Twenty bucks US (S$28 according to a random currency exchange site) can get you a lot of things. A nice big pizza meal for four people, a brand new t-shirt, just enough petrol for two hour’s worth of a drive: a lot of things. This week, you should consider saving that much money and buy the single-player loot-hoarding fantasy slasher known as Torchlight, because you’ll be getting your money’s worth and more.

Of course, first impressions of the videos and pictures suggest that Torchlight itself is hugely influenced by Diablo I and II. Hell, after playing it for a day’s worth, I’m pretty convinced that it’s pretty much Diablo 2.5 with prettier graphics (and boy, they are indeed) and no traces of satanic overtones. Even the village hub music is hauntingly similar to Diablo I’s composition in Tristram. Still, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, compared to the rest of the dreck that passes off as Diablo clones, I’d go far to say that Torchlight nails the formula with flying colors.

For one, the feel of leveling up, traversing the multicolored and multi-decorated corridors, and killing things just, well, feels great. Dealing a critical results in a louder “strike” sound and the target exploding into nothingness. Loot drops at a steady rate. Enemies, while still attacking in droves and hordes, have tricky abilities for players to keep in mind (teleporting wraiths and mana-sucking myconids, for starters). Gold coins are aplenty, making sure that you have just enough to buy that one overpriced chainmail that complements to your stats and playing style. You still slot in gems into your items, or even transmutate three or four of the same items into one better item. Speaking of gold, you automatically “vacuum” gold into your coffers as soon as you step close to its shiny bits. You cannot vacuum collect items, however; you’ll have to get them the old-school way. It’s especially annoying when a lot of loot gets piled up and you can’t seem to highlight the bottommost treasure.

Skill trees for each of the archtype classes (the melee-focused Destroyer, the range/magic-addled Vanquisher, and the skill-heavy/magic-powered Alchemist) aren’t as restrictive as in most games of its ilk. For instance, you don’t have to dedicate all your skill points to just a single skill tree. As long as you reach a high enough level, you can allocate your point to that skill. I can skip the first part of the Vanquisher’s Arbiter skill tree and go straight to putting points in Dual Wielding rather than waste points on that first part. Hell, you can even just divvy your points on just the Marksman skill tree and save a few points for the last skill on the Rogue skill tree (provided you’re at the required level). It’ll be great if all games of this caliber were to adopt this sort of flexibility in customizing their characters.

Death is handled well too; you can either start over from the exact same point and pay a slightly big penalty, or just start over from the beginning of the dungeon. Or just start back at the village hub without forfeiting anything. Regardless of which option, you don’t lose your loot and tangible stuff; just your pride.

Want to be a dual-pistol goggles-wearing poison-flinging mistress? In Torchlight, you can.

The inclusion of the pet also helps make the dungeon-trekking experience convenient. Not only will your trusty dog/cat attack enemies nearby as well as learn up to two spells (yes, your bobcat can somehow cast fireballs and summon three skeleton archers if you wish it), but you can send it to the shopkeeper at the main hub and make it sell whatever stuff it has on it. This means that you’ll be saving trips back and forth hawking your goods and make sure you concentrate just getting through to the game’s storyline. You can also fish at random lake spots throughout the game and feed your pet with them to turn them into different types of monsters for a brief period of time. Personally, I don’t see much use in this apart from novelty.

Many people will complain either about its length (it’ll last you about a day and a half long for each class playthrough) or its lack of multiplayer, but you’re not paying for a $60 dollar game here. You’re getting US$20 for a well-polished meal until Blizzard’s done with Diablo III in god-knows-when.