Developer: Iron Lore Entertainment, THQ Nordic
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Genre: Action, RPG
Available On: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC
Version Tested: PlayStation 4
Official Site: Titan Quest
Release Date:Â March 20, 2018
Where to Buy it: PlayStation Store, Steam, Microsoft Store, Nintendo eShop
Who doesn’t love a good Diablo-style action-RPG dungeon crawler? Seriously… who? I’m almost inclined to say that they are impossible to dislike, well if done right anyway. I mean between the three Diablo games themselves, their expansions, and numerous similar titles, I have probably logged thousands of hours worth of gameplay. So it didn’t take much convincing to get me to review Titan Quest Anniversary Edition. So does it hold up? Is this re-release of a game from 2006 worth your time? Well… no, not really. That’s the simple answer though, so if you have patience, please let me break down my experiences with the game in length for you.
So again this is a game that was originally released back in 2006. This Anniversary Edition has some updates and includes the DLC from back in the day. That being said, from your first minutes with Titan Quest it’s easy to tell that it wasn’t created in 2018, it definitely feels like a product of its time. For example, don’t go into this game expecting the kind of super-refined controls that you’d get from something like Diablo III or Torchlight II. What you get here is something that feels slightly off and is very hard to get used to. This could be because the game was originally intended to be played with a mouse and keyboard, but I would definitely describe them as clunky and a bit on the slow side. That’s another thing that detracts from the value of the game, its speed. Compared to other ARPGs it is a sloth. Movement speed, attack speed, enemies… everything feels much slower than I would have expected.
Again to be fair I have heard from several people that the original PC release had much better controls and felt much tighter. It’s really a shame that this was not carried over in this port. I also ran into some bugs and glitches during my playthrough, with items disappearing making them impossible to pick up, but their name still shows on the screen. Another issue I had were with the font, on my 1080p TV, it just seemed way too small. I checked for options to change this and found none. I was also not a fan of the games very large skill system. Rather than having separate classes like you see in other ARPGs, your hero in Titan Quest has access to a multitude of different abilities. This has the positive effect of allowing you to completely customize how you want your character to play. This seems awesome, but honestly, at first, I found it quite overwhelming.
It wasn’t all bad though. The world the game takes place in, ancient Greece, is absolutely awesome. The soundtrack was another very strong point. The composers, Scott Morton and Michael Verrette, did an amazing job. And while it feels clunky and dated, the Diablo-inspired gameplay is still very fun at times. During my playthrough I found myself feeling like a Greek demigod, smashing enemies just like Hercules or Achilles. The loot gathering aspect, while not as on point as Diablo was addictive enough to keep me going. Titan Quest Anniversary Edition has a lot of pieces that could make it a good game, but in execution, it just doesn’t quite get there. Whether this is exclusive to this port, I could not tell you. I know that the PC version of the game has a pretty decent following and good reviews, so I am inclined to believe its a quality game that I missed out on by playing on my PlayStation 4. I know that the people behind this game went on to create Grim Dawn, which is an excellent ARPG. It absolutely puts this game to shame, and you should definitely check it out if you are looking for something in this genre.
Verdict: Titan Quest Anniversary Edition has a lot of potential, and it fails to measure up to it. When compared to the more refined games in the ARPG genre, it falters. The PC version of the game that this is ported from may, in fact, be a gem but the PlayStation 4 edition is too slow, clunky, and simply mediocre. This could all be forgiven if the game was priced a bit lower. But for the asking price, it is just not worth your time. Not when there are so many other games with similar gameplay that is done better. So unless you are feeling nostalgic, or you find it for a few dollars, I simply cannot recommend Titan Quest Anniversary Edition.
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