70%PC

David Haller(T)

95%PC

Well, I wondred what new things can I say about Planescape: Torment when it already has such a legendary status among RPG fans and critics. But here are my 2 cents.
It pops up among Top RPG lists of all time and to this day there have been few games that scratch the same narrative itch. That´s because the story told in this game is so unique to videogame medium and it is it´s greatest strenght at the same time. Though, maybe not the premise itself rather the way it is told in the game makes this an all-time classic. So consider the premise. You play as an amnesiac immortal guy in a ADnD setting of Planescape, a setting that has been unfortunately discountinued in subsequent DnD editions. You try to piece together the whys and hows of your current situation and you do the classic fantasy game stuff like: questing, fighting monsters, uncovering lore of this world you are in. You meet companions throughout your journey and they tag along as you progress through the game.
So what does make the story so unique? The heart of it is a very personal tale of a broken man who doesn´t even know who he is, where he is, who doesn´t even remember his own bloody name. You don´t inhabit as the player some shell of a character who is only what you make from them. The Nameless One is a person in his own right. With deep entrenched past, fears, regrets, hopes and he wishes to find out more about himself. Cuz like Dakkon, your companion, says: in knowing yourself lies the greatest strenght. Compare this to another games, even great and modern ones such as Baldur´s Gate 3. Your character in that game is a blank slate, a true player´s avatar, without significant traits or a past. Save from those traits that you assign to them in character creation. And even those don´t play a major role in the story of BG 3, save from some dialogue options you can choose based upon race, background or class.
I am not saying that BG 3 story is bad or that I didn´t like it. But truly great stories are ones such as P:T. Also, you can, of course customize TNO, you can pick form 3 classes /fighter, thief, mage/ to play as, choose what moral alignment you wish to strive for, or what companions you want to have in your party. This is a RPG after all. And this you can experience in other games of similar ilk. But a superb and singular story like this one, precious few games can offer.
I could go on and on about intricacies and philosophical themes portrayed in Torment. But for brevity´s sake I will end this section with the famous saying: This is the the best book that I´ve ever played.
Now, I suppose I should metion how the gameplay, mainly battles are boring and clunky, how there isn´t dubbing save for a few lines of dialogue, how graphics and music score are outdated... But you´ve probably heard about most of these compalints. And I am not saying they are wrong. But for me personally, all of them don´t really matter. And in honesty, I even didn´t found the combat so bad as was presented in some articles about Torment. Yes, it ´s true that maybe being a mage is the best class you can be. I don´t know why would I pick a thief for example. Also the most useful stats you can invest in are INT, WIS and CHA. That is because there are many dialogue checks dependent on these 3 stats and since you´ll be mostly spending time talking in this game, they are the most valuable. For full disclosure, I played on the easiest difficulty, since I figured this isn´t a game about battling and I worried it would be frustrating experience. But this difficulty is fine. So I defintely recommend going this route, to enjoy the story and to not worry about combat.
So for my final words about Planescape: Torment, I´ll say this. It is true this game isn´t perfect, no game or any work of art is. But if you enjoy complex, emotionally and thematically deep stories about flawed human beings, trying to right the wrongs they´ve done in the past, this is the perfect game for you. After all, it isn´t every day that you get to experience a story about a man, whose many regrets amounted to form an impenetrable fortress.

100%PC

Planescape: Torment is an Infinity Engine RPG, like the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale games. However, unlike those games, the focus is very much on story, dialog and exploration, rather than combat. There *is* combat in the game, but in most cases it can be avoided as long as you choose the right dialog options.

The city of Sigil is a very strange place, filled with bizarre buildings and shady characters. You're never quite sure where things are going, which makes this a rather unique RPG.

I played the original a while back on GoG, but couldn't get past one encounter where I was forced to fight. I guess I wasn't levelled high enough or was missing some equipment/spells, not really sure.

Anyway, with the Enhanced Edition, I took my time and delayed that encounter for as long as could, and managed to get past it. Whether it was because this time I was at the right level with the right equipment/spells, or something had changed in the EE, I don't know, but it meant I was finally able to complete the game!

Be aware that there is a *lot* of reading in the game, so if you don't enjoy that then I would stay well away. Planescape: Torment is somewhere between reading a book and playing a video game. There isn't really anything else like it, and the Enhanced Edition is the best way to play, so what are you waiting for?

