<s>
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
an	O
action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
dungeon	O
crawler	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Runic	O
Games	O
,	O
released	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
September	O
20	O
,	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
sequel	O
to	O
Torchlight	B-Application
,	O
and	O
features	O
peer-to-peer	O
multiplayer	O
support	O
and	O
extended	O
modding	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
on	O
February	O
2	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
on	O
March	O
4	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ports	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
were	O
released	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
2019	O
and	O
were	O
developed	O
by	O
Panic	O
Button	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
a	O
fantasy	O
world	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
can	O
be	O
any	O
of	O
four	O
classes	O
,	O
each	O
with	O
different	O
skills	O
and	O
abilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
plot	O
starts	O
with	O
the	O
destruction	O
of	O
the	O
town	O
of	O
Torchlight	B-Application
,	O
at	O
the	O
hands	O
of	O
the	O
Alchemist	O
from	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
the	O
character	O
following	O
the	O
trail	O
of	O
destruction	O
left	O
in	O
the	O
Alchemist	O
's	O
wake	O
as	O
he	O
searches	O
for	O
a	O
cure	O
to	O
his	O
illness	O
which	O
has	O
driven	O
him	O
insane	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
sequel	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
was	O
originally	O
going	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
however	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
released	O
with	O
both	O
single-player	O
and	O
multi-player	O
support	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
company	O
felt	O
they	O
could	O
release	O
this	O
much	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
planned	O
MMO	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
,	O
Torchlight	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
original	O
Torchlight	B-Application
,	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
features	O
randomly	O
generated	O
dungeons	O
for	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
explore	O
,	O
and	O
numerous	O
types	O
of	O
monsters	O
to	O
fight	O
for	O
experience	O
and	O
loot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
maintains	O
the	O
same	O
basic	O
gameplay	O
as	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
but	O
features	O
overland	O
areas	O
with	O
multiple	O
hub	O
towns	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
longer	O
campaign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
three	O
classes	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
Torchlight	B-Application
do	O
not	O
return	O
as	O
playable	O
characters	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
instead	O
presented	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
world	O
as	O
NPCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
stated	O
in	O
the	O
trailer	O
for	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
Runic	O
games	O
has	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
"	O
heard	O
their	O
[	O
the	O
fans' ]	O
ideas	O
"	O
and	O
criticism	O
concerning	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
the	O
first	O
Torchlight	B-Application
was	O
a	O
lonely	O
experience	O
without	O
co-op	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
requires	O
a	O
Runic	O
Games	O
account	O
to	O
play	O
in	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Years	O
after	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Torchlight	B-Application
,	O
The	O
Alchemist	O
(	O
playable	O
character	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
)	O
becomes	O
corrupted	O
by	O
the	O
Ember	O
Blight	O
coming	O
from	O
the	O
Heart	O
of	O
Ordrak	O
,	O
the	O
evil	O
being	O
who	O
had	O
been	O
the	O
source	O
of	O
the	O
corruption	O
under	O
the	O
town	O
of	O
Torchlight	B-Application
,	O
and	O
then	O
destroys	O
the	O
town	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
Runic	O
Games	O
had	O
announced	O
plans	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
set	O
in	O
the	O
Torchlight	B-Application
game	O
world	O
to	O
follow	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
single	O
player	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
August	O
2010	O
,	O
Runic	O
announced	O
they	O
were	O
developing	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
a	O
sequel	O
which	O
was	O
conceived	O
not	O
only	O
as	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
series	O
multiplayer	O
support	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
to	O
give	O
Runic	O
"	O
more	O
experience	O
with	O
making	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
Torchlight.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
work	O
on	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
intended	O
to	O
carry	O
over	O
to	O
Runic	O
Games	O
 '	O
upcoming	O
Torchlight	B-Application
MMORPG	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
