Torn

Torn is a text-based online RPG set in Torn City, a murky modern underworld where every newcomer starts weak and broke. Its homepage promises that you can be anyone and do anything — which, in ledger terms, means a very long list of systems and no fixed path through them.

VerdictThe deepest sandbox in the ledger. Torn rewards patience over reflexes: train, commit crimes, join a faction and build a character that is never wiped.

§1 The set-up

You arrive with nothing. The city is a grid of pages — gyms, the jail, the hospital, shops, an education campus, a travel agency, a newspaper called the Torn City Times — and almost everything happens through links, short forms and a few lines of result text. There are no reflex tests and very little animation. What there is, is breadth: the publisher lists dozens of crimes with hundreds of possible outcomes, plus jobs, companies run by players, education courses, missions and trips abroad.

The other thing Torn is built around is permanence. The homepage states plainly that players are never deleted or reset, so the stats you train this month still count next year. That changes the mood. Torn is a game about compounding small gains, not about racing a round clock, and it is happy for you to take years over it.

§2 How a session runs

A session is mostly about spending bars. Nerve is the resource for crimes; the official wiki says it refills at one point every five minutes and that your maximum grows with crime experience. Energy goes into gym training and attacks, where four battle stats — strength, defense, speed and dexterity — decide how fights go. Fail a crime and you may land in jail, where other players can bust you out. Lose a fight and you spend time in hospital.

Most of the long-term play happens in factions: player groups that socialise, go to war and run organized crimes together. The wiki notes that organized crimes depend on planning and coordination among members rather than on your personal nerve bar. Torn works solo, but a lot of its know-how lives in faction chats and in the official wiki, and the patch notes on the homepage show the game is still being worked on.

§3 Time on the books

Torn asks for little at a time, but asks often. Because nerve and energy refill on timers, the efficient rhythm is several short visits a day rather than one long sitting. Nothing forces you to log in and nothing is lost while you are away; players who check in regularly simply move faster than those who don't.

Expect a slow first stretch. The early levels are mostly reading pages and learning what each building is for. Give it a week or two of light play before deciding whether it is for you.

§4 Who pays for what

According to its homepage, Torn is free and carries no advertising. Optional purchases exist: the official wiki describes Donator Packs and a subscription that add donator status, points and a larger energy bar that refills faster. In practice that means paying players train a little quicker. How much that matters depends on how competitive you intend to be. The wiki also confirms an official Android app, with purchases there handled through Google Play.

§5 Right desk, wrong desk

§6 Credit and debit

Checked on the publisher's site — October 2026

These points were confirmed on the official site or official wiki on 27 October 2026. Games change; check the publisher's page before you sign up.

• Homepage describes Torn as a text-based online RPG set in Torn City.
• Homepage states that Torn is free and has no advertising.
• Homepage states that players are never deleted or reset.
• Official wiki: nerve fuels crimes and refills over time; failed crimes can end in jail.
• Official wiki: optional Donator Packs and subscription; official Android app.

Official site — Torn ↗ (opens in a new tab)