Planescape: Torment
1999 · RPG · PC
Overview
Planescape: Torment is widely considered the finest written computer RPG ever made. The Nameless One — an immortal amnesiac who had lived countless previous lives — recovered his past through dialogue and decision. The game's central question — 'What can change the nature of a man?' — was answered differently depending on choices made. Combat was de-emphasised in favour of conversation and exploration.
Deep Dive
Planescape: Torment was written by Chris Avellone at Black Isle Studios using the Baldur's Gate Infinity Engine. The game's dialogue — over 800,000 words — dwarfed any contemporary RPG. The Planescape setting, taken from the AD&D cosmological expansion, placed the game in a multiverse of philosophical factions — each faction held a different theory about the nature of reality. The Nameless One's past lives, each recoverable through exploration, created a fragmented autobiography that the player assembled.
Developer Story
Planescape: Torment was written and designed by Chris Avellone at Black Isle Studios. Avellone was given significant creative latitude to produce a game that prioritised narrative over conventional RPG action. The game launched in December 1999 and is now consistently cited as the RPG most interested in character and philosophy.
Did You Know?
- Planescape: Torment contains over 800,000 words of dialogue — significantly more than any RPG produced before it and comparable to several novels.
- The game's most effective build is a pure mage with maximum intelligence and wisdom — despite being marketed as a multi-class RPG, combat is optional enough that investing in dialogue stats produces the richest experience.
- Morte — the floating skull companion — was designed as a sarcastic counterpoint to the game's philosophical seriousness, providing comedy relief while also carrying one of the narrative's most emotionally significant secrets.
- Planescape: Torment sold poorly on release — approximately 215,000 copies — but its critical reputation grew through word of mouth and online discussion to establish it as a defining work of the medium.
