If you haven't played Torchlight II before, now is the perfect opportunity, as it has just been released on the Switch eShop. In fact, Runic Games – the company originally behind it – was founded by some of the team who previously established Blizzard North and went on to create the Diablo series. As a result, you'll feel right at home with this newer ARPG dungeon crawler if you've played Blizzard's demonic series before.
Panic Button helped out Perfect World Entertainment with the console version of Torchlight II and while it has already tweaked the controls and added in some exclusive pets, there's a chance the Switch version of the game could receive a little extra in attention in the future. Speaking to DualShockers, Panic Button co-owner and technical director Andy Boggs said this update could be in the form of a UI enhancement for Switch Lite users:
Our UI redesign, which would be the biggest thing that [Nintendo Switch Lite] would affect, we had to do that pretty early on, as you can imagine. We didn’t know what the exact specs would be at the time that we did that, but we did know that we wanted to maximize what the UI can look like on these smaller screens. We have had the chance to visualize what that’s going to look like on the smaller handheld. In a patch we may go back, and if users find areas that are too small to read on the smaller screen we would probably look at doing an update for those.
The size of the user interface isn't something developers always seem to nail on the Switch. There have been a number of cases of small illegible text and HUDS in handheld mode, so it's good to hear a patch is already in consideration.
Is there any chance you'll be playing Torchlight II on a Switch Lite later this month? Leave a comment below.
[source dualshockers.com]
Comments 12
The Switch Lite screen isn't that much smaller. If they are worried about the UI that suggests to me the UI was already right on the edge of what even they thought was acceptable.
Personally I don't understand why they made the screen smaller in the first place. This was the perfect chance to ditch that silly bezel around the edge of the screen.
@Heavyarms55 They did reduce the bevel, but they'll never get rid of it. Nintendo designs their systems to take a certain amount of abuse, and I can't imagine that would work an edge to edge screen. At least, not with current materials.
@Heavyarms55 You mean bezel. And yes it should have been reduced in size.
@RandomNerds Fixed. I really should proofread my own comments.
I know what it it there for, but I can't help feeling they could use a better method. Be it the base model or the Lite that bezel just looks out of date, like a device from 2006.
@link3710 I'm not suggesting they put the screen right to the edge of the device. But they could easily have the screen fill out all the way to the edge of what is currently the bezel. As it is right now, that bezel is just there to have something to attach the screen to. It is literally just glued in place. A larger screen would probably need to be attached in a different manner which would likely raise production costs.
And no Physical cart is coming forth???
As a person who sometimes struggles with small text on the Switch, I found Panic Button's work on Torchlight perfect. To be honest I think the UI is a little stronger here than that in Diablo III (which is itself an admirable translation to the small screen). Weird that Nintendo themselves messed this up with the first party Fire Emblem 3 Houses - the only thing marring that otherwise extraordinary game - while Panic Button stuck the landing.
@SwitchForce It just got a digital release. If it does well, maybe it will get a physical release. Till then, enjoy the digital only version for $20 bucks. Which is a fair price for Torchlight 2.
@Heavyarms55
To me, it is the other way around; I find that devices with almost no bezels look silly. I rarely see any point to extending it that much to the edge other than to say "look Ma! No bezel". You need at least a small one, especially if the screen is touch-enabled. And especially for portable devices. The only ones I think look good without one are TV sets. And even though, they always have a very small one at least.
Also, the less bezel you have, the more risks you get to crack the screen if dropped, unless you add pretective sleeves or cases. The Switch being handled by many different people in my house, kids included, I don't want to have even more reasons for me to get a heart attack if it is dropped on the floor. Not saying we "need" huge bezels. Just that a small one is better (and looks better) to me, than almost none at all, just for the sake of its look. Sure, a larger screen could improve visibility and readability, but I don't think, at that size, that it would make a noticeable difference.
Maybe the bezel could've been a bit smaller on that new unit. But not by much IMO. I value the unit's smaller size much more than gaining only a couple of millimeters of screen size.
But that's me. And I know many will disagree.
Every game should have a font size option especially RPGs.
@Realnoize It's like I said to the other guy, I don't want the screen all the way to the edge of the device, just to the edge of where the bezels currently are. It would give the screen a nice size boost and there is still room under the shell to mount and secure the screen.
Most games do seem to use the same size UI in handheld, tabletop and TV modes, usually either too small in handheld or tabletop mode or too large in TV mode. It would be nice if you could have multiple settings.
Too bad it's still on a home console, not a handheld. According to Wikiepdia, the authoritative source, Switch Lite is a home console without television output, so no playing it on the go.
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