Fans of action RPGs in the vein of Diablo are spoiled for choice these days. It’s hard to beat Diablo 4 itself in terms of sheer impact, but if that’s not quite your speed, Path of Exile 2 also hit Steam Early Access recently, on top of the many older ARPGs (like Torchlight) that are still worth your time. But one brand-new game in early access still manages to stand out, despite having a long road ahead before its full release.
The original Titan Quest is one of the best classic ARPGs. Released in 2006, it’s a Greek mythology-inspired spin on Diablo, pitting you against harpies, gorgons, and all manner of other familiar beasts pulled from legend. Like so many weird kids before me, I had a phase of being obsessed with Greek mythology that I never entirely grew out of, which combined with my love of Diablo made me a perfect target for Titan Quest.
Now, nearly 20 years later, its sequel is finally in early access, and it’s already recapturing much of the joy of the original. Where Diablo 4 leans as far as possible into a dark and dire atmosphere, Titan Quest II is set in a comparatively bright and sunny version of the Greek isles. The very first shot of the game has your character peering over a cliff at the ocean, a sight that’s as gorgeous as it is simple. From there, you set out with your mentor to visit a shrine and eventually slay a gryphon before leaving your home in a rush for a neighboring island as the game’s real plot — which unsurprisingly features feuding gods and the whims of the Fates — kicks off.
Titan Quest II quickly sets a much different pace than most of its modern peers as well. That is to say, the action is much slower, both in the speed with which you dispatch enemies and how often you’ll be swapping out your gear. The game is new to early access, so maybe that pace is something its developer will eventually want to “fix,” but I’m hoping it’s not. As much as I enjoy some parts of Diablo 4, it frankly feels exhausting to constantly be swarmed with hordes of demons, and obliterating dozens of them with a single swing gets old fast. There’s a frantic speed to many ARPGs that Titan Quest II pushes against, favoring slower battles with fewer foes that at least so far feels more purposeful than the casual slaughter of Diablo 4.
At this point, it’s also much simpler in terms of gear and character progression. Again, it’s entirely possible that the later game will be bloated with new stat modifiers and abilities, but early on, having relatively few item bonuses and passive abilities to work with makes those choices feel easier to grasp and more impactful.
One area where the game could actually use a bit more heft is in its choice of classes, called masteries here. The original Titan Quest eventually grew to 11 masteries through its expansions, but Titan Quest II currently only has four — two focused on magic and two predominantly on melee attacks. More than just lacking choices, at this point what’s really missing from the game are meaningful and interesting ways to combine skills from different masteries. You get access to two fairly quickly, but in trying multiple combinations, I’ve yet to find a mix that really clicks. And compared to some of the more interesting masteries in the original game, the ones offered here so far feel a bit basic.
It’s not that there’s a lack of customization entirely. Each ability can be leveled up individually, which grants it slots to attach new modifiers. You can turn some melee abilities into ranged ones, add damage-over-time effects, or change the elemental damage type of some attacks. Similarly, your default attack, dodge, and shield can be tuned to your liking, meaning everyone’s build will be a little bit different even with the same basic skills. That’s all great, but the default skills themselves could use a lot more variety, or at least something more surprising than what’s available already.
Developer Grimlore Games says major updates are planned for every three months in early access, so much of this could change quickly. A character creator is one of the first priorities, and at least six masteries are expected by the game’s 1.0 launch. By that point, Titan Quest II could be a very different game from what’s available now, but at this early stage, it’s already got plenty to make it worth checking out if you’re looking for something a bit different from your typical ARPG.
