Planescape: Torment

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Planescape: Torment
Game box art of a man's facewith rough features and shaded bluelooking out of the
box against an orange background of a city. The title is justified middle and top
in stylized letters.
Game producer Guido Henkel as The Nameless One on Torment's front cover[1]
Developer(s) Black Isle Studios
Publisher(s) Interplay Entertainment
Producer(s) Guido Henkel
Kenneth Lee
Designer(s) Chris Avellone
Programmer(s) Dan Spitzley
Artist(s) Tim Donley
Composer(s) Mark Morgan
Richard Band
Engine Infinity Engine
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android
Release
December 12, 1999
[show]
Genre(s) Role-playing video game
Mode(s) Single-player

Planescape: Torment is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios

and published by Interplay Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. Released on
December 12, 1999, the game takes place in locations from the multiverse of
Planescape, a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy campaign setting. The game's engine
is a modified version of the Infinity Engine, which was used for BioWare's Baldur's
Gate, a previous D&D game set in the Forgotten Realms.

Planescape: Torment is primarily story-driven and combat is not prominently

featured. The protagonist, known as The Nameless One, is an immortal who has lived
many lives but has forgotten all about them, even forgetting his own name. The game
focuses on his journey through the city of Sigil and other planes to reclaim his
memories of these previous lives. Several characters in the game may join The
Nameless One on his journey, and most of these characters have encountered him in
the past or have been influenced by his actions in some way.

The game was not a significant commercial success but received widespread critical
praise and has since become a cult classic. It was lauded for its immersive
dialogue, for the dark and relatively obscure Planescape setting, and for the
protagonist's unique persona, which shirked many characteristics of traditional
role-playing games. It was considered by video game journalists to be the best
role-playing game of 1999, and continues to receive attention long after its
release, with a source port version of Torment released on April 11, 2017 by
Beamdog.

Contents

1 Gameplay
2 Synopsis
2.1 Setting
2.2 Characters
2.3 Plot
3 Development
4 Adaptations
5 Reception
5.1 Critical reception
 5.2 Awards
6 Legacy
6.1 Enhanced Edition (2017)
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Gameplay
Screenshot of the game, with a heads up display.
The Mortuary room in which the game opens; visible are two player characters, a
zombie, the bottom-menu, and the radial-actions menu.

Planescape: Torment is built on BioWare's Infinity Engine, which presents the

player with a two-dimensional world in which player characters are controlled.[4]
[5] The game's rules are based on those of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition.
[6] The player takes the role of "The Nameless One", an immortal being on a quest
to learn why he cannot die.[7] Exploration around the painted scenery is
accomplished by clicking on the ground to move, or on objects and characters to
interact with them.[8] Items and spells may be employed through hotkeys, "quick
slots", or a radial menu.[9] An alternative to armor is the use of magical tattoos,
which can be applied to The Nameless One and certain other characters to enhance
their abilities.[10]

The game begins with character creation, where the player assigns attribute points
(such as strength, intelligence, charisma) to The Nameless One.[11][12] The
Nameless One starts the game as a fighter, but the player may later change his
character class to thief or wizard, with the option to also change back to fighter,
after finding corresponding tutors.[8] The player may recruit adventuring
companions over the course of the game; there are seven potential party members,
but a maximum of five may accompany the player at any one time. Conversation is
frequent among party members, occurring both randomly and during conversations with
other non-player characters.[12]

Planescape: Torment's gameplay often focuses on the resolution of quests through

dialogue rather than combat, and many of the game's combat encounters can be
resolved or avoided through dialogue or stealth;[12] a review of the game in incite
PC Gaming says that "The game is almost entirely story driven, and by asking the
right questions you should only have to get violent a handful of times."[13] The
Nameless One carries a journal, which helps the player keep track of the game's
numerous quests and subplots.[6] Death of the player character usually imposes no
penalty beyond respawning in a different location.[14]

