This game is nothing short of a work of art, plane and Sigil.
Torment is set within the wonderfully unique Planescape setting for (A)D&D, one of the most original roleplaying settings to ever be created. Put simply, the "normal" world, real and standard D&D, is called the Prime Material Plane... And Planescape is a long walk away from the nearest Tolkien-ish elf or dwarf. The Inner Planes are infinities of pure elemental power, of the four basic elements of alchemy, along with life and death energy, and how these all mix. The Outer Planes are the infinities created and shaped by belief -- heavens and hells of all kinds, related to the various "alignments" of good, evil, law, and chaos; and all home to the gods of any pantheon you could name, as well.
This is quite a backdrop to place the events surrounding a single human, but the game does it excellently. Torment is mostly (mainly because this is where you'll be building up a lot of early levels and getting used to the game and quests) set in Sigil, a curious city built in the center of a ring, floating above an infinitely tall Spire at the center of all the multiverse (maybe). Sigil can only be reached through magic portals, and these portals can be found in almost any bound space (like a doorway), and can be used as long as someone has the proper key (an item, a thought, a song they're singing at the time, a gesture, etc). These portals go *every*where.
Now, the actual story... Waking up, with no memory of who he is, the Nameless One finds himself in the Mortuary of Sigil, surrounded by zombies and a very strange skull -- which flies around about 5 and a half feet up, has eyes, and a wit sharper than a magic sword. The game just flows from there, into a tale of self-discovery and the most compelling objective I've seen in an RPG, so counter to what one does in most: the Nameless One wants to find a way to die. His mortality has been taken away, and while this gives him a phenomenal healing rate and some strange powers -- as well as great potential for incredible power in more "traditional" areas such as warcraft, thievery, or wizardry -- it is a curse in disguise as he loses his memories and will eventually lose his mind totally every time he takes wounds enough to kill anyone else of similar skill (read: level and hit points).
The best part of the story is learning it for yourself, but it's not spoiling anything to relate the matter of the Nameless One's immortality and healing speed, or similar. The writing itself is some of the best I have seen, and make it an extremely compelling story unfolded through all the dialog and related writing. Unique items and spells are full of history in their descriptions, and just getting some of these unique spells provides an opportunity to experience the skilled writing, and helps so much to make one of the characters a very real figure.
Ah, yes, the characters. There are a number of companions you may eventually gain, though you are limited to a total of six members in your party. Morte is the skull already mentioned, and he is perhaps the most interesting character (after the Nameless One, of course). Talk long with him every time something related to him happens in the game, and you will learn of the depth of the character. Dak'kon is a githzerai, a member of a race once descended from humans but now much different. His story is very nearly as deep as Morte's, and has direct consequences on his strength in combat, through his blade. Annah is a young tiefling woman, strong-willed and valuable, related somewhere in her family history to the tanar'ri -- demons. While her story is not as important, it provides some very human depth to the Nameless One and the overall tale. Ignus is a mad mage who wields fire like anyone else might use a dagger. His story is far from essential, but it is another interesting facet of the Nameless One's history (it seems everything in this game ties into the Nameless One's history, somehow). Fall-From-Grace is a succubus, a demonic temptress who has turned away from evil and chaos. Instead, she wields the healing magics of the priests. For the story, she is not as important as others, though just the quirk of her nature is interesting. Nordom has to be the most unique character of all. "Backwards modron > Nordom" he states as soon as Morte makes a sarcastic observation. Some explanation is in order: a modron is a semi-robotic creature of pure law from the regulated clockwork plane of Mechanus. Nordom, being a backwards modron, is a rogue, a modron who has been infected by chaos and made into an individual. He and Grace are perhaps the only ones not already tied up in the Nameless One's past. Finally, the last character you may add is Vhailor. Strange, to say the least, Vhailor is a suit of armor inhabited by an undead spirit devoted to Law and Justice. His story is important almost solely for the ending -- but that's all I'll say.
The final act to Torment is excellent. The story is revealed finally, but not too much -- the authors knew where to stop before ruining it. There are a number of different ways to end the game, with some varying amounts of satisfaction depending on how much you liked the other characters.
A beautiful game. I'm on my third or fourth time through it, and I still love it and am still finding new things.
