Titan Quest II - Greek mythology action-RPG sequel by SpellForce 3 devs

[KeighnMcDeath]

How about modern office workers?

 

[Serus]

I would like darker horror story and creatures.

Then this hopefully won't be a tittle for you. Although there are dark themes in Greek mythology if you really want to look for them, it isn't something that people expect from a TQ sequel, as general rule, to be the main theme of the game. Players want Greek (with perhaps some middle-eastern added) mythology themes. Duh. Not necessarily "dark and horror" although elements of those might be in. Or at least i hope they do.
You have tons of "dark" and "horror" themes in most popular games in the (sub-)genre. Starting with Diablo series ("Dark" was the subtitle they dropped last second) then Grim Dawn (it is partially a horror game as much as D2-clone allows) and ending with PoE. With several smaller titles in-between. Why would anyone want yet another of the same instead of something... well, not completely the same, is beyond me. Sure there are some games in the sub-genre that might be not-dark and not-horror but they are much less common. And nothing I knew had a theme like TQ1 - even if it was underutilized in the base game. Great in IT though.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Designing the Handcrafted World of Titan Quest II
For Titan Quest II we set the goal of creating a lush, inviting, handcrafted world for the player to explore. In this devlog, we want to take a closer look at the inspirations behind our world.

Starting with the classics
Naturally, the original Titan Quest was our first point of reference when building the world of Titan Quest II. The original game is a classic for a reason, and its vibrant, welcoming world is still a stand-out among action RPGs.

A lot of that is due to the game’s unique mythological setting, which uses ancient Greece as a backdrop for larger-than-life stories of adventure, gods, and monsters. We want our world to capture that same feeling of fantastical adventure across a picturesque Greek landscape, so we looked closely at the original game as well as the vibrant natural environment of Greece itself when concepting the game’s world.

A dash of fantasy
In addition to the natural environment, Titan Quest II is full of mythological locations. These are places where monsters or magical beings dwell. Sometimes, they take the form of towering structures built by the gods themselves. Once again, we’ve taken real-world inspiration from ancient Greek temples and villages, but we want to give them a larger-than-life mythological twist.

While some of the game’s locations are recognizable from history, Titan Quest II’s version of these places is decidedly fantastical. Just as ancient Greeks saw the hand of the gods working in their lives, Titan Quest II’s world is one in which all the gods, monsters, and magical beings of Greek mythology are real, and this approach allows us to portray locations like the Messenian Coast and Sparta in ways you’ve never seen them before.

Building a handcrafted world
In Greek myth, heroes never knew what they might encounter when they landed on a new shore. Parts of the world were known, but parts remained mysterious, full of danger and magic. We wanted to bring that same feeling of discovery, adventure, and danger to the world of Titan Quest II.

We use the term “handcrafted” to describe our world because we want every place the player discovers to feel purposeful and distinctive. There should be a payoff for wandering off the beaten path, so our designers have built the world by hand, without procedural generation, to catch the player's eye and draw them toward unique, memorable adventures. Many of the most interesting parts of Titan Quest II’s world are not signposted at all! They’re there for players to discover on their own.

 

[ArchAngel]

I wonder if there will be a dash/dodge button. That seems to be the new rage for arpgs now. Or such skill for all classes.

 

[Ryzer]

Looks good, now if only they could turn it into a full blown RPG with choices and consequences.

The Diablo clone aspect is not something I would enjoy again.

 

[frajaq]

Hmm Last Epoch launches soon, and Path of Exile 2 Beta is supposed to happen this year too, lets see if this game can keep up the attention

 

[Contagium]

Oh hell yes, 2nd best ARPG next to Grim Dawn in my worthless opinion anyway. The screenshots look great.

 

[Lacrymas]

Last Epoch isn't very good either way and PoE2 will have some bullshit systems in it to prolong its lifespan, so this is definitely going to be better than them. It's hard to fuck up a TQ/GD-like hack and slasher unless it's severely lacking in content and good/varied build options.

 

[abija]

Isn't it done by another team? Why do you expect TQ/GD?

 

[Lacrymas]

Isn't it done by another team? Why do you expect TQ/GD?

They've said it will feature the same dual mastery character building, it also has 2 in the name and has a handcrafted map like TQ/GD. From where I'm standing, it seems like they are trying to emulate that style more than anything else.

 

[ArchAngel]

Last Epoch isn't very good either way and PoE2 will have some bullshit systems in it to prolong its lifespan, so this is definitely going to be better than them. It's hard to fuck up a TQ/GD-like hack and slasher unless it's severely lacking in content and good/varied build options.

This is a bold statement. My less bold statement is that both Last Epoch and PoE2 will have 4x bigger playerbase than TQ2.
I also expect both to be better games.

 

[Lacrymas]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1154030/announcements/detail/4128182933480857455

Sparta in Titan Quest II
Sparta. Whether the name calls to mind Lacedaemon, Helen of Troy, Leonidas, or the Peloponnesian Wars, Sparta’s legend stands apart. In classical times, its influence stretched across the Peloponnesian peninsula and as far away as Italy.

So naturally, we wanted to feature Sparta in Titan Quest II. But we didn’t want these to be the same old Spartans. In keeping with our philosophy, we wanted to present a unique and fantastical twist that was nevertheless rooted in the history and classical stories that inspire us.

Ours is a world in which the monsters of myth are real, and they pose a real threat to the humans who live among them. Until recently, the Spartans and their powerful military served the role of protectors, defending the towns and villages of Greece from these mythological threats.

