For old school computer role-playing gamers, the upcoming Torment: Tides of Numenera is huge. Heck, if you aren't a fan of classic RPGs, then there's no doubt in my mind you've still heard people talk about 1999's Planescape: Torment—the image, style, and universe that Numenera thematically stands on. Torment: Tides of Numenera is based on Monte Cook's pen-and-pad Numenera universe, and built by the creative team behind Planescape: Torment. The pedigree here is impeccable.
These three new videos—boom, boom, boom—flesh out very quickly what this very alien world is all about. They explain what Earth is like 1 billion years in the future. They explain whatever these "tides" are all about. They explain the cake-layered combat. I like how you can squint and see a thousand words' worth of details in the landscape. I still think the artists could've created more depth of field rather than jamming endless details into flat terrain. The overworld map is cool, because it looks as though the seven continents have reformed into some kind of Pangaea II (remember, this is 1 billion years in the future; continental drift is real, y'all). And the video quickly lost me during the combat explanations, but it's not that complicated, I'm just easily bored with complex combat when there are dialogue trees on the line!
Torment: Tides of Numenera has been in Steam Early Access for a year now, but the final product finally launches February 28 on PC.
