@rw I don't like to use this criticism because its often misapplied and misunderstood, but I really felt like Torchlight was "trying too hard".  It didn't say no to it's players and as a result what you get is such a homogenized, bland experience that it may be palatable in the moment it has absolutely no staying power.  It's what I call a popcorn game.  it might be mildly satisfying in the moment but when you're done playing it you immediately forget it.

I think a lot of people that get hard-ons for Torchlight just aren't familiar with the ARPG/roguelike genre to know that there's much, much better out there.  My personal recommendation is Sword of the Stars: The Pit, or perhaps Teleglitch if you don't mind horrendous graphics.