90%PC

Planescape: Torment is one of those games I was told you HAVE to try at sometime in your life.

Well, I tried it and it definitely lived up to the hype.
Writing is some of the best in a video game, full stop. The only game I like better on this front is Disco Elysium, which was inspired heavily by PS:T anyway. Dialogue is nuanced and evocative, the flavour text is extremely descriptive, and the way the game describes the world itself lives up to the standards you might expect from a novel.

The story is fantastic and sweeping, taking you on a journey through "Planescape", which is an official DnD setting and is very unique, dark and quirky. I much prefer this style of "weird fantasy" to the run-of-the-mill type, which I feel has been done to death.

The game also asks lots of deep and interesting questions about humanity, mortality, individuality and the like, which I love (I think you'd love this game if you liked Xenogears or Disco Elysium). The PC is a very complex and nuanced character, but is also very open to customisation and role-play because of the way the narrative is constructed. It's a brilliant way do things, especially because Planescape is a DnD-based CRPG where roleplaying is a main draw.

The main complaints people have about this game are that the combat is weak and the graphics are ugly. I disagree with the second one; I feel the graphics have such a wonderful retro, quirky, dark charm to them, especially the FMV cutscenes that are so evocative of this era of gaming. Spritework was fantastic throughout and world felt lived in. We will get back to the combat later.

The random NPCs are so interesting and full of character, which is very unusual for CRPG of this era. Everyone has their own little stories, which makes the world feel very populated. Every time I would revisit a town I would find a new NPC that I hadn't seen before who would send me on a little quest, which was very endearing and immersed me even further into the world.

Music was hit or miss, with a few very nice tracks which ended up repeating a lot and a very mediocre battle theme.

Speaking of battling, the combat system does indeed suck, and takes away so much of the enjoyment I might have had with the game. The story is so well done and the game would be perfectly paced, if not for the clunky, horrible, barely-customisable, outdated, stupid combat system. It's so hard to select which enemy you are battling and fumble around with the UI in real time, and it feels like RNG is too much of a factor. What I ended up having to do was pause the game every 2 seconds to tediously select each character and what actions I wanted them to do, unpause, and then once they did their actions I would assign them another. It's so frustrating and took me out of the game so much that I honestly think it would've been better with combat removed entirely.

The only other real complaint I have is that while the protagonist has risen to become one of my favourite characters in gaming ever, the party NPCs feel a lot less fleshed out by comparison. They seem to only function as ways for the protagonist to experience the world and reflect on his actions, rather than being complete individuals by themselves. I was disappointed by how short their dialogue trees were; I was left wanting more of the amazing bits of writing and characterisation the trees offered because they felt incomplete. Yes, the protagonist should be more important and the party characters should influence how he views himself and the world, but I feel that effect would only be compounded if they felt like real people.

Overall, this game is nearly perfect, with one minor flaw and one MAJOR flaw that stop it from being a true 10/10 experience. The writers of the game have masterfully weaved words together in such a beautiful, horrifying, and quirky way around the established Planescape setting. The game feels old and a little obtuse, yes, but its soul is still fresh even almost 25 years after its release. It is definitely a must-play if you're a fan of RPGs in general and willing to sift through the tiniest, dirtiest bit of mud to find the gold hidden underneath.

60%PC

Some cool ideas but probably one of the most disappointing endings I've ever experienced. I spent 30 hours of my life getting invested and THIS is the payoff?

I really like these Infinity Engine games and this is a good one but while it does some things new and different in terms of gameplay, it is still only 3/5. A good story needs to stick the landing and this doesn't at all. I looked up endings on YouTube to see if I got a bad ending but this is it...

Feels like a waste of time

75%PC

Excellent story woven in between dull and uninteresting gameplay. Exceptionally ugly art style.

70%PC

Planescape Torment was developed by Black Isle Studio at the licensing of BioWare's Infinity engine, it was released in 1998 in the middle of the Golden Age of Computer RPG. Torment is a game that is very enjoyable to read from start to finish, but not so when played as a game. The mechanics are borrowed from its more combat focused older brother Baldur's Gate though the progression is nothing like said game. Planescape's dialogue is its strongest aspect, allowing you to skip entire sections of mindless combat or even find alternative ways of resolving quests through it, and most of its side quests are enjoyable little stories to read in and do. The story of TNO is very interesting and captivating and is very much worth it to experience at least once to all CRPG lovers.