the	O
company	O
plans	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
sequel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2010	O
,	O
Runic	O
Games	O
 '	O
increased	O
involvement	O
in	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Arcade	I-Device
port	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
Torchlight	B-Application
game	O
caused	O
a	O
delay	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
sequel	O
,	O
but	O
memory	O
and	O
loading	O
time	O
optimizations	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
port	O
led	O
to	O
improvements	O
in	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
of	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
features	O
cinematic	O
sequences	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
produced	O
by	O
Klei	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
the	O
developer	O
of	O
Do	B-Application
n't	I-Application
Starve	I-Application
,	O
Eets	B-Application
and	O
Shank	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2013	O
,	O
a	O
patch	O
to	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
released	O
to	O
add	O
in	O
the	O
GUTS	O
editor	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
alter	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
content	O
and	O
create	O
user	O
modifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
this	O
included	O
new	O
support	O
for	O
Steam	B-Application
Workshop	O
,	O
adding	O
a	O
Steam	B-Application
client-based	O
automated	O
mod	O
distribution	O
system	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2012	O
,	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
became	O
available	O
for	O
pre-purchase	O
through	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
those	O
who	O
pre-purchased	O
received	O
the	O
original	O
Torchlight	B-Application
free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Perfect	O
World	O
announced	O
that	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
would	O
be	O
coming	O
to	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
consoles	O
in	O
2019	O
,	O
with	O
Panic	O
Button	O
handling	O
the	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
Travis	O
Baldree	O
and	O
Erich	O
Schaefer	O
left	O
Runic	O
Games	O
to	O
start	O
their	O
own	O
studio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
forced	O
to	O
cancel	O
the	O
game	O
they	O
were	O
working	O
on	O
and	O
lay	O
off	O
several	O
staff	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
aftermath	O
,	O
they	O
changed	O
their	O
focus	O
to	O
Hob	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Hob	B-Application
,	O
Runic	O
Games	O
was	O
closed	O
down	O
by	O
their	O
parent	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Max	O
Schaefer	O
announced	O
Echtra	O
Games	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
several	O
former	O
Runic	O
and	O
Blizzard	O
North	O
developers	O
,	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
Torchlight	B-Application
Frontiers	I-Application
,	O
the	O
planned	O
free-to-play	O
Torchlight	B-Application
MMORPG	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
lengthy	O
closed	O
alpha	O
during	O
2019	O
,	O
Echtra	O
Games	O
revealed	O
in	O
January	O
2020	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
completely	O
rebranded	O
as	O
Torchlight	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
a	O
more	O
traditional	O
follow-up	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torchlight	B-Application
III	I-Application
will	O
be	O
a	O
premium	O
game	O
as	O
its	O
predecessors	O
were	O
and	O
all	O
microtransactions	O
from	O
the	O
F2P	O
iteration	O
of	O
the	O
title	O
will	O
be	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
received	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
;	O
on	O
aggregate	O
review	O
website	O
Metacritic	O
the	O
game	O
attains	O
an	O
overall	O
score	O
of	O
88	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
based	O
on	O
reviews	O
from	O
67	O
professional	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
the	O
original	O
Torchlight	B-Application
received	O
positive	O
reviews	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
lack	O
of	O
any	O
multiplayer	O
modes	O
was	O
a	O
near-universal	O
criticism	O
of	O
the	O
title	O
by	O
critics	O
and	O
fans	O
alike	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	O
Informer	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
an	O
excellent	O
game	O
no	O
matter	O
how	O
you	O
slice	O
it	O
...	O
the	O
margin	O
between	O
[	O
it	O
and	O
Diablo	O
III ]	O
is	O
razor-thin	O
–	O
and	O
I	O
have	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
nod	O
to	O
Torchlight	O
II.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
saying	O
,	O
"	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
does	O
n't	O
do	O
anything	O
radically	O
new	O
,	O
but	O
does	O
everything	O
incredibly	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
stated	O
,	O
"	O
Torchlight	B-Application
II	I-Application
does	O
n't	O
innovate	O
and	O
it	O
does	O
n't	O
surprise	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
genre	O
may	O
need	O
an	O
infusion	O
of	O
new	O
ideas	O
if	O
it	O
's	O
going	O
to	O
stay	O
vital.	O
"	O
</s>
