Games I Grew Up On: Planescape: Torment

One of my all time favorite games I have ever played is the game Planescape: Torment.  Taking place in the D&D setting of Planescape, players play as The Nameless One, a man who not only can't seem to stay dead, but loses his memories every time he dies.  The game starts in a mortuary where The Nameless One is just waking up from his last death when a floating skull comes up to explain what little is known (you're in a mortuary, you were just dead, and you have a back covered in tattoos instructing you to find a man named Pharod).  It's then up to the player to discover how to escape the mortuary (there are many different ways to accomplish this), navigate the harsh city of Sigil, and find Pharod to explain...well...anything about The Nameless One.

This is one of the best games at giving the players choice and reacting well to player actions.  The multiple ways to accomplish tasks last throughout the game even up to the very end where a skillful player can talk their way into getting the final villain to kill himself.  You can switch classes throughout the game by talking to the right trainer.  Your alignment switches throughout the game based on what you choose to do and react to given situations.  Your teammates might turn on you based on your actions.

The one flaw of the game (and everyone including the developers seem to agree on this) is the combat system.  It's definitely not forgiving and it almost always feels like a bit of a struggle (or maybe that's because my last playthrough was with a very non-combat-oriented Nameless One).  Fortunately, there are plenty of companions to take with you to help cover your weak areas.  Unfortunately, you can only have so many in your party and they are all incredibly well written, so to fully experience them all requires multiple playthroughs.  Fortunately, the game is well worth multiple playthroughs.  Unfortunately, the frogurt is also cursed.

<shamless plug>The best part is that most of the people who worked on this game (including my brother!) are making a spiritual successor and the Kickstarter ends in just a few days!  </shameless plug>