Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition

K. Fields
2018-05-14T12:57:21-04:00
Video Games

Best computer RPG of all time? For many, the decision is between the Baldur’s Gate series and Planescape: Torment, both developed by Black Isle Studios. Compared to BG’s familiar Forgotten Realms, the Planescape setting didn’t appeal to me as much. Baldur’s Gate I & II were the best CRPGs I’d ever played. I always assumed Planescape: Torment couldn’t live up to those. Boy, was I wrong. After finishing Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition, I now see what all the fuss was about. It was a different experience than any other D&D computer game I’ve played, but perhaps the most satisfying of all.

Right from the start, you know it is a different type of D&D game. Your character is The Nameless One (TNO). You don’t select your race, class, alignment, or name. TNO begins as a neutral level 3 fighter. The only customization available is the distribution of some attribute points. As with Baldur’s Gate, you encounter certain non-player characters who can accompany you on your journey. Although you can have a party of six characters, the story remains firmly rooted around The Nameless One.

At first, I wasn’t that enthused about the city of Sigil, the location for much of the game. It grew on me quickly, however. This was a nice change of pace from the typical high fantasy setting. There were no elves, dwarves, gnomes, or halflings. There were no dragons to slay. The city was inhabited by a wide variety of extra-planar races. They even had their own slang. Magic exists in Planescape but many of the spells were unique and not found in “vanilla” D&D. Commerce was transacted in copper, not gold. Eventually, I realized the Planescape setting was not a weakness but one of the strengths of the game.

Gameplay was driven by the Infinity Engine, which supported Baldur’s Gate as well. The Enhanced Edition added some nice benefits including widescreen support, higher graphics resolutions, and nice little timesavers such as the quickloot feature. Although they share the same game engine, Planescape: Torment was far less combat focused than Baldur’s Gate or Icewind Dale. Of all the computer RPGs I’ve ever played, I think this one had the least amount of combat in it. Despite playing for close to 50 hours, it was amazing how few battles you were forced to engage in. This was a very dialogue heavy game. Supposedly, the game’s script was around 800,000 words, which makes it one of the largest ever written. You need to do a lot of reading to get the most out of it. This style of RPG really appealed to me. It wouldn’t be a favorite of those that prefer action RPGs. At first, The Nameless One had almost complete amnesia but his memories gradually came back to him. TNO’s alignment was fluid and changed along with his actions. I read there are several possible endings to the game, depending on the choices you make. I was happy with the ending in my game.

On one hand, I’m tempted to name Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition as my favorite computer RPG of all time. I liked the story, the unique setting, and its combat light gameplay. On the other hand, I still love the Baldur’s Gate series. It had a great epic story set in the Forgotten Realms and surpassed Planescape: Torment in size and scope. I played Baldur’s Gate first so that probably adds to its special place in my heart. For now, the BG series and PT are in a virtual tie as my all-time favorites.