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Torment 2: What Can Source The Nature Of A Crowd? 

It's no surprise whatsoever that inXile's PlaneScape: Torment spiritual sequel would hitch itself to the Kickstarter mast. Because, er, they always said it would. That Kickstarter is now live, live, live, as Torment: Tides of Numenera sings for its $900,000 supper for the next month or so.

Update: 15 minutes after launching, they've made $50,000 $70,000 already. Bloody Nora!
Update 2: Less than two hours from launch, Torment's at over $300,000. Seems unlikely this one won't make it, eh?

The pitch video's a direct sequel to the executive-lampooning 'publishers don't accept anything that isn't a manshooter' concept of inXile's last crowdsourcing success, Wasteland 2. Of course, what we want most of all is some reassurance that this really does evoke Planescape: Torment, even though the settings and characters are entirely new and PST's main man Chris Avellone isn't specifically involved with this Planescape-free follow-up. Original Planescapers Colin McComb and Monte Cook are, however.

Let's take a look, eh?

inXile boss Brian Fargo has been making promises such as "This Torment game is truly for people who love great writing in a game. An RPG for connoisseurs." It talks the talk, but can it walk the soul-wounded walk? You'll have to take a gamble.

Here are the key promises:

* Torment is a single-player, isometric role-playing game.
* You will play a single, specific character, though you will encounter optional NPC companions you may choose to include in your party.
* The story-driven game will have a rich dialogue system and approach similar to that of Planescape: Torment.
* The game will be developed in the Unity engine for PC (Windows), Mac, and Linux platforms.
* The game will be available in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish.
* The game will be distributed DRM-free. (You’ll be able to get it from Steam, and other DRM-free download options will be made available.)

As for how it will relate to PST, there's this:

* A Deep, Thematically Satisfying Story. The philosophical underpinnings of Torment drive the game, both mechanically and narratively. Your words, choices, and actions will be your primary weapons.
* A World Unlike Any Other. The game has a fantastic, original setting, with awe-inspiring painterly visuals, imaginative locations, truly offbeat items, and massive feats of magic. In Numenera, however, "magic" is actually something surprisingly different.
* A Rich, Personal Narrative. The story is thoughtful and character-driven—epic in feel but a deeply personal narrative, with nontraditional characters and companions who have their own motivations and desires that drive them throughout the game.
* Reactivity, Choice, and Real Consequences. The game emphasizes replayability and reactivity, and your choices will make a real difference. You can play the game with a different approach and discover entirely new pathways. Most important, we won't tell you how to play. The best ending is the one you choose, flowing naturally from your actions throughout the game.

I need to research and absorb all this and everything else they've put up a little more, and hopefully we then can bring you less copypastad coverage soon.

Avellone has given the project his blessing, by the way. He's very excited, in fact:

Cover image for YouTube video

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In this article

Torment: Tides of Numenera

PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac

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Wasteland 2

PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac

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About the Author
Alec Meer avatar

Alec Meer

Co-founder

Ancient co-founder of RPS. Long gone. Now mostly writes for rather than about video games.

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