When comparing Insurgency vs Torchlight II, the Slant community recommends Torchlight II for most people. In the question“What are the best LAN party PC games?” Torchlight II is ranked 10th while Insurgency is ranked 35th. 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 Slow and measured gunplay creates a more realistic atmosphere
In an effort to be more realistic, the gunplay is slow and measured. This makes for an immersive experience, both because of how real it feels and because of how different it is from other FPS games.
Pro Mature community means more people can experience enjoyable communications and interactions while online
Insurgency's player community is more mature and respectful than what is commonly expected in online shooters, making communicating both on forums and in the game more enjoyable.
Pro Easily play against friends, no matter the OS they use
The game works on Windows, macO and Linux, which means anyone can play the game against someone with one of these different operating systems.
Pro Easy VoIP support, as it is built in
Insurgency has Steam integration that allows for easy VoIP communication.
Pro Gameplay stays balanced thanks to no allowed class repetition on each team
The game doesn’t allow multiple people on the same team to have the same character class. This helps ensure the game remains balanced as no two players can have the same roll.
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 Steep learning curve at first
Even with experience in other FPS games, you will need to have solid knowledge of the maps and the tactical approach before you start to really enjoy yourself. The maps are very complex, which can cause this process to take a few hours.
Con Requires a good team
To really succeed, you need to communicate effectively in order to set up a winning strategy. This is much easier for groups of people that are familiar with one another as opposed to random people playing together.
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.