When comparing Crypt of the NecroDancer vs Torchlight II, the Slant community recommends Torchlight II for most people. In the question“What are the best low-spec PC games?” Torchlight II is ranked 40th while Crypt of the NecroDancer is ranked 59th. The most important reason people chose Torchlight II is:
Much of leveling up is permanent, which not only gives a sense of connection to ones built characters but also means there is a large incentive to replay to make different builds.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Unique gameplay
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a dungeon crawler that is also a rhythm game. Your character can move, attack, and use special abilities only to the beat of a level's music. This means you have to split your attention between listening to the music and watching enemy movements. If you miss a beat your character won't do anything, but your enemies still get to move and attack. While the enemies are bound by the same rules as you, they won't ever miss the beat. Fortunately enough, they're always bound to a rhythm, so learning an enemy's rhythm is the key to defeating them. As a result, the gameplay stands out in both the roguelike and rhythm game genre.
Pro Fantastic soundtrack
Crypt of the NecroDancer has one of the best soundtracks you'll hear in a video game, featuring EDM, synthwave, and even heavy metal music. Each song has a unique tempo, rhythm, and feel to it, so you'll never get tired of listening to them.
Pro Incentive to replay due to limited respec system
Much of leveling up is permanent, which not only gives a sense of connection to ones built characters but also means there is a large incentive to replay to make different builds.
Pro Elaborate loot system
Loot in Torchlight II is varied and dependent on a wide array of circumstances. There are so many variables that come into play as to what a player will find that makes searching out better and better items a game in and of itself.
Pro Varied level design
Unlike the first title there are many areas to see in the game that all have different looks. Plus there are large open ares as well as close quarter caverns.
Pro Works on different OS's: Linux/Mac/Win
Torchlight II is a multi-platform game that works on OSX, Linux and Windows. Which is great for users who dual-boot as the game can be played no matter what OS is booted at the time.
Pro Well implemented and fun action-RPG combat
Torchlight 2 has all the typical RPG mechanics such as classes, loot, skill trees etc. However all the little touches and details come together to make playing the game really fun and a great balance between depth/complexity and being able to get started killing hordes of monsters. Killing monsters is very satisfying and the loot system keeps things very interesting without feeling like you're just grinding for better items.
Pro Well implemented co-op
You can team up with up to 5 other plays to take on the hordes together. There is also a PvP mode if you'd rather kill your friends instead of team up with them.
Cons
Con Extremely hard
The combat in this game has an insanely fast tempo, requiring you to split your attention between the music and the on-screen enemies. Losing focus even for a split-second means you'll probably die, so you'll have to restart the level. At times this will feel really overwhelming, especially if there are many enemies around.
Con Co-op can make the game a lot harder
While Co-op in most games makes a game easier, Crypt of the Necrodancer is the opposite. This boils down to three main reasons.
First, you and your co-op partner have to share money and items. This can lead to two under-equipped characters that struggle with killing enemies and surviving their blows.
Second, there's no splitscreen, meaning your movements need to be in sync with your partners. If you happen to go in the opposite directions, you can get stuck or attract multiple groups of enemies, causing you to get overwhelmed.
Third, you share one beat counter with your co-op partner. So if one if you misses a beat, that's the end of a combo for the both of you. Not keeping up a combo means you'll have less gold and consequently less gear.
Con Lacking in story
The characters are flat and the overall story is pretty boring/standard. While not unexpected for such a game it would have been nice to have something other than loot driving advancement in the game.
Con Limited respec system
Much like an old school dungeon crawler, there is little to no useful respec system here. You can respec the last three skill points used on a character, but that is it. This tends to lead towards plenty of skills in the skilltree that ended up going nowhere, which are just wasted points. Unless you know specifically where you will be putting each and every skill point for your build beforehand, no respec may have an impact on making a perfect build.