Torchlight 2 is having a free weekend trial

Sometimes, games are a gruelling trial of hardship, strife and the worst excesses of humanity. DayZ, for instance, or trying to get a working match of Battlefield 4. Luckily, games are all about variety. So when you're fed up of being fed up, you can play a game about punching goblins into mince. To help sate that urge, gib-friendly ARPG Torchlight II is currently doing the Free Weekend thing on Steam; tempting you to pay its discounted price by giving a brief taste of the clicking, punching and thwacking it does so well.

Coincidentally, I returned to the game this week - hence my focus on the satisfying melee side of the combat. The game's Beserker is a brilliantly impactful feeling fighter, frequently spinning out into a rage of crit-hits and gore. Sure, the other classes are probably also good, with their guns and their crossbows and their cute little robot things. But can they summon the power of a wolf spirit to punch through enemies? No, they can't.

Whatever class you settle on, as Chris' review will confirm , the game is well worth a try. You'll be able to play it until Sunday, and then have until Monday to take advantage of the 75% offer , snapping it up for the immensely reasonable £3.74/$5. And if you do want to see all the game has to offer, be sure to grab the Synergies mod from the Steam Workshop. It's an excellent collection of additions, bringing new classes, pets, skills, maps and enemies.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.