Torment: Tides of Numenera Reviews

Torment: Tides of Numenera is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Leif Johnson
Top Critic
8.8 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

The turn-based combat may be a little disappointing, but Torment: Tides of Numenera manages to live up to the legacy of Planescape: Torment by offering a fascinatingly weird and well-written tale. Thanks to a wide variety of options in conversations and the influences of its tidal system, it offers decent opportunities for replay value and a memorable tale each time. This is the rare game that leans almost entirely on its setting and writing for its appeal, and the miraculous thing is that it usually succeeds.

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89 / 100
Feb 28, 2017

A slow start gives way to a thought-provoking adventure in a remarkable setting. A fitting follow-up to a beloved RPG.

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Recommended
Feb 28, 2017

Smart and commendably weird, InXile's homage to Planescape Torment doesn't exceed its inspiration but certainly does it proud.

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8.5 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

Constant text-reading and unusual imagery are delights to speculative-fiction lovers, but others may be confounded

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8 / 10.0
Mar 9, 2017

Aside from some issues with encounter balance and my yearnings for more detail, it's a beautiful, challenging game, content to be ambiguous, rich and confounding in ways that few other RPGs have ever pulled off.

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9 / 10
Mar 8, 2017

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a fascinating old-school RPG that doubles down on the concept of role-playing.

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Unscored
Feb 28, 2017

A worthy successor to Planescape.

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Unscored
Mar 21, 2017

Torment's uneven gameplay is pulled to the finish line by its engrossing world and story. Assuming you can get over the introductory hump (and all that text), it's absolutely a story worth reading, if not always playing. Buy it.

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2 / 5.0
Mar 6, 2017

With frustrating tech, unappealing appearance and a lack of quality of life streamlining, Torment: Tides of Numenera might actually be my biggest gaming-related disappointment since I bought an Atari Jaguar. Some of the complaints mentioned here, especially exploration (wrongly as load times weren’t this bad), could be leveled at Planescape: Torment, but many years have gone by with many new ideas to make gaming experiences more engrossing.

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Unscored
Feb 28, 2017

No, you don't need to have played 1999 weird fantasy roleplaying game Planescape: Torment to enjoy this spiritual sequel. There are references and commonalities, but they're not in any way necessary to understand or appreciate it. What is required is a reasonable degree of patience, and an enjoyment of reading and of big ideas.

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Unscored
Feb 28, 2017

Torment is the weird, wordy, wise and wicked roleplaying game we've so desired during these long years of heightened spectacle. Not a total triumph, no, but close enough.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

One of the best CRPGs of recent times, with a rich world to get lost in, and some great mechanics to keep you playing for hours.

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8 / 10
Feb 28, 2017

Great writing and environment design, combined with an epic story and wide range of player choice, make Tides of Numenera a wonderful RPG. The reliance on text won't be for everyone, but fans of the genre are going to love it.

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IGN Middle East
Zia Murad
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

For a game claiming to be the "spiritual successor" of the popular 1990 RPG, Torment does not only capture the soul of Planescape: Torment that made us feel nostalgic, but it also managed to get rid of the old cliches and add enough new ideas to be a great game on its own. Even though some of the new systems aren't ideal, the right mix of a charming world, an epic story, interested characters, and surprising plot twists puts it on the list of the greatest modern RPGs.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

Feb 28, 2017

It's a well-executed set-up with a wondrous payoff. Whereas the fun in a game like For Honor comes from physically learning how to play, the fun in Tides of Numenera comes from achieving encyclopedic knowledge of a whole new universe through truly meaningful choices.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Mar 1, 2017

It often feels more like a visual novel than a true role-player, but like Planescape: Torment before it this has some of the best writing in gaming.

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5 / 10
Feb 28, 2017

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a game whose plot, with its well written characters and plentiful twists and turns, could easily hook you in. However, it’s a game that is currently fundamentally broken on consoles. Despite the technical flaws, the plot definitely grew on me and it would be great for others to be able to experience it, as well as the world they’ve created, but until the game is fixed on a number of fronts, Torment: Tides of Numenera is hard to recommend.

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9.1 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

It's Torment. It's back.

Review in Italian | Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

Like the way that the Ninth World rises from the ashes of other civilizations, Torment: Tides of Numenera is a layered experience. For role-players keen on experiencing a game of consequences and twisted fantasy, it's well worth the adventure.

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6 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2017

It’s really surprising that a game could be configured so well from PC to console and yet fail in so many other areas under the hood. InXile has the controls, menus, and navigation down pat for console, but it needs more tweaking in its engine before this game can be recommended to anyone. I hate giving this score for Torment, especially knowing that it’s a patch or two away from being a shining cRPG example on the PS4.

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