Even after a huge number of edits and changes made for the release of Torchlight III by Friv2Online Studio, it is still impossible to call the game a success. We have patiently studied the console and PC versions of the project and summarized our impressions in the review article.

The test run on the lands of the Limit was not for the faint of heart. A huge number of bugs and unstable servers - it's understandable. The work was being done, and everything is much better now. But other decisions, which at that moment looked quite finished, caused not just a wave of anxiety, but a tsunami of indignation among the veterans of the series.

I, frankly speaking, was also a bit floored, but the hope for a brighter future continued to simmer right up to the release. At that moment the game looked like a chaotic mishmash of quite successful and frankly failed ideas. I told you more about some of them in the preliminary review of the game.

All the developers had to do was to polish the right points and eliminate the negative ones, which would not have been difficult to pick out: it was enough to look at any thematic forum of the friv game, boiling with angry comments from players, if private feedback was not informative enough.

And what was my amazement when the final version of Torchlight not only kept a good half of absolutely ridiculous flaws, but also lost those few reinforcing elements, without which the basic structure began to crack and finally lost all appeal for me.

I already touched upon the subject of the plot in the previous review, and since then it hasn't undergone any changes. However, the developers have finally finalized the books, scrolls and other notes, which can be found in the world and in the cities, just like in Diablo.

However, such messages are rarely accompanied by localized text. In case you don't know much English, I can assure you that you don't lose anything. The content of the side "lore" sketches is almost as colorless as the main storyline.

The friv game offers a choice of four classes, each of which can use a different primary weapon, and are tied to two development branches, sometimes working in some synergy with each other. The mage is the only one with mana; all others use their own resource, which is often annoyingly limiting for players.

You are free to customize the appearance of characters, but the choice is rather poor and models look unattractive, especially female. The exception is the mechanoid. The robot at the start has only a choice of head, but he gets unique clothing from modules, which completely changes the appearance of the character during the friv game and in some places it looks quite funny.

I genuinely smiled when I saw the ability to disable track laying on the mechanic's toy train, but my joy didn't last long. Deprived of the ability to build, the train freezes and stops following the hero and giving out buffs. In other words, the rails to be. And the ability to slow down the train works more for the purpose of fixing the gun platform in a particular place.

I see the sniper as the most competently designed character. Quite a classic hero-shooter with great potential in becoming a bist-master, especially taking into account the system of relics, which in the release version works as the third branch of the character's abilities.

Already at the creation of the hero you choose one of five artifacts: poison rock, physical bloodsucker, cold heart, electrode and flame destroyer. Their bonuses are very specific and won't suit every class, and some don't work correctly at all. In my opinion, the rework of the relic system was to the detriment of the friv game, but this is only one of the unpleasant surprises.

Something went wrong with the level generator. Locations look corridor-like, somehow awkward and narrow, skimpy on scenery and similar to each other. They are flooded with a huge number of absolutely one-type opponents. Even in the most difficult mode, fights with elite enemies (whose prefixes do not shine with variety either) are no longer a challenge - they are highly drawn-out skirmishes with very fat, but not very strong mobs.

The same story with the loot - one-type, uninteresting. Including legendary and set pieces. The special effects of some of them are now learned immediately when picking them up. Many of them are frankly useless, others have no sensible description and as a consequence it is not always clear whether the game is worth the effort.

Returning to the old bugs, I couldn't help but notice the same problems with enemies' bodies not disappearing. They happen quite rarely now, but it's still not possible to eradicate the misunderstanding completely. Combat is still badly felt, weapon strikes are voiced disgustingly. In the thick of battle, especially if you play in co-op, you can't make out anything. As a consequence - I didn't experience any pleasure from grind in Torchlight III.

The graphic component of the friv game causes the most complaints - I can't escape the feeling that everything around is nothing more than a moulage. Very sad models of mobs, cheap clips and cut-scenes, pale scenery, torn animations, not always obvious voyd-zones. Everything is awkwardly worked, almost completely inferior to previous installments and smacks of mobile gameplay.

In general, there are a lot of parallels with the predecessors, and almost every one of them will be unfavorable for Torchlight III. The developers removed fishing from the project, removed the stones that could be used to strengthen clothes. The potion system has not undergone the most successful changes, and the capitals have almost completely replaced the fort in terms of importance.

The thing is quite entertaining. In the process of fulfilling contracts, you get a huge number of recipes and furnishings, which you can then decorate your own shelter. The choice is huge, the models even overlap, and you're free to make your fort into something very interesting, but without any interactivity.

There is also a common account chest and all the necessary machines, such as monuments, which pump some resistances, skills workshops, objects for creating items and, of course, stalls for our lesser brothers.

The latter still travel to the city to sell your loot, tank in battles and give out bonus effects. Now, to teach a pet new skills, it's enough to rescue a pet from imprisonment, which already knows it. In total, the beast can carry up to three abilities at a time.

MMO aspect of the friv game is still on a sad level. In principle, there is no special profit from traveling together. You can count on the help of your neighbor if your hero falls in battle, but you risk, for example, losing your loot if the boss was killed without your participation. No one will be able to share loot or anything else with you either.

We had a chance to try not only the PC version of the game, but also the console build, which was released on PS4 and Xbox One right on the release day of the PC version. Well, contrary to expectations, the developers did not adapt the interface to the gamepad control scheme. All we got was larger UI elements and fonts, due to which Torchlight III is quite comfortably perceived on the big TV screen; even if you sit far away.

On PS4 there are partners for network races in any hub. As for stability, the friv game stalls in cities and shows stable fps outside of them. In general, the picture is pretty, the animations are nice. Torchlight III feels like a kind of casual entertainment for undemanding players and, perhaps, fits more organically into the concept of relaxed gameplay on the couch.

From all of the above, the summary is rather sad. May those few enthusiasts who found something attractive in Torchlight III forgive me, but for my taste the developers failed to cope with the most important aspects of not only hack'n'slash-project, but also of any dynamic RPG - gameplay and motivation.

This is a game about loot farming, in which there is inexcusably little valuable loot, but a lot of bugs. A game about destroying hordes of monsters that are frankly boring to fight at any difficulty level. A game that can't even hook you with the story, because no one bothered to give it a good presentation and fill it up.

The most frustrating thing is that this game has no atmosphere, for the sake of which you want to return to the world, run through the newly generated locations and something to grind. Casual, simple, you can pass some time in it, but it will not replace any of the current analogs, including its predecessors.

My traveling partner characterized it very accurately - impersonal, and perhaps that says it all. And it's a shame that on that note, the Torchlight III series may once again retire for many years or end altogether.