Alignment in D&Dwhich determines a character's ethical and moral perspective on

the independent axes of "good vs. evil" and "law vs. chaos"is a static property,
chosen by the player at the start of a game. In Planescape: Torment, the character
begins as a "true neutral" character (that is, neither good nor evil, and neither
lawful nor chaotic) and throughout the game, based on the character's actions, this
property is incrementally changed.[4][15] Non-player characters respond to The
Nameless One differently, depending on his alignment.[6] A review in NextGen
reported that "the game caters to both the goody-goody player who wants to be nice
and lawful, and the evil bastards who just want to kill everything and take no guff
from anyone".[16]
Synopsis
Setting

Planescape: Torment is set in the Planescape "multiverse" of D&D,[7] a setting

which consists of various planes of existence, the creatures which live in them
(such as devils, modrons, and even deities), and the properties of the magic that
infuses each plane.[17] In a March 2000 article for Game Studies, Diane Carr called
the setting "a freak show, a long story, a zoo, and a cabinet of talkative
curiosities"[6] and described the creatures and monsters in the game as "grotesque
rather than scary".[6] Planescape: Torment is the first video game to be set in the
Planescape universe.[18]

The first part of Planescape: Torment takes place in Sigil,[17] a city located atop
an infinitely tall spire at the center of the multiverse,[19] that connects the
planes with each other via a series of portals.[6] The city is overseen by the
powerful Lady of Pain, while fifteen factions control different functions of the
city related to each group's world view. Every faction strives for further control
of the city. The Nameless One can even join several of these factions during the
game. The story eventually moves on to other planes, such as Baator and Carceri,
where The Nameless One continues to discover more about his past.
Characters
See also: The Nameless One, Morte, and Annah-of-the-Shadows

Planescape: Torment's protagonist is "The Nameless One," an immortal being who, if

killed, will wake up later, sometimes with complete amnesia.[20] Each time The
Nameless One dies, another person in the multiverse dies to fuel his resurrection.
These dead turn into ghosts that seek revenge on him.[21] When the game starts, The
Nameless One wakes in a mortuary with no memories, as a result of his latest death.
He sets out on a quest to regain his lost memories and discover why he is immortal.
He slowly learns about the personalities of his previous incarnations, and the
influence they have had on the world and people that surround him.[12]

Over the course of the game, The Nameless One meets seven characters who can join
him on his quest: Morte, Annah-of-the-Shadows, Dak'kon, Ignus, Nordom, Fall-From-
Grace, and Vhailor. These playable characters can also interact with the Nameless
One to further the game's plot.[22] Morte is a cynical floating skull originally
from the Pillar of Skulls in Baator. He is introduced at the game's beginning in
the mortuary.[21] Morte loyally follows The Nameless One, partly out of guilt for
having caused the deaths of some of his previous incarnations.[23] The Nameless One
meets Annah-of-the-Shadows, a young and brash tiefling (a human with fiendish
ancestry) rogue,[21] outside the mortuary,[21] but she does not join the group
until a later point in the game. Dak'kon is a githzerai, who once made an oath to
follow The Nameless One until the latter died, not knowing of The Nameless One's
immortality; this bound him to The Nameless One for eternity.[21] Ignus is a
pyromaniacal mage who was the apprentice of one of The Nameless One's past selves.
[21] In the Rubikon Dungeon Construct,[21] the Nameless One can find Nordom, a
modron disconnected from its species' hive mind.[21] Fall-From-Grace is a succubus
who acts as proprietress of the Brothel of Slaking Intellectual Lusts in Sigil;
unlike other succubi, she is not interested in seducing mortals.[17][21] Vhailor,
found below the city of Curst on the plane of the Outlands, is essentially an
animated suit of armor dedicated to serving merciless justice.[21]
Plot

