Entitled “Lonesome Whistle”, this update brings the new Railmaster class to the game (as well as the usual bug fixes and tuning passes on items and skills).
I played the class for a short bit but was reminded after the first few quests, the main reason why the game (in its current iteration), hasn’t been engaging in the way that I thought it would be. I do need to preface that with the acknowledgement that the game is in closed alpha (which is why I have tried not to highlight this issue that I am personally experiencing). To date, I’ve withheld typing up an actual document (for feedback purposes) highlighting my personal experiences with the game.
I guess I have high expectations considering Torchlight II and Max Schaefer’s take on the ARPG aspects of the titles that he has worked on (not to mention the fact that he was able to assemble a team filled with years of ARPG experience). As I noted in a prior posting, you know you are playing a Torchlight game (the aesthetics and the feel of the combat/movement are there). The ARPG elements with the loot is there. What is missing however is the world environment, some sense of place/tie-in of the story to the quests (I realize that part may not be fully tied-in yet), and the lack of impact with drops (whether it be items or gold).
The public areas are meant to be limited in nature in terms of the concurrent number of players (MMO-Lite) so unlike other MMO-ARPG’s (from South Korea) that have been released in the past, the open world lacks that “background noise” of those other players where even though you may be choosing to play solo, makes that game world feel alive in some sense. I also mentioned before about how those maps feel rather linear and small (nothing like the large sprawling zone instances in Torchlight II for example).
I’m also not sure if the progression system (which attempts to eliminate the notion of that singular character level that has been a core aspect of dungeon crawlers and ARPG’s) is as satisfying as the traditional ones. I level up a frontier and it falls flat for me. I know they are trying to evolve past those core elements while also realizing that players need some gauge for their characters progression. The early gameplay lacks that hook where you just want more though. My point is that the current design isn’t doing much for giving me that dopamine fix. As a result, I don’t find myself being engaged a lot where I have this daily urge to login and play. But I’m again trying to temper that aspect with the fact that I realize this is a closed alpha where player feedback is partially being taken into account to shape the game.
