Soon we will experience a new debate with the releases of Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2 next year. But today, we “resurrect” an old one with Torchlight II and Diablo III. Both Action RPGs were released back in 2012 and make their history: Torchlight II is perhaps the best iteration of the “old school” style, while Diablo III is the “next step” for the genre. 

The funny part is how these franchises are doing today. With Runic Games gone, Perfect World took the franchise, and it didn’t go well with the third title. And then, both Perfect World and Blizzard are fighting on who can be “the worst cash grab” of the year with Diablo Immortal and Torchlight Infinite. 

So, until Diablo IV can wash out the bad reputation that Immortal stained over them, let’s go back to the last good version of each franchise (yes, Diablo II Resurrected is excellent, but overall it is the same game from 2001).

Since its release in 2001, it started to grow a hunger for more Action RPGs to play, and many “Diablo clones” began to spawn over the market. One of them, coming from ex-developers of Blizzard North, appeared called “Fate,” which later will be the footprint for a better project, the first Torchlight game.

The studio learned and improved on features that went from Fate over Torchlight, but it still felt a lot like “another Diablo game.” That, of course, was also their strength. Released in 2009, it meant 8 years without a “true Diablo game.”

That will be until 2012. Finally, Blizzard would release another sequel of the beloved Action RPG, but the same would go for Runic Games. Diablo III appeared in May, and four months later, players witnessed the birth of Torchlight II. And both seem…different.

This was pretty controversial for Diablo III. While its theme still has some gothic and horror elements, its brighter and more colorful look from previous Diablo games wasn’t appealing to everyone. Diablo III lost the “grim and dark” oppressive ecosystem. 

On the other hand, every character from Heaven and Hell looks more “badass.” Its aesthetic in armor and looks went for a more “Warcraft-like” approach rather than the misery of old Tristram.

Meanwhile, Torchlight II kept the cartoonish style, mixing humorous elements with blood and violence. It was the initial approach from Fate, and they maintain that contrast between “happy, colorful and violent” really well. 

Both games are still pretty fine. But the Torchlight look is more timeless than the realistic fantasy of Diablo III, in which its engine is feeling the passing of time.

We saw how they looked. But, how do the games play? There are some key differences. 

Diablo III starts at a good pace, with a clear vision over enemies, and while you get further, it will soon start to drop flashing lights at lightning speed. Reaching the endgame, you will clear everything fast, but everything can kill you even faster. 

Torchlight II is slower and requires more “kiting.” In a higher difficulty, going back and forth is the key. It is more complicated than D3, and you can get stuck. But something that Blizzard exceed is in its impact. All their skills, even if we are killing a tiny spider, feel incredible and fun.

Diablo III is more streamlined. It expands the number of different skills you can use in combat from Diablo 2 to six hotkeys. Plus, you have 4 Passive Skills that you can equip from a long variety. 

Each skill is set on different trees, and you should enable “Elective Mode” to have more flexibility when you wanna make your optimal build. You can improve it with Runes and equipment, but it’s where your freedom ends. 

Oh yes, about potions: they are almost gone. You can use one every 30 seconds and the expansion, Reaper of Souls, introduces “Bottomless Potions” that give you additional stats and bonuses. But forget about managing your belt as in previous games.

Torchlight II is all about decisions and flexibility. Now you can have up to 12 different skills and options to equip your hotkeys, from spells to potions and food for your pet. The hard part is choosing what to unlock and how your character will progress. 

In Diablo III, the level system just unlocks things. Torchlight II is more like Diablo II, where each class has three skill trees, and you earn points with each level. But you can easily screw it as you can only “respec” the last three points spent.

This is a clear winner. Diablo III companions are boring, and they are there to boost your stats. You can equip them and customize some of their skills, but they feel more like another item.

While Diablo has only three mercenaries to pick from, Torchlight II has 13 different pets. It even improved the Pet function from their predecessor.

Not only can they go back to town and sell items, but they also buy potions and scrolls on its return. Their combat is much better as you can equip it with four spells, and they will use it whenever available. You can set up three different “Behavioral modes”: Aggressive (they will seek out and attack any enemy nearby); Defensive (The pet will only attack if you do it or if you are damaged); and Passive (they won’t do anything). You can modify its attacks by giving them fish and food to transform it into another kind of beast.

Diablo III started with five different classes (Barbarian, Monk, Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, and Wizard), adding one more later with Crusader, and then with Rise of the Necromancer (guess who) the last one. Each one of them feels pretty distinctive. Yet, none of them is different from what they are. 

