Biggest discounts, free games, and limited-time offers across every major gaming store.
Never pay full price again.
Overview
Torchlight is a single-player action RPG built around a simple but effective loop: explore randomized dungeons beneath the mining town of Torchlight, fight through waves of enemies, gather gear, and push deeper. Runic Games, founded by several developers who worked on Diablo and Fate, knew exactly what they were building. The result is a focused, polished dungeon crawler that doesn't overstay its welcome.
The town of Torchlight sits above a vein of a mysterious ore called Ember, which draws adventurers and corruption in equal measure. Players choose from three character classes, the Destroyer, Vanquisher, or Alchemist, each with distinct playstyles ranging from brute melee combat to ranged attacks and magical summons. Quests drive you deeper into the mine, with boss encounters punctuating the descent at key story moments.
One of the game's smartest features is the pet companion system. Every hero gets an animal companion, either a dog or a cat, that fights alongside them, carries extra loot, and can even be sent back to town alone to sell items on your behalf. It's a small quality-of-life feature that eliminates one of the most tedious parts of dungeon crawling without breaking the flow of exploration.
Torchlight content image
Gameplay and mechanics
The core mechanics in Torchlight follow the action RPG blueprint closely:
Torchlight content image
- Randomized dungeon layouts on every run
- Three playable classes with unique skill trees
- Pet companion that vends items independently
- Boss encounters tied to main questline progression
- Side quests and branching dungeon areas for extra content
Skill progression lets players build characters in genuinely different ways within each class. The Alchemist, for example, can focus on summoning constructs or lean into explosive spells, while the Vanquisher suits both a sniper-style ranged build and a more aggressive trap-focused approach. Character builds have real consequences, and the game respects the player's choices without excessive hand-holding.
Torchlight content image
What makes Torchlight stand out from other ARPGs?
For a 2009 release, Torchlight punches well above its budget. The art direction takes a slightly stylized, colorful approach rather than the dark and gritty aesthetic common to the genre at the time. Dungeons feel distinct across different depth tiers, shifting from mine shafts to ancient ruins to stranger, more supernatural environments as you descend.
The randomized loot system keeps gear hunting satisfying. Weapons and armor come with varied stat combinations, and the rarity tiers give players clear upgrade targets. Fishing, of all things, also makes an appearance as a side activity that lets you catch creatures, which can then be fed to your pet to temporarily transform it into a more powerful combat form.
Content and replayability
Beyond the main questline, Torchlight offers New Game Plus through its "Hardcore" and difficulty options, and the Steam version supports community mods through the game's included editor. The modding tools Runic shipped with the game gave the community room to extend the experience considerably past the base content.
Torchlight is available on Windows, macOS, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and the Epic Games Store, making it one of the more accessible entries in the genre across platforms. For players who want a tight, no-filler action RPG experience with satisfying loot progression and a genuinely clever pet mechanic, Torchlight holds up as one of the genre's most efficient examples.
Torchlight content image