Diablo II: Resurrected (Computer)
User Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): September 23, 2021
- Release Date (EU): September 23, 2021
- Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment, Vicarious Visions
- Genres: Action, RPG
- Also For: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Time to party like it's 2000 with the Ressurection of Diablo II. Grab your friends, and your swords and get ready to slay Diablo and his minions once again. But this time, in glorious HD.
In the middle of 2000, Diablo II took the gaming industry by storm, quickly building an immense playerbase of avid fans, many of whom exist to this very day. Even up to the moment Diablo II: Resurrected was released, and I'm sure beyond that as well, you could always log onto Battle.net and find hundreds if not thousands of people still making and playing games of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.
Diablo II is a treasure, but an ancient one; over the years it became increasingly difficult to play and accept the jank that comes with a 20-year-old game built for early Windows. While most of the gameplay aged well, its lack of modern luxuries continually became more apparent. A locked incredibly low framerate, tiny 800x600 resolution, and essentially forced full-screen. Unfortunately, this gem of a game was being lost to time by technical limitations. But then, finally, in 2021 Diablo II: Resurrected was announced.
With the remaster came a new coat of paint, and boy does it look nice. There was definitely some worry after Blizzard botched the art style of Diablo III, but in the end, they nailed it. As you can see from the screenshots, they did a wonderful job breathing new life into the old graphics. Everything feels just as it did wandering the lands of Diablo II in the early 2000s--you even get that lovely feature Halo's remasters got that lets you toggle between new and old graphics any time during gameplay. Even the audio got a facelift (that toggles with the graphics), old iconic sounds that couldn’t be recreated reliably have been left alone but all of the music and many other sound effects have been cleaned up and upgraded just as they did the visuals.
A main concern many had, was the possibility of changing gameplay, fixing old bugs, etc. Blizzard did end up making changes, but all of them were for the better and none of the things affected any core gameplay. They added three tabs of shared storage, as well as expanding storage in general. You can now toggle seeing items on the ground rather than cramp your hands holding the key for hours, and ladder exclusive items and runes are now available on non-ladder and single-player. And of course a plethora of other minor tweaks. The Andy bug remains intact, however, the somewhat popular “ebug” was fixed. Perhaps the only controversial change since it was a relatively harmless bug that only served to make companions a bit less fragile.
Diablo II itself is certainly a little dated, however it still stands up as an incredibly fun experience that I'd recommend to anyone. While Diablo 1 and 2 didn't invent colour-coded loot rarities or 'loot fountains', there's no denying it's the reason that hundreds of games after it have adopted many of its systems. Eventually bringing rise to the "looter" genre. It’s still fun to make your way down skill trees, improving yourself and finding epic loot to flesh out your build. While things like its hotkey system can feel a little dated, overall Diablo II still plays extremely well for a game of its age even by modern standards.
The remaster isn't without its faults of course--it isn't easy bringing an ancient game up to speed without inevitably breaking something made during the early days of coding. Diablo II: Remastered has some minor quirks and differences, but nothing a regular or even advanced player will likely ever notice. There are also some bugs but in my 30-40 (or more frankly) hours of playing, the only bug I ever experienced was an issue where the map overlay didn't properly wipe between runs, creating some very weird and confusing maps. It really didn't come up often, in 30 or so Countess runs I had to restart my game twice to fix it.
At the end of the day, Diablo II: Resurrected was exactly what I wanted. It's as close to the original as humanly possible, while fixing some of the more annoying issues from the original game. I'm able to experience the wonderful world of Sanctuary, slaying the minions of Diablo with my friends just like I did back in elementary/highschool. Anyone who ever wanted to try Diablo II or couldn't get into it due to technical issues, Resurrected is the perfect way to play. Diablo II: Resurrected is a wonderful gem and it’s fantastic that a new generation of gamers can properly experience it, and even on a console if you so wish. May RNGesus guide your droptables and get you some sweet loot.
Diablo II is a treasure, but an ancient one; over the years it became increasingly difficult to play and accept the jank that comes with a 20-year-old game built for early Windows. While most of the gameplay aged well, its lack of modern luxuries continually became more apparent. A locked incredibly low framerate, tiny 800x600 resolution, and essentially forced full-screen. Unfortunately, this gem of a game was being lost to time by technical limitations. But then, finally, in 2021 Diablo II: Resurrected was announced.
