Diablo II is a piece of video game history. This action RPG helped establish one of Blizzard’s greatest moments—at the time the company also released Starcraft and Warcraft II—and was a leap forward for the genre.

It’s one of those games that we’ve returned to over and over again in over twenty years, and it continues to hide endless hours of fun in its dungeons, abandoned forests, and cataclysms.

So it’s no surprise that the RPG, which was initially developed by Blizzard North, returns in this “remake”, signed by Vicarious Visions (Tony Hawk 1+2 Remastered and Crash Bandicoot N. Responsible for the Sane Trilogy). In fact, by former members of Vicarious Vision, as the studio was taken over by Blizzard a few months earlier.

In this analysis of Diablo II’s revival we’re going to examine whether the game retains all of the (dark) magic of the original, and what it’s like to return to this kind of development after enjoying Diablo III, which was called the original. was originally released in 2012. Here you can read our Diablo III Infinite Collection review for Nintendo Switch.

The first thing to point out is that the game — like the other remakes we’ve mentioned before — fully respects the development of the original. We have a new graphic section, optimized controls, improved menu system, but we are going to visit the same places and encounter the same creatures.

Diablo II Resurrection also brings back the content of the Lord of Destruction expansion (with two new character classes: the Assassin and the Druid, and a new Act). Respecting the original material in this way is a double-edged sword. We know it’s an unmistakable evolution, one that causes us an explosion of nostalgia, but being a “remake,” we’d love to find more surprises.

Development of Diablo II

Diablo II was not released on consoles, so many people may be immersed in the game after trying the third installment. And in that case they will get a tough game, in which the pillars of the saga remain.

Again, we begin by choosing our character’s class from among seven options (Amazon, Assassin, Necromancer, Barbarian, Paladin, Sorceress and Druid), each of them with 30 specific abilities with which to accompany the creatures that come our way. Then, items can be purchased, from sites like yesgamers, to help you build your character and gain bonuses along the way.

The plot returns us to Sanctuary, the mortal realm, after Diablo’s defeat in the first game. The appearance of the dark wanderer gives rise to an epic story, with battles between archangels and demons as its background, and is very interesting. Don’t miss the superb cinematics – the brand of the house – which has been completely redone for this edition.

From that moment on we begin a journey (acts five) in which we explore the catacombs of random generation in isometric perspective, fighting relentlessly. On the surface, it’s fairly straightforward gameplay, almost like Hack’n Slash.

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However, under this outer layer is Diablo II an RPG, which offers us the possibility to improve our character with pieces of equipment and weapons, unlock a skill tree, and enjoy an extensive “lore”, which It comes before us. Hell to end the Lord of Destruction.

We say it’s a tougher game than the third installment for various reasons. The first of these is that the landscapes are darker and more oppressive, and in general we have a greater sense of danger.

Also the proportion of unique items and treasures we get is also less. And character improvement is difficult by some levels. The same can be said about the difficulty of confrontation, which is challenging from the first time.

If we still want a bigger challenge, we have the opportunity to choose different game modes. Hierarchy if we want to compete with other players, with characters and time limits, unconditional mode (with permanent death of characters) or classic mode, without expansion. Neither of these methods is recommended for beginners.

Classic or dated?

The management of a limited list, the dialogue to accept the “quest”, the way the map unfolds … Almost everything has a classic flavor, which in some cases feels old-fashioned. There are small changes in the interface or in the size of our stash that improve the “quality of life”, but they are not conclusive.

It’s imperative to look back and see how the genre has evolved over the years, and remember the mechanics we saw in Divinity Original Sin or Pillars of Eternity. But then it wouldn’t be Diablo II, and after the cold reception of Warcraft III Reforged a year ago, it’s understandable that the studio was conservative.

Console versions benefit from an optimized control system, as the original design was created with keyboard and mouse in mind. The changes translate into the possibility of picking up some of the objects dropped by downed enemies by simply passing over them, without pressing any buttons.

Another change that should be mentioned is that the multiplayer mode has got some cuts. On both PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles, we can have a group of 8 adventurers in online mode, but on Switch that’s reduced to 4 players. The good thing is that if we want to play in portable mode and then move to desktop, there is cross progress between all the platforms.

Multiplayer allows us to play in a private game or assign ourselves to a group. But, as with the original, it doesn’t have a local cooperative mode on the same console (which was in Diablo III).

The latest news is that the size of our stash has been expanded, and there is the possibility of sharing the loot that we’ve created with other characters we’ve created from our accounts.

A new technical section

As you’ve read in our analysis of Diablo II’s revival, the game moves in a fine balance between remake and remaster. There have been no changes in development, but all 3D models, some menus and sequences have been redone. This is not a simple resolution increase.