A Sequel Worth It's Legacy

We all die once

It is a fact that is not encouraging to be reminded of on a cold Tuesday morning. Death is among the few things in life we can deal with with a degree of wisdom - in the past, as now, as a billion years ahead, in which countless civilizations have arisen and pass, new continents are created through moving landmasses and the world has adopted technology so advanced that today it would be equated with magic.

This is the world the player gets into when playing Torment: Tides of Numenra. However, something differs from our present-day perception of death in this game. According to the game world's population, which calls themselves "the ninth" as they believe to be the ninth civilization of the earth, an individual named "The Changing God" possesses the ability to jump between bodies and thus deceive death and become immortal. However, when you play with the powers of life and death this , of course, has consequences. The bodies left behind after The Changing God has possessed their minds transform to a sort of collective form of artificial consciousness. These artificial individuals are called "castoffs" and you, as a player, take the role of the latest soul that has been used and discarded . The player wakes up in an untouched world, hurt and disoriented and it is here Torment: Tides of Numenera begins.

Travel trough dimensions and time in your deep quest.

The crazy world of Monte Cook

The game's appearance is almost as complex as the title's protagonist. Torment: Tides of Numenera is thought of as a spiritual sequel to the cult classics Planescape: Torment - with the twist that the action this time revolves around Numenera, a series of role-playing books written and designed by role-play legend Monte Cook. There are thus two important branches in the game's family tree: The language, philosophical story that immortalized Planescape: Torment and the core source material from Cook's created universe.

The marriage between the two is incredibly clear. In Torment: Tides of Numenera, the player meets a world in which consciousness can be transmitted or copied, humanity is fighting in endless wars that extend through different dimensions and paradoxical time travel is everyday food for average adventurers. At the same time, the inhabitants of the world are looking for the meaning behind the incomprehensible surroundings, and some have found that mysteries from the past can hold the answers to tomorrow's conflicts. It is hard to imagine a more appropriate premise for an awesome game experience.

As you explore the essence of the universe itself, only imagination can set boundaries for your environments in this game.

Exercising your brain & soul

Torment: Tides of Numenera carries the Planescape legacy with pride. From the beginning it is clear where the game's priorities lie. This is a deep, thought-provoking story with a personal message that is in focus. For old fans, well-known themes explored in the game are immortality, inheritance and memory loss through different characters, each with a bizarre background story to share with us. These background stories are incredibly comprehensive, similar to Inxile's previous game, and could have filled almost entire books with the often psychotic stories.

This fact may sound overwhelming, and it is from time to time. Some have equaled the playtrough of Torment: Tides of Numeracy with reading a book. This comparison is understandable but unfair. The word conversations and the long object descriptions are extensions of the colorful mysterious gaming world. Nothing is enforced, the player can choose to skip conversations with one touch of a button, but for those who want to know everything about the world they are in and create real ties with characters there is the possibility. In the ninth world, only the imagination sets limits.

While some environments are lush, green and beautiful...

... other environments can look pretty dark, sinister and twisted.

Choose your own path

In addition to the extensive text-based action, we have the obvious interactivity, the freedom to influence the action and one of the greatest examples of role playing in a game ever conceived. The ability to navigate through consequential conversation trees is nothing new to the genre, but Tides of Numenera has implemented skills like Might, Speed and Intellect. Whether you try to convince a merchant that your merchandise is more valuable, try to remember a forgotten memory or strive to knock an enemy into the floor, you can use one of these skills.

You will not find a overwhelming choice of skills to choose, statistics information or complex algorithms in this game. Compared to other classic role playing games, this is surprisingly accessible and transparent. There are three different character classes, a turn-based combat system and an array of techno/magical-gadgets with strange features, but everything is really about the simple skill system in the game.

Many cities give a futuristic sci-fi feeling, giving the space-nerd something fun to explore.

Tides of Numenera does not give the player the ability to choose difficulty and, like the predecessor, the player is more or less immortal. The challenge lies instead in the choice the player chooses to take. Failures give the player surprising results as often it leads to the title screen.

The interaction and confluence between choice and consistency is a really important part of the game. You can not blow up all the villages in the air, but your choices do affect the story in a discreet, unexpected manner. To see that one solution used in a previous assignment become relevant at a later date is really satisfactory and makes the world feel alive. The main missions differs from the side missions, of course, but the two still collude together, which is really impressive.

That blue stuff looks like something wort investigating, hmm...

The joy that follows when navigating the massive maze of narrative developers placed you in is huge and the many subtle differences in the storyline that actually exist are the greatest strength of the game.

The massive gaming world and its extensive story is wonderful. The player moves through colorful but static environments and cope with conflicts, recruits companions, digs various treasures and kills enemies in turn-based battles.

Dialogue is an important part of the story and your interactions with characters will ripple into the future.

Final thoughts

However, it is clear that not all aspects of the game have received as much love as the story. It is often far between the turn-based battles and these battles can feel really boring. However, the potential is there. The opportunity to have conversations with the opponents is really interesting, but here too, the game does not reach its potential. The character models also leave much to be desired, especially when comparing these with the otherwise flawless, colorful world.

In other words, it is fully aware of its own legacy, which is also an important topic in the story. The story does not take one but countless smaller shapes and they are all colorful, inspired and memorable. The game's other aspects fade in comparison to this brilliance. You will find all the usual role-playing elements, but everything is subordinate to the story and the player's freedom to influence it.

There are aspects that are impossible to talk about after only one playtrough (which took about 50 hours) offering great replayability as the game's balance and the ability to play the game as radically different characters makes for an joyful second experience . Having said that, it's hard not to be impressed by this unique game. We all sure do die once, but before that day you should try this game.

Torment: Tides of Numenera - A Deep Soul Exploring Journey Into The Ninth World [Game Review]