The game's story begins when The Nameless One wakes up in a mortuary.[6][20] He is
immediately approached by a floating skull, Morte, who offers advice on how to
escape.[17] 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.[21] 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.[12] He finds Pharod, who is the chief of an underground
village of scavengers, and retrieves a magical bronze sphere for him.[21] In
return, Pharod gives him further hints to piece together his forgotten past.[21]
Later on, The Nameless One learns from a powerful sorcerer named Lothar that the
night hag Ravel Puzzlewell caused his immortality,[21] but the hag is currently
imprisoned in a magical maze by the Lady of Pain.[21] The Nameless One finds a
portal to Ravel's maze, but realizes that it requires a piece of Ravel to activate
it; for this, he locates Ravel's daughter and takes drops of her blood.[21]

Once in the maze, The Nameless One converses with Ravel, who asks him, "What can
change the nature of a man?" a question that plays a prominent role throughout
the game.[21][23] Ravel is pleased with The Nameless One's answer because he offers
his own thoughts; she claims she has killed many men in the past who, instead of
giving their own answers, tried to guess what her answer might be.[21] As the
conversation progresses, Ravel explains that, in a past life, The Nameless One had
asked her to make him immortal;[21] however, the ritual she performed was flawed,
causing him to lose his memory each time he died.[21] She reveals that the
mortality she separated from him was not destroyed, and that as long as he was
alive, his mortality must still be intact.[21] She does not know where his
mortality is, but suggests that the fallen deva Trias might.[21]

Ravel then attempts to keep The Nameless One there by force.[21] After the Nameless
One and his party leave the maze, Ravel gets up, having actually survived the
encounter. The Transcendent One appears, and, after a short conversation, kills
Ravel.[21] Following this, The Nameless One travels to the city of Curst, a gate
town on the border of the Outlands and Carceri, to meet and free Trias. Through a
tip from Trias, who claims not to know where The Nameless One's mortality lies,[21]
The Nameless One then visits the Outlands and Baator, where he learns that his
mortality lies in the Fortress of Regrets and that only Trias knows how to access
this place.[21] Meanwhile, however, the city of Curst has "slid" from the border of
the Outlands to the neighboring chaotic plane Carceri due to the chaos unleashed by
Trias after The Nameless One freed him.[21] After a fight, Trias tells The Nameless
One that the portal to the Fortress of Regrets is located in Sigil's mortuary, in
the very room where the game began.[21]

In the Fortress of Regrets, The Nameless One encounters three of his past
incarnations: one practical, one good, and one paranoid. The Nameless One learns
that the "good" incarnation is the original, who was made immortal by Ravel.[21]
The Nameless One had committed immeasurably terrible deeds in his lifetime, and
when he realized there would be retribution on his soul when he died, he sought to
postpone death as long as possible in order to atone.[21] After meeting his past
incarnations, The Nameless One confronts his mortality, which is embodied as a
powerful being called The Transcendent One.[21] The Transcendent One reveals that
since being separated from The Nameless One, he has enjoyed his freedom and has
been attempting to erase clues that might lead The Nameless One to discover the
truth.[21] Depending on the player's choice, The Nameless One either slays his
mortality or convinces it to rejoin with him;[21] either option finally ends his
immortality and allows him to die. In the game's final scene, The Nameless One
awakens near a battleground of the eternal Blood War between demons and devils; he
picks up a mace and walks toward the conflict.
Development

In 1997, the game's designers produced a 47-page document that outlined the game's
premise and vision statement, and was used to pitch the idea to management at
Interplay.[24] Initially, the game was to be called Last Rites,[25] and they
described the game as "avant-garde" fantasy to distinguish it from high fantasy.
The document also contained concept artwork for characters and areas of the game.
[24] It was one of three Planescape games being developed by Black Isle at the
time, along with a PlayStation game by Colin McComb based on FromSoftware's King's
Field, and a PC game by Planescape creator Zeb Cook; the other two were cancelled,
and only Last Rites was released, as Torment.[26]
Planescape Torment aims to provide its players with a sense that they are
excavating a history (the avatar's forgotten past) while exploring, more or less at
will, a vast and bizarre invention.
Diane Carr, Game Studies[6]
From the outset, Planescape: Torment's designers intended to challenge traditional
role-playing game conventions: the game features no dragons, elves, goblins, or
other common fantasy races; there are only three swords; the rats faced in the game
can be quite challenging to defeat; and the undead sometimes prove more sympathetic
than humans.[20][23] The designers explained that most RPGs tend to have a
"correct" approach to solving problems, which is almost always the morally good
approach.[24] They called this "predictable and stupid" and wished to make a game
with greater moral flexibility, where a particular problem might have "two wrongs
or two rights".[24] The main quest is not about saving the world, but about
understanding The Nameless One and his immortality.[24] Death (of the protagonist
or his companions) is often just a minor hindrance, and even necessary at times.[5]
[12][24][27]
A Caucasian male sitting in front of a laptop. He has brown hair, a black shirt,
and a red lanyard.
Lead designer Chris Avellone in 2009