But what happens when Sparta falls, and that protection is gone?

Eagle-eyed observers may have noticed that our intro cinematic shows a wall ringing the city of Sparta. Of course, historical Sparta had no such wall. We don’t want to spoil too much, but imagine what happens when the most powerful city-state on the Peloponnesian peninsula turns inward and walls itself off, while seeking a power that can drive back the monstrous hordes and make them rivals to the gods. Imagine what happens when their hubris draws the attention of Nemesis, goddess of retribution, and she takes it on herself to punish them.

This is just a teaser of what’s going on in the world of Titan Quest II when the player starts the game. As they try to evade Nemesis’s wrath and free those she’s punished, their journey will reveal more about what happened to Sparta and why.

And as for that Spartan hipparch featured in the cinematic? He has a role to play, too, and he’s sure to cross the player’s path. To know more, you’ll just have to play the game. We don’t want to reveal all our secrets.

 

[Baron Tahn]

Slim pickings in the gaming world when the sequel to a pretty average diabbers clone is semi exciting news.

 

[frajaq]

I hope this actually turns out really good, so its competition with PoE 2 / Last Epoch

 

[Lacrymas]

Slim pickings in the gaming world when the sequel to a pretty average diabbers clone is semi exciting news.

It really wasn't average. There's actually a reason it has a fanbase. It's one of the best Diablo-likes ever, I find it better than D2 as a matter of fact.

 

[Contagium]

Slim pickings in the gaming world when the sequel to a pretty average diabbers clone is semi exciting news.

It really wasn't average. There's actually a reason it has a fanbase. It's one of the best Diablo-likes ever, I find it better than D2 as a matter of fact.

Agreed. For my personal tastes, the only better ARPG is Grim Dawn

 

[Serus]

Slim pickings in the gaming world when the sequel to a pretty average diabbers clone is semi exciting news.

It really wasn't average. There's actually a reason it has a fanbase. It's one of the best Diablo-likes ever, I find it better than D2 as a matter of fact.

As a SP game at least. I also liked TQ more than D2. I never liked Grim Dawn much for some reason though. However Titan Quest never had dedicated servers, as a multiplayer game D2>TQ. I suppose it is a duh.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

No dedicated servers? Which is fucking sad imho. Then again, games like Hellgate London fucked up pretty bad. I still never bothered trying the last steam version for the Hellgate Tokyo or W/e it was.

 

[Peachcurl]

The version of Hellgate that is on steam is crap, don't bother.

 

[ArchAngel]

Spellforce 3 is a good enough RPG, especially story and character wise so I have good feeling TQ2 might also be. As for aRPG mechanics.. who knows if these guys know how to make something good. Also aRPG lives and dies by how fun combat feels.

 

[Lyric Suite]

The trailer gives me a mid 2000s generic feeling (except with better graphics of course), which is relatively compelling in the age of clown world.

Look, no bear sex or edgy wombyn with lesbo hair cut saying fuck every other sentence. Just... straightforward story telling that's consistent with the setting and tone they are going for. Like, what used to be the baseline for games is now an amazing thing to have.

Never played Spellcorce 3 but now i wish for a reskin of that game instead of another Diablo clone. I sort of feel that genre has run its course now. Like, what else can they do that goes beyond Path of Exile and Grim Dawn. It feels the whole genre has reached a kind of cul-de-sac.

 

[ArchAngel]

The trailer gives me a mid 2000s generic feeling (except with better graphics of course), which is relatively compelling in the age of clown world.

Look, no bear sex or edgy wombyn with lesbo hair cut saying fuck every other sentence. Just... straightforward story telling that's consistent with the setting and tone they are going for. Like, what used to be the baseline for games is now an amazing thing to have.

Never played Spellcorce 3 but now i wish for a reskin of that game instead of another Diablo clone. I sort of feel that genre has run its course now. Like, what else can they do that goes beyond Path of Exile and Grim Dawn. It feels the whole genre has reached a kind of cul-de-sac.

You should, it is a good fun RPG.

 

[Jinn]

instead of another Diablo clone. I sort of feel that genre has run its course now. Like, what else can they do that goes beyond Path of Exile and Grim Dawn. It feels the whole genre has reached a kind of cul-de-sac.

It's a shit genre and pretty much always has been, yet I'm still optimistic about Titan Quest II as a fan of Spellforce III. I'm hoping they don't just make it a straight up Diablo II clone and integrate some meaningful exploration and more impactful progression. And hopefully it's not just clicking hoards of enemies and you have to actually use your brain in most encounters.

 

[Lacrymas]

Yes, you can't really expect more than this genre is capable of giving. If you don't like hack and slashers in general (which is very understandable), you won't like TQ either.

 

[Blutwurstritter]

This is the first action rpg in quite some time that I am looking forward to. I have absolutely no interest in farming items, late game grind and multiplayer. I tried Grim Dawn and PoE but they are pretty dull from a single player perspective. I hope this turns out differently and provides a good single player campaign. Spellforce 3 was great in that regard so I'm mildly optimistic towards Titan Quest II. I very much prefer games that I can have a great time for one playthrough and then be done with it. I hope they deliver something along these lines, and not some games as a service open-world grind looter insert-current-trend-buzzword multiplayer-oriented garbage. The market is already saturated with that shit, and it would be great if someone made a game more in line with the original Diablo II, Titan Quest, Dungeon Siege II and Nox, games that were all perfectly fine for a single playthrough.