As one would expect, this remaster sought to modernize and fix all existing issues with the 21-year-old pc relic, and it nailed it. All of the old issues Diablo II faced as it aged were repaired: modern resolutions, modern framerate, modern graphics, and even some modern conveniences for a cherry on top.
With the remaster came a new coat of paint, and boy does it look nice. There was definitely some worry after Blizzard botched the art style of Diablo III, but in the end, they nailed it. As you can see from the screenshots, they did a wonderful job breathing new life into the old graphics. Everything feels just as it did wandering the lands of Diablo II in the early 2000s--you even get that lovely feature Halo's remasters got that lets you toggle between new and old graphics any time during gameplay. Even the audio got a facelift (that toggles with the graphics), old iconic sounds that couldn’t be recreated reliably have been left alone but all of the music and many other sound effects have been cleaned up and upgraded just as they did the visuals.
A main concern many had, was the possibility of changing gameplay, fixing old bugs, etc. Blizzard did end up making changes, but all of them were for the better and none of the things affected any core gameplay. They added three tabs of shared storage, as well as expanding storage in general. You can now toggle seeing items on the ground rather than cramp your hands holding the key for hours, and ladder exclusive items and runes are now available on non-ladder and single-player. And of course a plethora of other minor tweaks. The Andy bug remains intact, however, the somewhat popular “ebug” was fixed. Perhaps the only controversial change since it was a relatively harmless bug that only served to make companions a bit less fragile.
Diablo II itself is certainly a little dated, however it still stands up as an incredibly fun experience that I'd recommend to anyone. While Diablo 1 and 2 didn't invent colour-coded loot rarities or 'loot fountains', there's no denying it's the reason that hundreds of games after it have adopted many of its systems. Eventually bringing rise to the "looter" genre. It’s still fun to make your way down skill trees, improving yourself and finding epic loot to flesh out your build. While things like its hotkey system can feel a little dated, overall Diablo II still plays extremely well for a game of its age even by modern standards.
The remaster isn't without its faults of course--it isn't easy bringing an ancient game up to speed without inevitably breaking something made during the early days of coding. Diablo II: Remastered has some minor quirks and differences, but nothing a regular or even advanced player will likely ever notice. There are also some bugs but in my 30-40 (or more frankly) hours of playing, the only bug I ever experienced was an issue where the map overlay didn't properly wipe between runs, creating some very weird and confusing maps. It really didn't come up often, in 30 or so Countess runs I had to restart my game twice to fix it.
At the end of the day, Diablo II: Resurrected was exactly what I wanted. It's as close to the original as humanly possible, while fixing some of the more annoying issues from the original game. I'm able to experience the wonderful world of Sanctuary, slaying the minions of Diablo with my friends just like I did back in elementary/highschool. Anyone who ever wanted to try Diablo II or couldn't get into it due to technical issues, Resurrected is the perfect way to play. Diablo II: Resurrected is a wonderful gem and it’s fantastic that a new generation of gamers can properly experience it, and even on a console if you so wish. May RNGesus guide your droptables and get you some sweet loot.
Verdict
What I Liked ...
- Same classic gameplay
- Beautiful new graphics/audio
- Nice modern tweaks (toggle show item, larger shared storage)
- Ladder-exclusive content now in non-ladder/single-player
What I Didn't Like ...
- Some minor bugs
- No more ebug
9
Gameplay
Diablo II is quite an old game, but the gameplay still manages to hold up even today. Each class is varied and incredibly fun, and searching through mounds of loot for those perfect items is just as enjoyable as it always was. Resurrected introduces a small handful of new bugs, but they hardly get in the way of gameplay in any meaningful way.
10
Presentation
Every aspect of the visual and audio remaster is perfect. Resurrected perfectly embodies the dark, dreary feeling we know and love from the classic 2000s game while bringing it all into the modern era flawlessly.
10
Lasting Appeal
Just as it always was, Diablo II: Resurrected has immense replayability. There is always better loot, always new builds, always new classes to play and try. As well as the ability to play and enjoy the game with friends and strangers alike. There's a reason people have been playing Diablo II for two decades.
9.6
out of 10
