The original Titan Quest launched back in 2006, and while I don't remember a lot of gameplay details that far back, I do remember loving the title. And now, almost two decades later, I've spent the better part of a week stomping around in the Early Access version of Titan Quest II. THQ Nordic and developer Grimoire Games have been steadily working on this sequel for what seems like at least five years now, so to take it for a spin feels like the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of a studio that was very committed to seeing a sequel to this somewhat niche title become a reality.
The first thing that strikes me about Titan Quest II is how much it actually feels like my memories of playing Titan Quest. Though at first glance one might assume that this is a Diablo-like, the pacing and story are more deliberately delivered. Individual mobs tend to hit harder, and in the early game at least, you have to actually pay attention to combat strategy or you'll be looking at a quick death. There is no wading into piles of baddies here, spamming your attacks. You need to pace yourself, and draw groups out to make taking down the individuals more manageable.
There are four current "masteries" (with an unnamed fifth one on the way), which are character archetypes/power sets. Titan Quest II allows you to mix and match any two from the overall set (Earth/Fire, Rogue, Lightning, Warrior/Tank) to create your own unique build. I'm currently playing an Earth/Fire Rogue in single player and a Lightning Rogue in multiplayer, and I can't decide which I like better. My lightning guy has a great AOE effect, but my Fire guy just learned to stream endless fireballs from his upraised hands with a zero mana cost, so that's pretty sweet.
Each mastery comes with it's own skill tree, of course, and it's obvious that there are some very powerful builds that can be uncovered with the proper combinations. But for now, I'm just sinking points into stuff that looks cool; you can respec at any time.
The team at Grimoire Games recently released an update to Titan Quest II's roadmap, with a bunch of new features scheduled to release over the coming months. There will be a new character creator (for now, you can just pick pre-builds), a new story chapter, the aforementioned new mastery, and new languages. Early access is expected to run into late 2026. You can snag the game now for $29.99, but the price on release will jump to $49.99, so you might want to consider dipping in early, even if you just let it sit until full release.
Work is also being done to implement a full multiplayer option. Currently, there is a stripped down version that is in "preview" status, and it seems to work okay, but your characters are siloed into being either single or multiplayer. I'm hoping that the full implementation remedies that, as I like to take my characters wily-nily between the two modes. But, for now, if you want to play with a buddy, you can still hop in and start a fresh game together. The video below features me and a silent John Yan (due to a software issue on my end) running through the opening hour of the game.
I'm really enjoying my time with Titan Quest II. I don't know how much further I'm going to go until I get clarity on whether or not they will be wiping characters with updates, which always gets on my nerves. But the game already looks and feels great. The loot drops are steady and fun, and the character-building aspect is flexible and ripe for experimentation. If you were thinking that you might be interested into hopping in, I would recommend doing so now to grab that cheaper price.