According to lead designer Chris Avellone, Planescape: Torment was inspired by

books, comics, and games, including Archie Comics, The Chronicles of Amber, The
Elementals and Shadowrun.[28] The game's 1997 outline also makes references to The
Lord of the Rings to describe some characters.[24] While working on Planescape:
Torment, Avellone was simultaneously working on Fallout 2.[25] In an interview from
2007, he says that Fallout 2 helped him rethink the possibilities of dialogue in
Planescape: Torment (and in later games he was involved with, including Neverwinter
Nights 2).[23] Kenneth Lee, producer and co-designer, also cited Final Fantasy VII
and Final Fantasy VIII as inspiration.[29]

Avellone remarked that many of the ideas in the game "could only have been
communicated through text, simply because no one would have the budget or resources
to fully realise many of these fantasy works through TV or movies".[30] Ultimately,
Avellone has expressed some regret about the game's heavy focus on dialogue, as he
feels this interfered with the overall game mechanics, particularly the combat
system.[23][31] The game's script contains around 800,000 words,[32] after early
previews had indicated that the game would be only about 20 hours long.[16]

In several interviews, producer Guido Henkel stated that he was increasingly

frustrated by the pressure the management of Interplay put on the development team
after Interplay's initial public offering.[33][34] Although only a few additional
subplots and characters had to be discarded to meet the planned release date, he
accused the Interplay management of disregarding the development team regarding
things like package design and marketing.[33] Henkel said that it was his main goal
to prevent the game from being "crippled" before leaving Interplay when the game
reached beta status.[34] He also made the claim that his overall influence on the
game was greater than that of Chris Avellone, Eric Campanella, or Dave Maldonaldo,
but since a producer often has to make unpopular decisions his role was later
downplayed.[34] In 2011 Henkel also revealed that The Nameless One's face on game
box art is based on his real face, due to the fact that the day before the cover
photo shoot was scheduled to take place, the model contracted to appear on the box
backed out over a scheduling conflict, so Guido Henkel was proposed to use his
face.[1] Make up lasted for about two hours, and photography took 45 minutes,
Henkel said: "My face was red as a beet and burned for the rest of the day, because
of the solvent that was used to remove the appliances. Nonetheless, it was all well
worth it".[1]

The game used the Infinity Engine, a game engine initially developed by BioWare for
Baldur's Gate.[5][17] However, Planescape: Torment was being developed using the
Infinity Engine before Baldur's Gate had been released, leaving the engine's
acceptance in the market still unknown.[18] Black Isle made modifications to the
engine to suit the game. For example, playable characters were able to run, and
both the character sprites and backgrounds were larger and more detailed.[18] The
greater size and detail was achieved by bringing the perspective closer to the
ground.[4] Magic was also an important part of the game's design, and a team of
four designers worked solely on the visuals and mechanics of spells.[35]

In addition to official localizations, for example the one by CD Projekt for the
Polish market,[36][37] fan communities developed Spanish, Hungarian, and Italian
fan translations of the game.[38][39][40] When Interplay dropped support for
Planescape: Torment after the official 1.1 patch, several not yet fixed bugs were
corrected by fan created unofficial patches.[41][42] Other mods add back items and
quests omitted from the final version of the game or new features such as
widescreen support.[43][44][45]

