This game, much like many other entries in the genre, randomly generates dungeons and loot so that, for the most part, each time you play the game you’re not covering familiar ground. Also included, to throw in some spice, are portals to one-time, random dungeons that you can go clear out for loot. These extra bits of exploration and dungeon crawling that lead off of the main quest of the game add a bit of flavor to the otherwise linear plunge into the abyss.

As earlier mentioned, Torchlight doesn’t deviate far from the formula, but seems to improve on almost every last bit. You have a pet that accompanies you and fights at your side. You can choose either a cat or a dog, and your pet has its own inventory which you can manipulate at any point. That’s pretty cool on its own, but Runic added something else to make the pet even sweeter – you can send it to town to sell its inventory. That’s right—you don’t have to town portal every five minutes or, even worse, leave loot behind. That feature alone makes Torchlight a better isometric action game than a large portion of what’s available, but it doesn’t stop there. Almost every area is improved or on par with the best in the genre.

However, there’s one area in which Torchlight doesn’t blow away the competition – there’s no multiplayer. Runic, being a small, new studio, decided against including multiplayer in order to release the single player version in a rather short amount of time – a mere 11 months. However, Runic has announced plans for a MMO based in the world of Torchlight that would act as a separate multiplayer component to the game.

I can’t give a more enthusiastic endorsement than the following: I would happily have paid 60 dollars for this game, as I received more enjoyment and quality play time from it than most of this year’s big budget hits. You may not have heard of it, but you owe it to yourself to play this game.