100%PC

Game of my childhood <3

75%PC

Planescape: Torment is the most extreme version of these old PC RPGs. Completely overwhelming setting/lore, hyper-specific and easily-missable actions that are important to the ending, baffling stylistic choices, and completely unapproachable game mechanics. That being said, it's silly and wild in the best ways. I now understand the similarities people were bringing up when Disco Elysium released. Waking up and having to find out who you are/were. It just works. This game has so much character and I honestly love it. Not an easy recommend to most, though.

100%PC

Masterpiece

60%PC

[url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ1dlpo148U-fHkLu_21pDf7FmhI5sWPH]Прохождение на YOUTUBE[/url]

100%PC

The best writing and storyline ever weaved into a videogame.

90%PC

Clunky and visually unappealing, this book still breaths lore that makes it well worth reading.

100%PC

Best isometric RPG on this planet.

80%PC

Rpg system (combat-wise) is a bit dissapointing

10%PC

Incredibly outdated by today's standars. Story is great but everything else aged like milk

80%PC

Often described as "the best book you'll ever play". Definitely an oversimplification on what this game does so well but certainly true in terms quality. This game is old, and ugly to look at, and weird to play. Despite this, it often ranks among the best RPGs ever created, and for good reason. It's not just the quality of the writing, but the overall structure and design of the game that makes it sing. Instead of being an many-faced every-man hero you play a very specific charchecter; The Nameless One. Quests don't branch out in a million different paths to serve every playstyle but end up at similar places with different ways to reflect in the dialogue. Companions are narratively connected with the protagonists story and the world they inhabit. The prose is descriptive and prevalent in every corner of the world. It all serves a piece of fiction that is teeming with lore and detail.

The world of Planescape is quite interesting. There are some characters who don't serve any plot function other than to exposit the ludicrous amount of lore. It's tricky to make that stuff not tedious but this game does a good job at keeping it interesting. I hate to have to make this complaint, but the interesting descriptions of fascinating and terrible things becomes a bit hollow after witnessing such things in person. What I mean is the game is so old that the text does a better job at describing the thing and the thing itself is a bit of a let down. Games like this shouldn't have that problem since most of the interaction is done *through* text and the visuals are there just to give you a better picture. But I still couldn't help myself feeling whelmed by some of the depictions of stuff. It's a petty complaint. One that could be alleviated by a big budget remake, hint hint.

I was not a huge fan of the combat. The core system is passable; auto attacks and spell queues with standard dice rolls and what have you. But the movement system and AI pathfinding makes some parts frustrating. The larger your party gets, and the more enemies in a smaller space, the worse the problems get. Pathfinding is very gimmicky and sometimes when running from enemies my dudes would take damage if I wasn't manually making them step around the big scary lizard rather than them trying to ram straight through. Everytime characters are next to each other it's like they get sticky, and wait for awhile before they figure out how to pass each other. I think the game is on a grid system but its still hard to tell. As for the actual combat without movement complaints, it's fine.

Planescape: Torment is a unique RPG. One that I wish more developers would try to emulate. One game that is clearly inspired by it was the recent Disco Elysium, which was brilliant all it's own. More games should try for this style. I think a chunk of my experience was soured by the oldness of the game. Which isn't something I'm proud of, I don't like when others disparage games for being products of their time. But I still felt that lot's of the presentation and mechanics were not done justice because of either budget or time constraints. Even down to things like the dialogue window, which Disco handles much more elegantly. But the game is good, a very worthwhile experience.

100%PC

Play this game blind and with the recommended mods; the unraveling story and sense of discovery are remarkably unparalleled.

100%PC

"Updating my journal."

100%PC

Wonderful game.

80%PC

Amazing lore, setting and characters. Story was a bit too farfetched and grandiose for its own good. Gameplay is outdated, inventory management is ok. Combat is outdated, I kept resorting to melee because it was the least tiresome even though I was a mage. Magic is annoyingly slow (animations are too long for each spell) and the magic mechanic is unsatisfying - should have been a mana system rather than a # of cast. Ending was somewhat unsatisfying, talking my way to victory is always meh and the final revelation is eye rolling cheesy (Your nemesis is your mortality manifest). Game had too much dialogue and not enough party building and combat. It felt like a point and click adventure game at times. If game was a book it would have been better. Music was excellent.

