It took me a little while to get into the game during Planescape’s first act, but once I did I couldn’t stop playing. Being a Dungeons and Dragons computer RPG from 1999, and developed by the same studio who worked on Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, I had come to the game with certain assumptions. Baldur’s Gate places a higher importance on combat than Planescape, as does DnD in general. Typically, players will prioritize the primary stat for their chosen class. For example, If I were creating a Wizard character intelligence would be my primary stat and my equipment would reflect that. Not so in Planescape: Torment.
The magic of Planescape lies in its compelling story, and the many fun characters you meet along your journey. This means that adding skill points to stats like wisdom and intelligence far outweigh the importance of strength or dexterity, and even charisma. Neglecting wisdom and intelligence will lead to less dialogue options and even less experience, since most experience is gained from dialogue and some options won’t be available to players with low wis/int. Once I understood this and started a new game with the correct stat choices, my experience became a lot more enjoyable. Often times, talking to an NPC feels like a puzzle or minefield in which choosing the wrong dialogue options could lead to an unexpected fight or simply missing out on important details. I’m being dramatic, but I went into each conversation with that mindset as the game progressed and I realized once I chose an incorrect response I wouldn’t get a second chance.
While the main quest, with The Nameless One’s quest to learn who he is and why he can’t die, is certainly the most intriguing part of the game, there’s also lots of side quests to get distracted by. As a newcomer to the Planescape setting, these quests helped me understand the world and lore in which the game takes place. Besides being sources of EXP, they’re a great window into the darkly humorous world of Planescape.
So, what can truly change the nature of a man? The simple answer is, lots of things! This one question lies at the heart of this game and I find it interesting because there are several ways to answer. Of course, the game cares only about one specific answer but I digress… The bottom line is that this is a fantastic game that appears similar to Baldur’s Gate on the surface but in reality has a unique twist. You’re not a hero set out on an epic quest to slay villains. You’re not working to save the world. In this game, you don’t even know who you are or what journey you’re on. You get the sense that everywhere you visit you’ve been before and every “new” person you talk to has conversed with you in the past. You travel with a cast of characters that seem as mysterious and troubled as you are, and you really have no idea why they’d aid you in the first place. Planescape: Torment is introspective and seeks to unravel the mystery that is you. A rare experience in a game and one I’d like to see again.