Torment: Tides of Numenera is a role-playing video game created by inXile Entertainment and published by Techland Publishing. It is available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game is inspired by Planescape: Torment, a role-playing game released in 1999.

The story takes place in The Ninth World, a science fantasy setting designed by Monte Cook for his tabletop game Numenera. Like Planescape: Torment, Torment: Tides of Numenera focuses on storytelling and interactions with characters and the environment. Combat and collecting items are less central to the game.

The game was funded by supporters through Kickstarter in March 2013. At the end of the campaign, it became the most-funded video game on Kickstarter, with over US$4 million pledged. The game was originally planned to release in December 2014 but was delayed until February 2017.

Gameplay

The game Torment: Tides of Numenera uses the Unity engine to create pre-made 2.5D environments that look like a 3D scene from the side. The tabletop rules from Monte Cook’s Numenera were changed to fit the game’s mechanics, and the story takes place in the Numenera setting called the Ninth World. Players control the Last Castoff, a human who once had a powerful being inside them but now has no memory of what happened before.

Like its earlier version, Planescape: Torment, Torment: Tides of Numenera focuses on storytelling. The story happens through a detailed, personal narrative and conversations that let players choose how characters interact. Players can pick the gender of the main character, who starts with no traits and learns skills and personality through choices in the game. The Numenera setting includes three basic character classes: Glaive (a warrior), Nano (a wizard), and Jack (a rogue). These classes can be changed further using descriptors, such as "Tough" or "Mystical," and foci, which help characters specialize in certain roles or fighting styles.

Instead of using a traditional alignment system to show a character’s morals, the game uses "Tides" to show how others react to a character. Each Tide has a color and represents different ideas. The Tides a character has used the most shape their Legacy, which describes how they have lived their life. Different Legacies can change the bonuses and powers of weapons and relics, as well as give characters special abilities and improve certain skills.

Synopsis

Tides of Numenera is a game with a science fantasy setting. One billion years in the future, many civilizations have risen and fallen, leaving Earth in a state similar to the medieval times of the past. Most people now live in simple villages, surrounded by broken pieces of advanced technology from ancient times. Scholars call this time the "Ninth World," believing that eight previous civilizations existed and disappeared for unknown reasons, leaving behind ruins and strange objects. These objects, called "numenera," are remnants of old science and technology. Many are broken, but some still work in ways humans do not understand, often thought to be magical.

The game’s developers aimed to keep and improve elements from Planescape: Torment, such as the depth of characters and their dialogue. The main character, called the Last Castoff, is troubled by their past and draws others with similar struggles. These people may become allies or enemies. The game features seven companions: Aligern, Callistege, Erritis, Matkina, Oom, Tybir, and Rhin.

The Last Castoff is the final body of an ancient man who left his physical form and was reborn using relics, achieving a kind of immortality. This man, known as the Changing God by some, angered a being called "The Sorrow" (originally named "The Angel of Entropy" to avoid religious implications). The Sorrow now seeks to destroy the Changing God and his creations, including the Last Castoff. To survive, the Last Castoff must find their creator before both are destroyed. This journey involves exploring the Ninth World, meeting other castoffs, and using "Meres"—artifacts that let users control other castoffs and experience different worlds. Through these travels, the Last Castoff leaves a mark on the world, called their "Legacy," and seeks to answer the question: Does one life matter?

The story changes based on choices made by the player, but the central plot follows the Last Castoff’s search for a way to defeat or escape The Sorrow. After falling from a great height, the Last Castoff enters a domed structure and destroys a device called a resonance chamber, which was believed to save them from The Sorrow. They meet Matkina, another castoff, and use a Mere to find Sanctuary, a hidden place created by the Changing God to escape The Sorrow. At Sanctuary, the Last Castoff meets castoffs from both sides of the Eternal War—a conflict between followers of the Changing God and followers of the First Castoff, who believe the God is selfish and harmful. The Sorrow attacks Sanctuary after the Last Castoff learns the resonance chamber could destroy all castoffs. The Last Castoff escapes through a portal to the Bloom, where an apparition claiming to be the Changing God tries to take control of them by force.

