I bought Torchlight on Steam. I spent ~19 hours playing a “Destroyer” class character, dual-wielding a hammer and a sword for much of the game and finishing at level 37. Here are my quick thoughts the experience:
Pros…
The artwork – The cartoon look of the game is reminiscent of WoW. It’s a nice break from the usual game textures.
The loot – In short, tons. If you’re at all a fan of Diablo, Titan Quest, and the like, this game’s for you.
The pet – Besides fighting the hordes along side you, your cat or dog companion has its own inventory slots for you to stash even more of your spoils. And when all of your slots are full you can send your pet back to town to sell your loot! Single best game feature ever.
The price – I paid $20 for it through Steam and spent a little over 18 hours playing it. That’s $1.11/hour – damn cheap entertainment.
Cons…
The artwork – While I found the artwork endearing, not everyone will find Torchlight’s “cartoony” art style appealing.
The repetition – Kill everything that moves, pick up the spoils, rinse and repeat. I found myself occasionally wonder “when does this game end?”
The pet – While your pet may excel as your emissary back at the market, her endurance leaves something to be desired. She doesn’t die, but rather runs away when her health drops too low. This is followed by a narrator repeatedly uttering the annoying phrase “your pet has fled.” You can feed her health potions by opening your inventory and dragging one of your health potions to her food dish, but it’s a bit clunky.