When comparing Planescape: Torment vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Planescape: Torment for most people. In the question“What are the best PC RPGs?” Planescape: Torment is ranked 19th while Grim Dawn is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose Planescape: Torment is:
Planetscape: Torment has a dark setting where zombies and scary creatures are the focus, making for a game that is themed to be more scary over a traditional fantasy game. So for those interested in a darker themed fantasy setting this should appeal to their interests.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro A dark, engaging setting
Planetscape: Torment has a dark setting where zombies and scary creatures are the focus, making for a game that is themed to be more scary over a traditional fantasy game. So for those interested in a darker themed fantasy setting this should appeal to their interests.
Pro Spiritual precursor of Torment: Tides of Numenera
inXile Entertainment said they were going to make a spiritual successor of Planescape: Torment called Torment: Tides of Numenera through kickstarter, it actually beat the record for hitting the $1 million mark at the time of the kickstarter which had a kickstarter goal of $900k that was planned for a month. The goal was hit in 6 hours. Total, Tides of Numenera has hit almost $5 million, more than 5 times than the original goal, and hit their goal in just six hours. This easy backing shows just how popular Planetscape: Torment was and still is.
Pro Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities.
Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities.
Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Pro Great homage to old school ARPGs
This game is very dark, and grim. It harkens back to games like Diablo 2 or Titans Quest. While other ARPGs have come out since then, none have hit all the marks of what fans of the genre have been asking for. For those that wish for an updated version of Diablo 2, Grim Dawn is the game for them.
Pro Exploration
Pro Highly modifiable
Relevant in modern gaming because the community can keep products like this fresh and varied, even if the developers eventually decide to slow down their updates (which they have not!). The possibilities are great with modding, while the experiences in Diablo 3 and Path of exile are a lot more static.
Pro Drop-in co-op (online and local)
Co-op is pretty convenient as players can drop in and out of your gaming session at any time. This way there is no wasted time jumping out of ones game in order to find players to play with.
Cons
Con Traditional fantasy fans may find the game daunting or too dark
Unlike most CRPG games the fantasy setting is not very Tolkeinesque, there are no dwarves or elves to be seen. All of the traditional fantasy tropes will not be found here as the game focuses on a much darker setting with undead and other scarier creatures. This may not be intriguing to some and too dark a game for those that normally enjoy the CRPG genre.
Con Only some builds are fun
There is a definite meta, with superefficient vs non-viable builds.
It's easy to mess up a build, and attribute and spec-bar points are non-respeccable (you can use a cheat editor, but devs want you to reroll a new char).
Con Difficult to move when fighting, especially when you are ranged
Con Static pre-rendered levels
This may cut down on replayability a bit as all the levels in the game are pre-rendered, meaning that each playthrough will have the exact same layout, making for something that can get tiring and too familiar. Similar games have gone with randomized levels, which can keep the game fresh. While Grim Dawn is meant to be a throwback to earlier games in the genre, some newer features found in more recent released would have been welcome.
Con Lots of trips to town
The majority of loot in the game can be useless, with odd stat restrictions or repeats of vendor items. This means the user will need to make many trips into town to sell it all off in order to have room for even more loot they will not necessarily need.