Diablo II: Resurrected - The Perfect Remaster

The Diablo series has been around for over 20 years, but Blizzard never quite managed to match the success of Diablo II. Diablo II is in many ways a phenomenal game whose genius is embedded in its genome. Brilliant because it was the second part that was ahead of its time and created a new milestone in the evolution of the genre.

But the years have taken their toll, and it is no longer possible to enjoy the second Diablo II. After WarCraft III failed remastering, there were rumors about Diablo II remastering. The news made the gaming community internally tense in anticipation of another Blizzard failure. Fortunately, the fears were not confirmed. Diablo II: Resurrected didn't ruin the essence of the original game. Why? About that below...

Blizzard decided not to reinvent the wheel

In short, Diablo II: Resurrected is the same Diablo II. The changes are few and far between, and you can count them all on the fingers of one hand.

Diablo II was the childhood game of many, the first Brawler. Some nervous gamers found it terrifying. Not surprisingly, Diablo II was also considered terrifying. Back in the early 2000s, it was still in high school.

Fans were mostly concerned about atmosphere in Diablo II: Resurrected. Would the game turn into a multicolored kaleidoscope? No, visually and acoustically the remaster managed to transfer the spirit of twenty years ago in a new way. For the most meticulous fans, Blizzard has added the ability to turn Diablo II: Resurrected into Diablo II at the click of a button.

The work done on the graphics is evident. And you can indulge in nostalgia with just one click. Moreover, the transition between the original graphics and the remaster graphics is absolutely seamless - no downloads, frees or restrictions.

Most of all, the graphical changes have touched the interface. It has been updated, and the models in the character selection menu are closer to the player's eyes.

It's unlikely this review will read people unfamiliar with the original Diablo II, so it's worth emphasizing once again that Diablo II: Resurrected is a noticeably fresher Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, no more.

Visible changes are only on the menu. You can adjust individual sounds, for example, making the cries of dying monsters quieter, and very fine settings for physically challenged people.

Diablo II's balance remains intact. We still have to buy hoards of different vials to restore health and mana, antidotes, and even stamina elixirs. Yes, the dubious mechanics of stamina remain intact. Twenty years ago this characteristic pissed off the low levels, a trend that has continued in Diablo II: Resurrected. There was a heated debate at Blizzard over the appropriateness of the stamina trait, "Do I need it at all?" It soon became clear that it was better left untouched. Many of the items, abilities, and altars on the map would have to be changed, which would entail a whole string of changes. And not the fact that the game would not acquire a whole bunch of bugs ...

Fundamental changes are only two: the ability to auto-select gold and the general chest. And if the autocollect gold - a logical fix "crutches" of the old gamedesign (if you want autocollect can be disabled. Why? It is unclear), the general chest - a real gift from Blizzard for the players. In the original game, often and densely flashed situations where you play, say, a barbarian, and falls great shield on a necromancer. Then had to resort to the artifice: you go into the game, give the shield to a friend so that he then passed the shield to us, but the other character. Or you leave it for a better time. Diablo II: Resurrected has no such misunderstandings.

New graphics and old mechanics

But the graphics are what makes Diablo II: Resurrected worth buying. We all played some game ten or fifteen years ago. Our imagination probably imagines those games to be more detailed and vivid than they really were. Cognitive distortion is to blame. After all, since then, almost every gamer has seen hundreds or thousands of games with modern graphics, and the same old toy is somehow wiped from memory. And this is the graphics in Diablo II: Resurrected. And that's exactly how Diablo II is likely to be remembered by those who once loved the game, but haven't played it in years.

Monster models have expectedly undergone a number of changes: the same Yeti in the original were faceless, but in Diablo II: Resurrected they now have faces. The once two-dimensional six bigfoots in the remaster are glossy. A bunch of aggressive locusts (pardon the inaccuracy, it's been a while since I played Diablo II) looked more like white TV screen noise in the original, but in the remaster the same locusts themselves are quite voluminous clouds.

Most importantly, Diablo II: Resurrected, unlike the original, clearly demonstrates the power of dynamic lighting, anisotropic filtering, and anti-aliasing. Objects such as marble tiles and water surfaces have a reflection. The Cinematics have been reshot, too, and they've done a great job of making Tirael look like an angel, and Mephisto no longer looks like the storm cloud from the ads.

But Blizzard went a little too far with the darkness: in the original the viewing angle around the character was much wider, while in the remaster in the caves you can't even see it. Especially striking is the increased darkening of the picture in the second act, when the sun suddenly disappears somewhere in the middle of the desert. Darkness often plays into the hands of the atmosphere, but there are cases when the darkness becomes the cause of the absurd death of a character. Although... Death in Diablo II is a common case...

Diablo II: Resurrected doesn't cut it for new players: a small inventory, limited vials, running out of arrows and projectile weapons, and portal scroll slots are all echoes of early '0s game design, which players must live with.

The world is still as flat as ever, the design of the locations remains untouched. Do you see the half-meter stone fence? It's an insurmountable obstacle, you have to go around it.

But what is nice - it is an increased number of animation frames: the movement of the game protagonist became noticeably smoother, and the opponents are no longer "teleporting" at short distances.

Some of the strangeness of multiplayer also remained untouched: having assembled a team of players, you must know that the loot is shared. That is, if someone from your team is lucky enough to shoot "Tyrael's Power" - the best armor in the game - then the one who first picks it up gets the item. Random players can abuse macros, and careless allies will pick up the items before you even notice them. Doubtful mechanics with the distribution of the loot "according to the thieves' terms" has not changed since the original, so create a group of random players, I would not recommend it.

For dessert, you can also play the savegame from the original Diablo II in Diablo II: Resurrected, but only in single player mode. If you've wanted to replay the original, but your eyes are pained by medieval graphics, and you're too lazy to start from scratch, load up Diablo II: Resurrected with a once-forgotten but beloved character. The game will not offend you for the years of absence, all items, builds and equipment are as relevant as twenty years ago...

Was Diablo II: Resurrected worth buying?

Diablo II: Resurrected replicates the experience of the original Diablo II, but with fresher graphics. A full repetition of the original can be seen from two sides. On the one hand, Diablo II: Resurrected has nothing new to offer in terms of gameplay: no new items, characters, or abilities - everything remains untouched; on the other hand, Diablo II is the one island where you're not chased down by a sword and forced to always stay in the flow. Abandon Diablo III and in a month or two your top build will be mediocre, and your top build in Diablo II: Resurrected will stay that way until the last devil goes to hell and Diablo gives up trying to darken Sanctuary.