Planescape: Torment

About Planescape: Torment

Planescape: Torment dropped in December 1999 from Black Isle Studios. It stands as a heavy CRPG rooted in the weird Dungeons & Dragons Planescape setting. You play The Nameless One, an immortal being who wakes up in a mortuary with zero memory of his past. A floating skull named Morte guides you out of there. Your goal is simple yet terrifying. You need to figure out who you are before you die again. This cycle repeats endlessly until you find peace. The game launched on PC and now runs on Linux, Mac, and iOS systems. It is a single-player experience focused entirely on dialogue choices rather than combat speed.

Gameplay

You spend most of your time talking to NPCs in grimy city streets or dusty planes of existence. Combat happens on a turn-based grid when things get violent, but you usually talk your way out of trouble. Your character sheet tracks stats like Strength and Intelligence, which unlock specific dialogue options during conversations. You manage a small party of companions who each bring their own baggage to the group. Morte stays with you constantly, cracking jokes while you solve complex puzzles or read ancient texts. Exploration involves navigating a strange version of Sigil where doors lead to impossible places. You make decisions that stick with you for dozens of hours. There are no side quests in the traditional sense because every interaction drives the main mystery forward.

What Players Think

Reviewers and players rate this title heavily. IGDB lists an average score of 79.4 out of 100 based on 399 ratings. PlayPile data shows the community mood leans toward Story-Driven content, with three votes for that label. Casual play styles also appear with four votes, while Competitive and Creepy vibes split the remaining few. Users note an average playtime that stretches well beyond standard RPGs because of the text density. Completion rates stay high among those who finish it since the narrative pulls you through. Review snippets often mention the sheer volume of writing compared to other games from 1999. The mood is generally serious despite Morte's attempts at humor.

PlayPile's Take

This game costs money on modern platforms and offers a massive list of achievements for completionists. It is not for players who want fast action or simple objectives. You need patience for reading walls of text and making choices that affect your character's soul. The price reflects the depth of content inside, especially if you buy the enhanced version with extra mods. Fans of heavy storytelling will find plenty to chew on here. Casual gamers might get lost in the plot twists without a walkthrough. Play it if you want a story about death and redemption rather than saving the world from a generic villain.

Storyline

The game's story begins when The Nameless One wakes up in a mortuary. He is immediately approached by a floating skull, Morte, who offers advice on how to escape. Morte also reads the tattoos written on The Nameless One's back, which were inked there as reminders to himself, that contain instructions to find a man named Pharod. After a conversation with the ghost of his former lover, Deionarra, and passing by various undead, The Nameless One leaves the mortuary to explore the slums of Sigil.