Development

In 2007, designers Chris Avellone and Colin McComb, who worked on Planescape: Torment, said that making a direct sequel was not possible because the game’s story had ended. However, they were willing to create a new game with similar themes if they could bring back most of the original team and find investors who understood the project. At that time, these conditions were seen as not possible. In 2012, discussions about making a sequel using crowdfunding began again, but efforts to get the Planescape license from Wizards of the Coast failed. Later that year, Colin McComb joined inXile, a studio working on Wasteland 2, a game successfully funded by the public. Soon after, inXile gained the rights to the Torment title.

In January 2013, inXile’s CEO, Brian Fargo, announced that a new game inspired by Planescape: Torment was being planned. The game would take place in the Numenera RPG universe created by Monte Cook, who had previously helped design the Planescape setting. Fargo believed Numenera was the best place to continue the themes of Torment. While the new game would not directly reference its predecessor due to licensing issues, some traditional RPG elements, which are hard to copyright, might appear again. Development began after inXile acquired the Torment license, and some inXile staff would move to the Numenera team as work on Wasteland 2 slowed. In late January 2013, inXile confirmed the game’s name as Torment: Tides of Numenera and announced that Mark Morgan, the composer of Planescape: Torment, would create the soundtrack. The early development phase was expected to last until October 2013, during which the team would finalize its members and focus on planning, game design, and writing dialogue. However, delays in Wasteland 2 in 2014 pushed the full production of Torment: Tides of Numenera to a later date.

A Kickstarter campaign to fund Torment: Tides of Numenera started on March 6, 2013, with a goal of $900,000. Kevin Saunders, the project director, explained that crowdfunding allowed developers to share their ideas directly with potential buyers, making it a better choice for smaller studios like inXile compared to traditional publisher funding. The campaign attracted notable supporters, including Markus Persson, creator of Minecraft, and Min-Liang Tan, CEO of Razer USA. The campaign reached its initial goal in six hours and surpassed $1 million in seven hours, breaking the Kickstarter record for the fastest project to do so. At the end of the campaign, $4,188,927 had been pledged. Two additional stretch goals were also met, adding features to the game. After the campaign ended, the game continued to raise money through its website, collecting over $870,000 more.

Release

The planned release date for the game, announced during the fundraising campaign, was originally set for December 2014. However, it was delayed by a few months to allow time to complete the many stretch goals that were reached. Over the course of development, the release was pushed back to late 2015, then 2016, and finally to early 2017. The game would be available without DRM on Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux platforms and in six languages: English, French, German, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. A beta version of the game was released to Kickstarter backers on January 17, 2016, and to Steam Early Access users on January 26, 2016.

On June 9, 2016, inXile announced that the beta was now available to all Kickstarter backers. On August 4, 2016, inXile also announced that the game would be released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on the same date as the other platforms. The game was officially released on February 28, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Reception

Torment: Tides of Numenera received "generally favorable" reviews, according to the video game review site Metacritic.

Destructoid’s Ray Porreca gave the game a score of 7.5 out of 10. He said the game’s different parts work well together to create a strong experience, though he noted it is not perfect. He mentioned that the combat system is functional but not very smooth, even with many skills and companions to help. However, he praised the game’s worldbuilding and character creation, and he recommended it to players who enjoy role-playing and stories with complex choices.

James Kozanitis of Game Revolution gave the game 4.5 out of 5 stars. He compared the fun of Tides of Numenera to learning about a new universe through meaningful choices, unlike games where fun comes from physical actions.

Leif Johnson of IGN scored the game 8.8 out of 10. He described it as a deep and unusual RPG world filled with storytelling through text.

Chris Thursten of PC Gamer gave the game an 89 out of 100. He said the game starts slowly but becomes a thoughtful adventure in a unique setting, calling it a good follow-up to a popular RPG.

Carli Velocci of Polygon gave the game an 8 out of 10. She noted some issues with balance in challenges and a desire for more details, but she called the game beautiful and challenging, with a rich and confusing world that few RPGs have achieved.

Alice Bell of VideoGamer.com gave the game an 8 out of 10. She praised its writing, environment design, and story, along with the many choices players can make. She said the focus on text might not appeal to all players, but fans of the genre would enjoy it.

Eurogamer ranked Torment: Tides of Numenera 15th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017."

The game won the award for "Best Setting" in Game Informer’s 2017 RPG of the Year Awards.