"What can change the nature of a man?"
Any attempt at un-ravel-ing the world and narrative of Planescape: Torment must center around this question. It's the anchor of the game, spidering out like tiny tendrils of silken web from the central plot onto every piece of dialogue, every character and even the setting itself - connecting it all as it envelops and cocoons. Sigil is a ring of infinite doors, and Planescape: Torment could be described in the same way - revolving around itself with each door a different question leading to the same place.
If this seems like insanity for a video game review, that's ok. Planescape revels in absurdity and esotericism in an attempt to be unlike any other fantasy game. Released a year to the day after its Infinity Engine sibling, Baldur's Gate, Planescape doesn't contain many of the hallmarks of Dungeons and Dragons - there are no elves, there are no dwarves, and there are no stories of epic heroism laden with the trappings of treasure and fame. In fact, Chris Avellone didn't even want swords to be in the game. Instead, the first companion of the game is a floating skull, the first area of the game is a mortuary filled with grotesque dead and undead, and your epic quest is simply: who am I, and why can't I die?
Traveling through the city of Sigil, the literal center of the DnD universe, the nameless protagonist slowly begins to un-ravel his story and the stories of his companions. Each companion character is written with delicate care, providing richly textured stories that interweave with your own. This is not a game that can or should be rushed without speaking to others - it is more like a novel that should be scrutinized over. Each line of text is meaningful. Science Fiction and Fantasy are a their best when authors use the impossibilities of the universe, whether magic or science, to push the boundaries of human thought and storytelling, and Planescape is a testament to this through its explorations of mortality, fear, love, regret, good, evil, justice, and chaos.
The Infinity Engine, while dated, lends a certain grimy charm to the world and character visuals. Beamdog have done an excellent job of modernizing the UI with quality of life improvements while still holding true to the spirit of the game. The original game had a sparse menu bar, forcing the player to utilize a wheel to control the characters and action. This unwieldy setup has been replaced by a simple toolbar with hotkeys that makes things intuitive and easy to use. The addition of a zoom-in and zoom-out feature also allows for easy adjustment of the originals claustrophobic FOV.
The one thing that Beamdog could not update without affecting the gameplay is the combat, which does blemish the experience. Planescape is not combat focused, however there are certainly sections which could be considered combat heavy. Though these are fairly rare, they can be frustrating, as the goal of the game is not to defeat enemies, but rather to gain knowledge. This frustration is doubly apparent when comparing Planescape to something like Disco Elysium, which accomplishes many of the same goals while having no combat. While not an ideal solution, turning the difficulty slider to the lowest setting makes the combat bearable and quick, allowing for much easier exploration.
The writing, characters, and narrative shine as the centerpieces of Planescape. Each character provides different perspective to both the protagonist and the absurd, yet tragic, world around them. Though the central question to un-ravel is "what can change the nature of a man," Planescape offers up many other avenues of introspection and consideration - it's hard to stop questioning, theorizing, and imagining, even after the credits roll.
Any attempt at un-ravel-ing the world and narrative of Planescape: Torment must center around this question. It's the anchor of the game, spidering out like tiny tendrils of silken web from the central plot onto every piece of dialogue, every character and even the setting itself - connecting it all as it envelops and cocoons. Sigil is a ring of infinite doors, and Planescape: Torment could be described in the same way - revolving around itself with each door a different question leading to the same place.
If this seems like insanity for a video game review, that's ok. Planescape revels in absurdity and esotericism in an attempt to be unlike any other fantasy game. Released a year to the day after its Infinity Engine sibling, Baldur's Gate, Planescape doesn't contain many of the hallmarks of Dungeons and Dragons - there are no elves, there are no dwarves, and there are no stories of epic heroism laden with the trappings of treasure and fame. In fact, Chris Avellone didn't even want swords to be in the game. Instead, the first companion of the game is a floating skull, the first area of the game is a mortuary filled with grotesque dead and undead, and your epic quest is simply: who am I, and why can't I die?
Traveling through the city of Sigil, the literal center of the DnD universe, the nameless protagonist slowly begins to un-ravel his story and the stories of his companions. Each companion character is written with delicate care, providing richly textured stories that interweave with your own. This is not a game that can or should be rushed without speaking to others - it is more like a novel that should be scrutinized over. Each line of text is meaningful. Science Fiction and Fantasy are a their best when authors use the impossibilities of the universe, whether magic or science, to push the boundaries of human thought and storytelling, and Planescape is a testament to this through its explorations of mortality, fear, love, regret, good, evil, justice, and chaos.
The Infinity Engine, while dated, lends a certain grimy charm to the world and character visuals. Beamdog have done an excellent job of modernizing the UI with quality of life improvements while still holding true to the spirit of the game. The original game had a sparse menu bar, forcing the player to utilize a wheel to control the characters and action. This unwieldy setup has been replaced by a simple toolbar with hotkeys that makes things intuitive and easy to use. The addition of a zoom-in and zoom-out feature also allows for easy adjustment of the originals claustrophobic FOV.
The one thing that Beamdog could not update without affecting the gameplay is the combat, which does blemish the experience. Planescape is not combat focused, however there are certainly sections which could be considered combat heavy. Though these are fairly rare, they can be frustrating, as the goal of the game is not to defeat enemies, but rather to gain knowledge. This frustration is doubly apparent when comparing Planescape to something like Disco Elysium, which accomplishes many of the same goals while having no combat. While not an ideal solution, turning the difficulty slider to the lowest setting makes the combat bearable and quick, allowing for much easier exploration.
The writing, characters, and narrative shine as the centerpieces of Planescape. Each character provides different perspective to both the protagonist and the absurd, yet tragic, world around them. Though the central question to un-ravel is "what can change the nature of a man," Planescape offers up many other avenues of introspection and consideration - it's hard to stop questioning, theorizing, and imagining, even after the credits roll.