Backhand of Justice

 The most unusual characteristic of Planescape: Torment is that its brilliance doesn’t stem from its gameplay. Its disciples aren’t inspired by incredible graphics or innovative sequences. Torment is not even the best Role Playing Game because of its ability to make you feel like you inhabit the protagonist.

Torment is unmatched because of the story upon which it is built – a story so enthralling that it would have succeeded in any medium. It is difficult to describe Torment because it doesn’t have immersive segments like Half-Life, stunning graphics like Crysis or grand scale like World of Warcraft. The fact remains though: Torment’s story is undeniable, and the ‘game’ elements sensibly stay out of the way.

The Paradox of Torment

If you haven’t played Planescape: Torment, you’re just going to have to trust me: it’s one of the greatest games ever made. I only say this because the total package is an enigma that resists all attempts at reduction.

As I try to explain what makes Torment so good, I will likely end up solely discussing the game’s weaknesses. This is because it’s easier for you to envision the perfect game and from that starting point I can refine your mental image by discussing Torment’s few drawbacks rather than try to build up the complete picture from scratch. People frequently use the cliché of ‘more than the sum of its parts,’ but Torment embodies this idea.

At the start of the game, you wake up on a mortuary slab ... dead. Then the end credits roll. They ran out of funds pretty early in development.

Fans frequently cite ‘story’ as the reason for which Planescape is so great, although that’s not entirely the case. The story is well traveled (you’re an amnesiac on a quest to rediscover your identity) and the environment is nothing new (The Planescape world is a D&D setting that had been established 5 years before the release of the game and which is based off gas-light Victorian fantasy tropes).

Every aspect of the gameplay in Torment is not just equaled, but surpassed by 1998’s Baldur’s Gate. The introduction is slow and doesn’t immediately draw you in. Everything about the game seems to be designed to hide the game’s greatness. Those that persevere are rewarded many times over.

Oh captain my captain

In Planescape: Torment, you play as The Nameless One, a scarred, immortal warrior. Accompanying you is a motley crew of companions including a cocky disembodied skull, a religious fanatic and a possessed suit of armor. This isn’t your average group of adventuring heroes.

The most interesting thing about your party is that unlike most Role Playing Games in which you build relationships upon experiences during the game, Torment’s companion story arcs revolve around discovering how you knew them in the past (and ultimately what you did to them).

This is Nordom, one of your companions. Doesn't he exude charisma? No, he's just a cube? How dare you! That's the kind of Cubist talk that got Picasso in trouble

Just as much of the game comes from interacting with your party members as from progressing the main quest line. These aren’t discrete experiences; they’re entwined with each other both thematically and in story elements. They aren’t bolted on to the main storyline; they are the storyline. Torment is your journey of self-discovery, but that is accomplished through understanding your companions.

Words, not swords

As I describe various qualities of Torment, I notice that it breaks pretty much every rule for crafting a compelling RPG. The first thing they teach story writers is ’show don’t tell.’ Torment tells you everything.

It might as well be a text based adventure game because the conversations are front and center. The best experience gains come from conversations. You can talk your way out of most fights (to greater reward) and significant aspects of the narrative are only revealed through finesse.

This is yet another aspect where Torment moves away from role playing. Role Playing Games should not just allow you to level up or grow your character in a linear manner; they should let you dictate his development to some extent.

Just your standard pillar of skulls. These things are very trendy in Planescape

In Torment you can play as a warrior, but your lack of intelligence will greatly reduce your conversation abilities. This doesn’t just change the dynamic of the game, it breaks it. Therefore, you’re forced to play as a highly intelligent spell caster (or really ineffective yet intelligent warrior) to experience the true game.

Great RPGs are defined by their combat: Baldur’s Gate, the Final Fantasy Games and Elder Scrolls, for example. Story isn’t interactive and is icing rather than foundation. If there was ever a use for the nonsensical idiom ‘the exception that proves the rule,’ it would be in describing Torment.

Strangely familiar

Sigil and the Planes, where Torment takes place, are perfect settings for a game. They are familiar in their neo-Gothic styling as well as their cutthroat political and societal elements, but alien in race, language and architecture. It is a welcome change from the classic Tolkien-esque British countryside. Everything is foreign yet laced with enough familiar elements that it is never disorienting.

It is sarcastic and dark and a strong humorous vein runs through all the conversation and characters. The Nameless One is easy to identify with, and your fondness for him is frequently tested as you discover his actions from the past.

The emotions Torment elicits throughout range from amusement to sorrow, and everything in-between. You care about these characters. The story touches on such weighty issues as remorse and punishment, and even though this is a game it is more affecting than any previous or since.

What can change the nature of a man?

As I read back over what I’ve written I feel like I have done a disservice to the game. I have read nearly all of the 800,000 lines of dialogue in Torment, but there is no way to summarize them or do the story justice. There is no cliff notes version of Torment, as the dialogue is already distilled to its basest elements. There is no throwaway encounter, and every seemingly loose end is subsequently tied off and revealed to be significant.

This entire piece is a rambling mess with no adherence to convention, but I think that’s an accurate reflection of the game. It doesn’t follow the rules. It just works.

Torment is quite simply the greatest story ever told in a videogame, but that isn’t setting a high bar. Even when compared to the best examples in other media, however, Torment stands tall. Unfortunately, no one can be told about Torment; you have to play it for yourself.