Torchlight is a hack n' slash dungeon crawler like classic Diablo, but it bears a lot more resemblance to Fate, which is not surprising since the now defunct Runic Games was formed by Travis Baldree. As such, Torchlight contains some differentiating mechanics like a selection of generic spells that any class can learn on top of their class specific skills and the player also has a pet by default that aids them in combat, can travel back to town to sell items and be transformed into more powerful forms by feeding them magical fish.
I like the Torchlight series because it feels like a classic hack n' slash, but generally more fast paced, and there's a lot more freedom when designing a character than with the usual rigid class system most ARPGs have, barring the lack of a respec system.
That being said, it's kind of hard to recommend Torchlight 1 when Torchlight 2 is superior in pretty much every single way. It's not like there's an overarching narrative to follow or something like that, there is a story linking both games, but it doesn't really matter to be honest. You wouldn't lose much by skipping this one in favor of the sequel.

Great dungeon crawler that improves on the Diablo-like experience. I know many will categorize this under "Diablo Clone", but its so much more. Back when I first played this game it was pre-Diablo 3 and I had just finished playing Diablo 2 for the first time. This game improved so much on that game's formula by adding the ability to have a pet who can both help you in combat and sell any junk items you picked up, so you don't have to go all the way back to town constantly. This quite frankly should be this game's selling point alone! Only downside to this first game, is that there is no co-op function which does suck as these types of games always encourage that.

If, like me, you're addicted to Diablo-likes and need another hit, this is a solid choice. Gameplay mechanics are very similar to Fate (2005) from the same developer, but combat is punchy and polished. Similarly to Fate, the plot is very generic and not worth mentioning. The visual style is cute and has aged well for the most part. Sadly there isn't much to stick around for after you beat the final boss - technically there is an infinite dungeon to explore and farm in, but I gave it up after a few floors of the same thing. Initially it might seem like there is a ton of loot variety, but I noticed very similar drops when playing with other characters.

Results:
Finished the campaign with Vanquisher, post-game is boring

doesn't do anything new in the genre but has a lot of polish. Story is non-existent but that isn't too important in a loot fest game like this. Has a lot of replay value, but the lack of co-op (local and online) doesn't inspire me to enter the dungeons again just to roll a new character.

I might be sounding negative, but it really is an addicting game. I just wish the atmosphere and options were a bit more inspired. If you're new to the genre this is a great entry point and you'll probably like it even more than I did.

tldr solid game, but lack of co-op hurts it imo

I simply cannot finish this game, but I tried very hard.

I started this at the end of May in order to get some good ARPG before I might dip into Diablo 4, but I ended up in a very shallow pool of water called Torchlight.

Torchlight is an ARPG with a very claustrophobic approach to the genre, reminiscing to the good old days of dungeon crawling, but instead here are mines and caves and lost places deep below the town called Torchlight.

There are three classes with no customization options and a few options for a pet, who helps you in battle and trades your worthless loot while you are in the dungeon.

What I hated is the fact that the dungeons (or floors as they are called here) shows no variety and only the themes are different, even the layouts are pretty much the same or mirrored version of the one you just beated.

The enemy variety serves visual purposes only, because each floor contains the same archetypes, they just look a tiny bit different. Bosses are really underwhelming and slaying them does not reward you at all, and the three classes feel really powerless and each skill tree gives you options to build your character in a way that will probably throttle you back way more, instead of helping you achive a unique and powerful character.

At the last floor, I had enough of this game. Not just because the side missions are meaningless and repetitive nonsense, but because the ARPG genre, while repetitive on it's own, offers much better games than Torchlight. Despite this, I will try out Torchlight 2, just to see if they improved the game in any way or they just made the same mistakes again.