90%Xbox One

Planescape: Torment's ending is *known* to me. A very good game despite the trouble it gave me early on with its difficulty, bugs and controls. Once it gets into a groove, it pretty much stays there, with the more linear last act having enough pacing to not drag on. It's always a pleasure when a game not only turns around, but meets the hype you heard about it. It's not without flaws, as I have noted elsewhere, but it is well deserving of its praise.

The end itself was...good. Not the best, maybe not as good on its own as the Torment: Tides of Numenera ending, but it didn't feel unsatisfying either (never mind that TToN's ending was a lot buggier). I'd have appreciated more of an epilogue after the final battle; I chose the Fight ending because reasons and immediately went back and did the Diplomacy ending, which gave more of a conclusion, but in general I prefer games that wrap things up more than PST did.

And when I say "in general" I mean that it works better in this game than in most. It works, if not on a narrative level then on a thematic level. It ends the only way it can end, for better or worse. Because in the end, war fate never changes. Speaking of war, that's another reason I was content with how the game ends, because I suspected early on that the Nameless One was running from his death to avoid the Blood War. I can't prove it, nor would I want it proven, but I wonder that the Nameless One was that airship captain that bombed the continent in a sensory stone.

And in that way, this game's ending is better than TToN's because it's alluded to in a lot of ways throughout. Not just through early-game dialogue, but just through the actions and situations you encounter. TToN does have a revelation near the end that is made sense of by what you discover earlier, but in that game the revelation - while important - isn't central to the theme of the game. It was a great moment, but it wasn't what the game ended on. I also complained about this recently, that PST does a great job of tying everything together throughout the game. It's exceptionally well-done.

So the ending, where I'm finally dragged into the Blood War and that's it, works because that was always the point. That you can't run from fate. It always ends this way, with the scarred, broken man sentenced to the Blood War, his friends saved (and hopefully going back to save Annah), except for Ignus the backstabbing traitor...for whom I still felt regret at what I'd done.

And it works, mostly because of the heavy lifting done shortly before. The talk with Morte and Dak'kon, watching Grace give her life for me, fighting Ignus, and especially reuniting with my past incarnations and being vindicated for carrying that bronze sphere around for the most of the game (P.S. game, thanks for giving me important plot items back even if they were on my companions). Everything falls into place at just the right time to savor it, to appreciate it. I *know* myself, at last, and I am ready for the Blood War because even if I can't change fate, I can change myself and my response to it. I accept what I've done, who I've been, and I accept the consequences.

And I just...can't put into words how satisfying that was. I put this game off for years, and I'm so glad I played it and stuck with it to the end.

100%PC

one of my top 5 games of all time

90%PC

Technically outdated, but story is great.

100%PC

What a book. One of the greatest stories in videogame history, that's for sure.

100%PC

Genuinely the best RPG experience I have ever had. The definitive experience for those looking for story and freedom of choice without the expectation of combat effectiveness being prioritized over dialogue options.

100%PC

A++

100%PC

Shame this masterpiece is kind of a hidden gem. I liked the philosophical aspect of the game. The story is the pillar of this game, also the dark humour was great.

70%PC

Really excellent story and world. In 2000, I would have eaten this up. Now though, the UI and combat mechanics remove me from the experience of the story. I will play for hours and feel like I've done nothing except read and kill Hive Thugs.

90%PC

Playing this through the lens of a 2016 game player meant that the clunk was real, but it could not detract from the writing and story. Some great lines. Party members with whom you actually form a bond. Big questions, bizzare mysteries and a sense of wonder. A special game, the likes of which is sadly all too rare these days.

100%PC

Absolutely the best computer game ever created! I give it 11/10.

90%PC

Great CRPG, one of the best stories that kept it interesting all the way to end. Combat system is only negative thing in this game, it's kind a crappy. But for the story, play it!

100%PC

True masterpiece of a game and story!

100%PC

In this game, the gameplay plains/'gameplains' that end after you (the player's) deaths are just as significant to the overall experience as the only one that continues to the end of the game. Granted however; the level progression, whatever items attained, statistics, role-playing statistics recorded will be undocumented and therefore technically terminated.

100%PC

Simply incredible.