They all have an optimal way to play and will not deviate from that path. You can change your Barbarian build, but he will always be a ferocious melee brawler.

In Torchlight II, you can pick between four classes (Engineer, Embermage, Outlander, and Berserker). While all of them align to fulfill certain roles, each has three different skill trees that can change its playstyle. As an example, with a Berserker, you can build it to be a classic Melee Brawler (like its name suggests), some kind of Shaman (with Frost and Electric spells), or a mix between Warlock and Druid (with Curses while summoning Wolves companions). 

It’s not only on spells, as you can equip any kind of weapon – the only restriction is “level requirement.” There will be some special attributes that only work in another class. But your Engineer, the “tankiest” class of the four, can use a sword and shield or change it to a bow.

The Loot system is the cornerstone of any Action RPG. They are both pretty good, but the two games have some flaws too.

In Diablo III, they scale from Normal, Magic, Rare, Set and Legendary, with two additional rarities as Ancient and Primal Ancient, which are Legendaries but with better stats. To compare your gear with what you loot, you just need to look at which has a better primary attribute, as it’s your main stat for damage. Any other stat won’t matter at the end. You don’t need to worry about getting something from another class as D3 plays with Smart Loot. 

Then you have many options to get better gear, from Bounties, Rifts, Dungeons, and using the Kanai’s Cube to upgrade your equipment.

In Torchlight II, it scales from Normal, Magic, Rare, and Legendary, with Set items appearing as Rare. Without a primary attribute, you can equip whatever you want, but with that comes a “comparison game” between loot. It’s not as simple as “Number goes up? Then it’s good”. Some weapons may have more damage but less DPS.  Some weapon’s damage may be lower, but it will give Strength, so it will hit for more. 

In Torchlight II, there are many ways to find good loot, like Dungeons or Phase Rift, but the window to get better equipment is wider as monsters can drop lower-level items than your current zone.

As expansive as it may look, Diablo III is more linear. There isn’t much to explore from Act to Act. All zones are more battle arenas waiting for me to arrive and kill everything in sight. And the main storyline has some issues that people also didn’t like. The setting is fantastic, with the eternal battle between Angels and Demons, and the introduction to Malthael in Reaper of Souls, but it doesn’t go much further than that. 

Torchlight II gives you more exploration. It feels like an open world. Their different zones are more immersive as they aren’t only battlefields but also places where distinctive creatures, races, and beasts live. 

Meanwhile, its lore is Diablo II all over again. It’s well tied up from the first title but with more weird stuff. 

Both games take a similar amount of hours to beat their main stories; it’s on their side quest where they differ from each other. Torchlight II will expand through almost 30 hours, while D3 can reach 45 hours of gameplay.

Let’s cut this fast: Blizzard doesn’t allow any of this. You are required an internet connection to play Diablo 3, and you don’t have any way to mod your game. 

Torchlight 2, on the other hand, added some requested features, such as Co-op and LAN. And you can’t play even if your internet goes off. Also, the developers gave the future of the game to their fans so they could mod it as they want. A clear win for Torchlight.

Both games have a good progression system. Every zone, mission, or dungeon that you clear will give you something. 

In Diablo 3, you won’t feel behind at any time. You will be always a step ahead and it makes the game easy (until you start a New Game Plus on Torment difficulties). So the first run may not be as challenging as one can expect. 

In Torchlight 2? Git gud, bro! As we noted before on “Combat Mechanics,” you will kite the hell out of enemies. And we are not talking about its hardest difficulty. You can be overwhelmed easily, and mobs will drain your health fast. You are never safe. There can be an elite enemy that hits two or three times…and you are dead. So, you will get stuck sometimes.

Luckily, death is not terrible for this two. In Diablo, you will lose some durability on your armor, and in Torchlight 2, you can choose to respawn in the same place for a lot of gold, respawn at the zone entrance for a bit, or go back to the town for free.

Both games are great. Both have their appeal and offer lots of unique content for new players. Diablo 3 is more spectacle, and on first impression, it’s captivating. 

But on the core of RPGs, Torchlight 2 fulfills most of the checkmarks and feels closer to Lord of Destruction than the actual sequel. 

If you are a Diablo fan, of course, don’t miss out on the third game plus its expansion. It’s even out for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which you can get even at a cheaper price. 

If you want the “true Diablo experience,” then don’t doubt Torchlight II. It’s the true successor of the greatest ARPG of all time. It’s also available for consoles as for PC.