Titan Quest: Legendary Edition
By: Handygames
I never played Titan Quest on PC and therefore don’t have any nostalgia for it. But I do enjoy playing action RPGs on my mobile devices, so I bought the original game on iOS back in 2019 and spent a few hours with it before I ultimately stopped playing. I think a big reason for this was that it didn’t have iCloud sync and I was stuck playing on my iPhone since that’s where I started. I wanted the portability, but I would have liked to be able to take advantage of my iPad’s larger screen at home. Thankfully, with the release of the Legendary Edition and the update of the original app to match its content, I finally have a version of the game that allows me to do so. And after a couple of weeks with it, I wanted to share my early impressions.
One thing I noticed right away is that both versions of the game share iCloud saves, so I could have picked up exactly where I left off and continued the game I’d already started. But since it had been so long since I played, I decided to create a new character. I remember being overwhelmed in the beginning when choosing a mastery, since there are so many options. But I experimented a bit with a Nature build and it fit my play style. If given the opportunity in a game, I like to have pets or minions to take off some of the stress and let me play it a bit safer. It’s nice to have some help and a distraction when things get a bit overwhelming. I also just like having some pet wolves running around alongside me for company.
Whatever your preferred play style, you should be able to find something that fits your tastes, as there are so many masteries to choose from. You can also invest into two different masteries if you want, though that means you have to ration your skill points to get the abilities you want. So far, I’ve spent over ten hours with the game and my character is level 13. So my skill tree is starting to fill in, but I have a long way to go. I’m currently using Toxic to poison and weaken enemies from afar so my pets have an easier time taking them down. I also help out when necessary with a ranged weapon, depending on what I find, either a staff or a thrown weapon. I also invested a few points into Strength so I could wear heavier armor and be less squishy.
Now, about that loot. The sheer amount of loot that drops is one of the biggest draws of the game. You spend most of your time killing things, but the best part is sifting through everything the enemies dropped or opening chests and finding a new piece of equipment that has a whole bunch of bonus stats you need. I love finding items with health regeneration or life leech so I can worry less about taking damage, but there’s always big choices to make. And probably my biggest complaint about the game is how small your inventory is. Ideally, I’d like to hold onto more things or even sell them, but it’s time-consuming to grab a few and get them back to a merchant so you can make more space. Instead, I tend to leave a lot of stuff lying around and it feels like such a waste. It’s also a little frustrating because you might pick up something you want to use later but don’t have space. You can teleport back to a village, organize, stash and sell things, then teleport back. But it stalls progress when you’re itching to keep exploring.
Another small quibble I have with the game is that the save system is not entirely mobile-friendly. You can save at any time, but if you reboot the app, you’ll be sent back to the last checkpoint you visited. And enemies will respawn when you re-open the game, so if you didn’t stop at your latest checkpoint, you’ll have to fight your way back to where you were. I wouldn’t mind a quick save option specifically for mobile, since you can’t leave the game open as long as you might on a PC. I’m also not thrilled that the “fog of war” progress doesn’t sync through iCloud with the rest of the progress. What this means is, as you explore the world, the darkness covering the mini map clears and fills in details so you can see where you’ve been. If you switch devices, your map will be completely black again, as though you haven’t seen any of it. There is a way to transfer that data through iTunes, so it’s not impossible, but I do hope they find a way to include it in iCloud saves.
I can’t really say much about the three DLCs, since I’m still pretty early on in the game. I also haven’t found any recipes that you give to the new NPC to create relics, but I’m collecting the ingredients so I’ll be prepared when I finally do loot one. But both versions of the game appear to be exactly the same, with the only difference being whether you buy the DLCs separately or included in the price. If you’re not sure whether you want to spend $18 on the game, it’s perfectly reasonable to buy the base game and decide once you’ve played some. Either way, Titan Quest should scratch that action RPG itch even if it’s been out for over a decade. If you’re looking for something to spend countless hours playing, you’ve come to the right place. While not perfect, this version is quite easy to recommend, whether you decide to stick to just the base game or go all out and buy all the DLCs. I’ve also been playing exclusively on my iPad and it feels great, thanks to the floating joystick and well-placed onscreen buttons. I have more videos below you can watch to see it in action, but I think this is a no-brainer decision for any fans of action RPGs who haven’t had their fill of Titan Quest yet.