estherian Steppes, and Act II takes the player to a desert known as the Mana Wastes, and Act III takes place in Grunnheim, a haunted forest that contains the ruins of an ancient dwarven civilization. An Imperial Camp serves as the player's town.^[7]

Prior to the release of the first game, Runic Games had announced plans to develop aMMORPG set in theTorchlight game world to follow the release of the single player game.^[10] However, in August 2010, Runic announced they were developingTorchlight II, a sequel which was conceived not only as a way to give the series multiplayer support, but also to give Runic "more experience with making a multiplayerTorchlight."^[11] Some of the work onTorchlight II is intended to carry over to Runic Games' upcomingTorchlight MMORPG, which the company plans to focus on following the release of the sequel.^[12] Runic Games originally estimated the PC version's release date to be sometime in 2011,^[13] but in November 2011 company president Travis Baldree announced the game release date would be pushed back to 2012 to allow time for further polishing and beta testing.^[14]

In late 2010, Runic Games' increased involvement in theXbox Live Arcade port of the firstTorchlight game caused a delay in the development of the sequel, but memory and loading time optimizations developed for the port led to improvements in the PC version ofTorchlight II.^[15]

Unlike its predecessor,Torchlight II features cinematic sequences, which are produced byKlei Entertainment, the developer ofDon't Starve,Eets andShank.^[8]

In May 2012, Runic Games announced that they would run a closed beta stress test from May 18 until May 24.^[16][17] A limited number of beta keys were given out to users who had created their Runic Games account prior to the beta start date.

In April 2013, a patch toTorchlight II was released to add in the GUTS editor that allows users to alter the game's content and create user modifications. Along with this included new support forSteam Workshop, adding a Steam client-based automated mod distribution system to the game.^[18]

In April 2012,Torchlight II became available for pre-purchase throughSteam, those who pre-purchased received the originalTorchlight free.^[19] On August 30, 2012, company president Travis Baldree announced on the official forums for Runic Games that the game was to be released on September 20, 2012.^[20]

Perfect World announced thatTorchlight II would be coming toNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4, andXbox One consoles in 2019, withPanic Button handling the ports.^[21] These console versions are planned for release on September 3, 2019.^[22]

Following the release ofTorchlight II, Travis Baldree and Erich Schaefer left Runic Games to start their own studio.^[23] As a result the company was forced to cancel the game they were working on and lay off several staff,^[24] and in the aftermath, they changed their focus toHob. In 2016, Max Schaefer departed as well, to foundEchtra Games. In 2017, shortly after the release ofHob, Runic Games was closed down by their parent company.^[25] In 2018, Max Schaefer announced Echtra Games, which included several former Runic andBlizzard North developers, was working onTorchlight Frontiers, the planned free-to-playTorchlightMMORPG.^[26] After a lengthy closed alpha during 2019, Echtra Games revealed in January 2020 that the game was to be completely rebranded asTorchlight III, a more traditional follow-up to the previous games.^[27]Torchlight III will be a premium game as its predecessors were and all microtransactions from the F2P iteration of the title will be removed.

Torchlight II received favorable reviews; on aggregate review websiteMetacritic the game attains an overall score of 88 out of 100 based on reviews from 67 professional critics.^[28]

Though the originalTorchlight received positivereviews, the game's lack of any multiplayer modes was a near-universal criticism of the title by critics and fans alike.^[11]

Game Informer stated that "Torchlight II is an excellent game no matter how you slice it... the margin between [it andDiablo III] is razor-thin – and I have to give the nod toTorchlight II."^[35]IGN praised the game saying, "Torchlight II doesn't do anything radically new, but does everything incredibly well. It fits all the pieces of varied monster behavior, interesting items, excellent skill design and random surprises together into a near-perfect formula, where the action never stops and rewards are never far away."^[40]GameTrailers praised the low price point saying, "it's a polished adventure that easily justifies its reasonable $20 price tag."^[39] One of the criticisms of the game is the lack of innovation.GameSpot stated, "Torchlight II doesn't innovate and it doesn't surprise, and the genre may need an infusion of new ideas if it's going to stay vital."^[36]

During the16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominatedTorchlight II for "Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year".^[43]

The game sold over 1 million copies in 2012.^[44] As of 2015, the game had sold almost 3 million copies.^[45]

• Official website