Interplay initially hired dark ambient musician Lustmord to create the musical
score for Planescape: Torment, although this score was ultimately not used.[46] His
music was pulled from the game by the producer so that the game's music could be
taken in a different direction,[46] and Mark Morgan created the game's final music.
The game's cast of voice actors included Michael T. Weiss, Sheena Easton, Rob
Paulsen, Mitch Pileggi, Dan Castellaneta, and Tony Jay.[47]

After the game's release, a reviewer for Game Revolution praised its sound, saying
that "When you're in a crowded city, it sounds like a crowded city. Walk past a
bar, and you'll hear the noise of the drunken patrons inside. Wander near a slave
auction, and you'll hear the auctioneer calling. Go to a party in the festival
hall, and it sounds just like a party". The same reviewer also stated "Planescape
has just about the best sound I've ever heard in a game."[48] IGN gave the sound
8.5 out of 10[17] and noted that "The game has fantastic speech and sound effects,
but what's more impressive is the way they fade in and out depending on how close
you're standing to them."[17]
Adaptations

A book by the same name was written by Ray and Valerie Vallese and released by
Wizards of the Coast in 1999.[49] The book's plot follows the game's only loosely;
for example, in the game, the main character's lack of a name is a sign of his
incomplete state and a source of protection in being anonymous.[21] In the book,
the protagonist chooses a proper name. For the game's re-release on GOG.com a
second, more accurate, novelization produced by Rhyss Hess was bundled with the
game, based on the game script by Chris Avellone and Colin McComb.[50]
Reception
Critical reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 90.63%[51]
Metacritic 91/100[52]
Review scores
Publication Score
AllGame 4.5/5 stars[53]
Eurogamer 7/10[14]
8/10 (after patch)
GamePro 4.5/5 stars[7]
Game Revolution A-[48]
GameSpot 9.0/10[4]
GameSpy 90/100[12]
IGN 9.2/10[17]
PC Gamer (US) 93%[11]
PC Zone 8.7/10[54]
incite PC Gaming 4/5[13]
Next Generation 5/5 stars[16]
Awards
Publication Award
Computer Gaming World RPG of the Year (1999)[55]
GameSpot RPG of the Year (1999)[56]
IGN Vault Network Game of the Year (1999)[57]
Eurogamer Best Male Lead Character (2000)[58]
PC Gamer US Game of the Month (2000)[11]
GameSpy Hall of Fame (2004)[59]
GameSpot Greatest Games of All Time (2005)[28]
Gamasutra Quantum Leap Award (2006)[60]
IGN 71st in the Top 100 Games of All Time (2007)[61]
PC Gamer 9th in the Top 100 Games of All Time (2008)[62]
Game Informer 188th in the Top 200 Games of All Time (2009)[63]
Bit-tech 30 PC Games to Play Before You Die (2009)[64]
PC Gamer Best RPG of All Time (2015)[65]

Planescape: Torment received widespread critical acclaim upon its release,[52] but
only made a small profit.[25][66] GameSpot's reviewer stated "It's clearly the best
traditional computer role-playing game of the year",[4] a comment which the website
would later expand to "one of the greatest ever".[28] Allen Rausch, writing for
GameSpy's 2004 retrospective "A History of D&D Video Games", commented that Black
Isle Studios "went way over the top for this one, crafting an utterly unique
experience that has yet to be equaled by any RPG since".[67] The gameplay was often
compared to Baldur's Gate, another Interplay game that used the same engine as
Planescape: Torment.[48][53][68]

