Torchlight II

I have to say I don't understand all the negative reviews of this game, all the complaints that it's not as good / not the same / some kind of betrayal of TL2 / TL1. I put over 100 hours into TL2, but AFAIAC this is a considerably better game in most respects.
The graphics are better, the combat is more tactical and tighter, there is more variation in enemies and hazards. It is faithful to Torchlight lore, style and spirit, while the major additions to mechanics such as base building, apparel skinning and the new Railmaster PC class are well done. The game is maybe a bit more linear than TL2, but the voice acting and story content make somewhat more sense and are a little easier to follow (these are not strong points of the franchise in general). Levelling and progression are enhanced and very well balanced. I haven't noticed any significant bugs. There is plenty of scope for replay, plenty of room for build customisation and play style variations.
All in all, I think TL3 is a definite improvement on the earlier games. It's engrossing, charming and fun. It's a pleasant way to burn a few hours. I'm happy to recommend it on its own merits.

Having rolled the credits on Torchlight 1 and 2 previously, without a doubt this is the least enjoyable of the three. The development hell, which you can read about online, is painfully present. With that being said, if you get it for a few bucks on the cheap and enjoy the first 2, you should still be able to find some enjoyment.

So I can appreciate the fact that this takes all the good parts of Torchlight 2 and improves them, making them more appealing for a modern audience. I do like the base mechanic and the fact that you can have multiple pets.
But I dunno fam, there's just something about Torchlight 2 that will always make me prefer it over this. It feels like this just has less soul? I dunno, I think my bias is showing HARD XD

Let me start by saying I have played all three of these games. And they always seem to improve the classes and ideas for them. Unfortunately they don't seem to recapture some of the same wonder as the last one.

It feels like they had a great start and just tried to fill the rest with whatever ideas they had left.
CLASSES: You can play a ghost captain with pirate and ghost themed abilities, play a large combat mech that has built in weapons for both melee and ranged, a Conductor with a small mechanical train turret, a mage with light and dark themed abilities and then just... a ranged shooter. Starts out very different and slowly just sort of gets more generic.

WORLD/MONSTERS: The general breakdown of all the monsters fall into these, Goblin/Spiders, Mechs, Ember Demons, Bugs, Skeletons/Zombies and Bosses. Most of these are just ideas from the last game, even using much of the same level ideas and final bosses along the same theme. Where as in the last game where I could get lost in the game and replay it many times for the fun of it, this one feels highly streamlined. In the last game there were cursed forests with gargoyles, werewolves and undead, fungi forests with mushroom people, a mechanical mummy people, Bear people, strange genies and spirits and then Ember cultists and demons with a few mechs thrown in. It just feels recycled and railroaded. Even the big bosses are just custom version of the cultists from the last game. Even the dungeon worlds feel rather cloned rather than the older games.

PETS: in the last game you could have all kinds of pets, including most of the enemies and unique little fun ones. This one, its mostly just cats and dogs of different kinds with a few old enemies and creatures. Again, just felt somewhat phoned in.

BASE BUILDING: At first it seems like there is a ton of space and lots of things, but there is no store for buying spesific new gear, your sort of at the mercy of what you find and with the exception of the bigger items for crafting or buffs, the rest of the stuff is just for looks. And most of it is pretty generic. Once you get the max rank in one of the buffs, that's it. I feel like for something as simple as that they could give you a lot more space to work with and more items, or have something. Again, it feels like an unfinished idea.

Lastly, the game glitches semi frequently for a finished game. And not small things either. Like how your
summons will stop targeting enemies and just stand around if you play for a certain length of time, the sound for yourself or friendlies going fully mute any enviromental sounds for some reason and of course being stuck in walls now and then.

Despite what I am saying, it's still a 'good' game. But it is hard to step down from a 9/10 game to a 7/10 sequel. Im sorry I cannot be more positive, but its hard to accept a cupcake is better than a cake you got last birthday.

Its different from the first two torchlight games, but i have found it enjoyable to play.

I do not understand why the game has such a bad rating. Sure it is not on the greatness level of Grim Dawn. But which game is? I would say its complexity is comparable to Diablo 2. I am not sure about the special items, sets legendaries and such. I would need to play longer to judge that. After 2 days playing and having played a lot of other dungeon crawlers, and I would say this is one of the better ones.

I kinda liked the first Torchlight and decided to pick up the rest of the set just for fun. When I started playing this one, I didn't think I was going to like it, because it seemed hokey and like a children's game. However, as I got further into it, it got much better and after several hours of playing it, I have grown to like it. It definitely continues in the Torchlight tradition and certainly improves the game in mostly all areas from the first two. I spent a lot of time playing the first Torchlight and wished they had spent more time developing a better end. This game is huge and seems to be much better in that regard. It's turning out to be pretty good and I am happy that I got it, now that I have some time playing it. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who has played either of the first two versions, as you should like this one better than either of them.