Diablo II: Resurrected
The satanic lord of action RPGs returns
I’M SPLIT ON WHETHER OR NOT THE NEW GRAPHICS ARE AN IMPROVEMENT
While Diablo II: Resurrected overhauls Diablo II’s graphics, underneath the new 3D models, dynamic lighting, and shiny puddles it’s the same action RPG I was click-click-clicking through 21 years ago. It feels a bit simplistic today (the skill tree is tiny!), but that only makes me like it more. Diablo II still rules.
There are little tells that DiabloII: Resurrected is just a costume—the way the character model gently snaps to the eight directions the original sprite can face, for example—but I might not have believed that it’s truly just a high-res version of DiabloII if it weren’t possible to unmask. Press G, and the 4K world dissolves into the original low-res renders. It’s extremely cool.
Aside from the redone graphics, not much has changed. There are quality of life and accessibility improvements, such as an automatic gold pickup option and color-blind modes. The online functionality is being updated. Otherwise, this is a purely visual remaster.
I’m split on whether or not the new graphics are an improvement. Where torches and campfires in the original seem to emit pale white moonlight, you get the expected warm glow from the new dynamic lighting, which I like, but it does make Sanctuary feel less otherworldly— perhaps something is lost there. And some of the new art lacks the character of the original pixelated renders: Boulders that used to look like smooth ass cheeks now look like normal rocks, and once charmingly chunky wagons are now more sensibly-proportioned and covered with knick-knacks and details. Characters whose features were mostly implied are now sharply defined. A few pale pixels and a helmet of comic book red hair have been replaced with severe cheekbones and a styled auburn ’do. Some intrigue is lost.
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
There are places where I like Resurrected’s new art more, though. The first dungeon looks creepier in the new version. The Gargantuan Beasts, big yeti-like guys, are fabulous-looking. It’s the same deal as with the human characters: They’ve been given detailed, shiny fur, as if someone’s done a realistic render of a cartoon character, but instead of making them less intriguing, the uncanny translation makes them weirder and cooler. Playing it, I was surprised by how old DiabloII feels. It doesn’t have a hotbar for attacks, for instance. At any given moment, you can have one action assigned to your left mouse button and one action assigned to your right mouse button. If you want to use more than two attacks or spells during a fight, you can assign keys (the top row function keys, by default) that change your mouse button bindings on the fly, or use the scroll wheel to cycle your right mouse button binding. The number keys are used for potions.
You get used to it. And as I played, I was reminded of how many little things Diablo II did so brilliantly. The sound effects remain top tier: The ping when you move a gem in your inventory, the gurgle when you drop a potion, the clink of falling gold. The menus are just about perfect, and it’s nice to play a game that fits what you need to know into a few half-screens. DiabloII conformed snugly to the platform’s limitations at the time, and that’s an approach you don’t see too much today, when limitations are things to overcome by adding more sub-menus.
Those new to Diablo II may find it too simple compared to the games it inspired— Destiny II ,Path of Exile and so many others—but I can’t wait to enjoy the simple fun of clicking on demons and finding magic swords. Hopefully the multiplayer support works well.
Tyler Wilde