The game's premise and writing were warmly received;[12] a review in the New York
Times noted "The game's level of detail and its emotional impact have prompted some
players to cast about for literary peers."[10] Reviewers were pleased with the
ability to shape their character's journey as they wished.[48] In 2005, GameSpot
stated "Planescape: Torment has quite possibly the best implementation of role-
playing an evil character ever to appear in a computer or video game to date".[28]
The heavily tattooed, egocentric and potentially selfish Nameless One was welcomed
as a change of pace from the conventional RPG hero, who was considered a
predictable do-gooder.[4][28] Reviewers also approved of the protagonist's ability
to gain new powers by "remembering" past lives.[4][17] The dark and diversified
representation of the D&D setting of Planescape was lauded as a fresh departure
from the traditional high fantasy of computer role-playing games.[7][17] A review
in NextGen praised the game, saying that "Torment offers the best RPG gameplay
anyone can find on store shelves, hands down."[16] Uros Jojic of Actiontrip
commented that "Planescape: Torment proves that it is possible to make an
inventive, fun and refreshing game in this "sea of clones". Creating a computer
edition of Planescape system is another triumph for Black Isle Studios."[69]

[Planescape Torment's] limits are elusive. [...] Even small choices have
multiple and unpredictable results, leading players to incidents, to confrontations
or to nothing much. The game resists resolution or even comprehension. A rambling
text like Planescape Torment bounces when you try and nail it down, it resists
totalisation. It has its moments of "rush" and of confrontation, but it wants to be
savoured, wandered through, in the company of armed companions.
?Diane Carr[6]

The technical aspects of the game were also praised. Although by the time of its
release in late 1999, Planescape: Torment's default 640x480 resolution was not
considered particularly advanced,[14] reviewers were pleased with the art design
and color of the environments.[7][17] The game's sound and music were described as
"well above the norm" and "superb",[9] and one reviewer stated that his only
complaint about the music was that "there wasn't enough of it".[14] Another
reviewer stated that Planescape: Torment had "just about the best sound" they had
heard in a video game.[48] GamePro stated, "... the characters talk with the talent
of real professional voice actors during crucial bits of dialog".[7] The game's
graphics were moderately well received, with incite PC Gaming saying that "[the
graphics] can be a little lackluster, although some of the spell effects certainly
look very good",[13] a statement echoed in NextGen which stated that "mind-blowing
spell effects ... will remind you of a two-dimensional Final Fantasy game."[16]

The game's interface received positive remarks. The US edition of PC Gamer

commented on the automap, which automatically marked important locations and
allowed the user to add custom notes, and on the journal, which separated completed
quests from unfinished quests.[11] PC Gamer also praised the fine-tuning of the
Infinity Engine, such as the use of a radial menu, which allowed the player to stay
focused on the game instead of managing multiple screens and "messing with windows
and buttons".[11]

... we were swept away by Planescape: Torment. It wasn't the effective engine,
demented characters, or lavish lands that won us. It was the rich storyline. This
tale is more a reflection of your true self than any game ever made.
?Darren Gladstone and Nikki Douglas[13]

Criticism of the game was minimal and problems were generally described as minor,
[4][48] but included complaints about long load times on computers of the day,[48]
or the game slowing down during combat.[13] Bugs were responsible for slowing down
the game when a high level of graphical assets were on-screen at the same time, but
it was reported that a fix was released that solved the problem.[12][53] Allgame's
Derek Williams considered the game's combat simplistic (with a comparison to
Diablo), which made the game too easy.[53] The most negative major review came from
Eurogamer, who gave the game seven out of ten (and later increased it to eight when
the game was patched).[14] Their reviewer expressed distaste at the immortality of
the player character, saying that it made the lives of characters "cheap and
meaningless",[14] although other reviews welcomed this aspect, saying it was
"implemented perfectly" and did not make the game easier.[4][17][53] Eurogamer also
disapproved of the amount of experience that was awarded for certain dialogues
later in the game.[14] However, other reviews cited this as one of the main things
that elevated Planescape: Torment above the standard RPG format.[4][12][62] Some
reviewers also criticized the game's pathfinding AI as being "less than
impressive".[16]

IGN ranked Planescape: Torment No. 2 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons &
Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014.[70] Ian Williams of Paste rated the game #1 on
his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015.[71]
Awards

Planescape: Torment was given several Editor's Choice awards,[4][17][72] was named
RPG of the Year for 1999 by both GameSpot and Computer Gaming World,[55][56] and
won the Vault Network's Game of the Year for 1999.[57] PC Gamer US named
Planescape: Torment "Game of the Month" in their March 2000 issue (the issue in
which the game's review appeared).[11] It has since attracted a cult following,[15]
[66][73] and continues to garner respect long after its releasein 2004, GameSpy
added it to their Hall of Fame,[59] and in 2005 GameSpot declared it one of its
greatest games of all time.[28] In 2007, IGN named it 71st on their list of the Top
100 Games of All Time,[61] stating that many have "had their ideas of what an RPG
is completely revamped after playing this one".[61] In 2008, the UK edition of PC
Gamer rated it ninth on its own Top 100 list.[62]

In 2006, The A.V. Club included Planescape: Torment in their list of "11 of Video
Gaming's Strangest Moments", due to the game's use of death as a means to advance
the plot.[27] In 2006, Gamasutra polled video game industry professionals with the
question: "Which role playing game over the entire history of the genre do you
think has made the biggest 'quantum leap', and why?".[74] Planescape: Torment was
ranked second overall after Fallout, earning it a "Quantum Leap Award".[60] The
game also received an honorable mention for the same awards in the "Storytelling"
category.[75] In December 2008, IGN listed it as 8th out of 10 in a list of
"Franchises We Want Resurrected"[76] and praised the game as having "some of the
best writing and characterization seen in gaming".[76]

In 2009, Bit-tech included Planescape: Torment on their list of "30 PC Games to

Play Before You Die".[64] Chris Avellone was awarded Eurogamer's "Gaming Globe"
award for Best Designer in 2000 for his work on Planescape: Torment, and The
Nameless One was considered to be the Best Male Lead Character.[58] In 2009, Game
Informer put the game 188th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time",
saying that it "allowed players to ... influence the plot to an unheard-of degree
for 1999".[63] In 2010, UGO ranked it as #5 on the list of games needing a sequel.
[77] A 2011 update of PC Gamer magazine's top 100 PC games of all-time ranked
Planescape: Torment as the 19th greatest PC game.[78]
Legacy
See also: Torment: Tides of Numenera

The game was re-released on DVD in 2009,[79][80] and for purchase on GOG.com in
September 2010.[2][50][81] Following the announcement of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced
Edition, Beamdog's Overhaul Games announced their intention to make overhauls of
more games set in the Dungeons & Dragons universes, at first naming only
Planescape: Torment. They said that such a release would depend on the success of
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition.[82] In November 2012, Penny Arcade Report wrote
that Brian Fargo, the head of inXile Entertainment, had acquired the rights to
Torment.[83] In January 2013, Brian Fargo announced that the spiritual successor to
Planescape: Torment, titled Torment: Tides of Numenera, was in production and would
be set in the Numenera RPG universe created by Monte Cook.[84]
Enhanced Edition (2017)
Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 85.50%[85]
Metacritic 85/100[86]
Review scores
Publication Score
Gameplanet 9/10[87]
GameStar 85/100[88]
Hardcore Gamer 4.5/5 stars[89]

Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition, an upgraded version of the game, was

published on April 11, 2017 by Beamdog.[3] Officially announced in March 2017 for
release on GOG.com and for the first time on Steam, compatible with Microsoft
Windows, macOS, and Linux systems, as well as iOS and Android devices, it features
similar improvements that Beamdog has done for the other enhanced editions.
Avellone provided assistance by helping to curate the improvements to the game.[90]
Beamdog had access to the original source code and design documents for the game,
and through that were able to recover and include some content that was dropped
from the original release, using Avellone's assistance to flesh out parts that were
incomplete or missing, but otherwise did not significantly change the game, with
the studio's CEO Trent Oster saying that their work was comparable to "basically
going in and repainting the smile on the Mona Lisa here".[91][92]
See also

List of Dungeons & Dragons video games

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External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Planescape: Torment

"Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition". planescape.com. Retrieved April 12,

2017.
"Planescape: Torment official website (old)". Archived from the original on
November 17, 1999.
Planescape: Torment at MobyGames
Planescape: Torment on IMDb
"The making of Torment audio". bootstrike.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.