Summary
- I rarely replay games, but Diablo II keeps me coming back for its engaging gameplay and atmosphere.
- The sequel evolved from the original: Diablo II improved on Diablo’s mechanics and played with more expansiveness.
- Diablo II has infinite replayability due to procedural generation and variable challenges, making every run unique.
I rarely play a video game more than once. Usually, after I see the credits roll, I’ll move on from that title to something new and never go back. However, there are a small handful of games that I keep going back to, and Diablo II easily stands at the top of that pile.
Diablo II Almost Ruined My High School Career
Diablo II came out right at the start of my high-school experience, and my friends and I were already frequent LAN party enjoyers, rotating between each other’s homes on the weekends. My dad eventually built us a dedicated LAN space in our house, allowing a half-dozen people to hook up their PCs and play the night away.
While our usual titles were games like Quake or Starcraft, Diablo II immediately dominated all our time. The year the game came out, my entire 6-week break over Christmas just blurred together as we barely slept or ate. It was just that good. In-between school holidays, it was hard to confine play time to the weekends, but somehow I still managed to get a decent passing grade at the time!
It’s a Rare Sequel That Fixes Every Flaw in the Original
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Because of my age, I didn’t get to play the first Diablo until long after playing Diablo II. While the first game is absolutely brilliant, it’s also amazing just how much better the second title is. The first Diablo feels like a tight, low-budget indie game, whereas Diablo II feels expansive, expensive, and packed with details and content.
The gameplay is much more dynamic, the mood and environment are much richer. My little brother later became obsessed with the first game for a while, but ultimately we always go back to Diablo II like a comet swinging by the Earth every few years.
The first Diablo feels very clunky in comparison with the second game, which is entirely understandable when you watch the brilliant post-mortem of the game by its principal creator—David Brevik. Seriously, give it a watch. It’s one of the best videos related to video games that I have ever seen.
The first game started out as a turn-based RPG, that would have been closer to CRPGs like Baldur’s Gate, but through the twists and turns of development, it turned into the ARPG (Action RPG) we know today. Diablo invented a new approach to these isometric computer RPGs, and today it’s been cloned to death, and the series is on its fourth installment.
Diablo II has no such baggage. It was designed to be an ARPG from the bottom up, because Diablo had laid the groundwork. The focus could be less on the fundamental framework of this nascent genre, and more on the polish, detail, and expansiveness of content. It feels great to play, every piece of armor or equipment makes a change to your character’s appearance, and the progression path for each class of character is flexible, and much better thought out than in the first game.
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Diablo II Has True Infinite Replayability
Why have I never grown tired of Diablo II? Well, like the first game in the series, procedural generation is a key aspect of how maps are formed and what monsters, items, or loot you’ll get. There are varying difficulty levels, and even the option to create a “hardcore” character that dies permanently if you slip up. Which is very easy in Diablo II.
Given the number of classes, the different possible builds using the flexibly leveling and skill system, and the variable challenge and encounters, every run of the game feels unique, and I have never felt bored or like I’ve seen and done it all before when going back to this game. Of course, like anyone, I get burned out on a game and have to take a break from it, but I go back to D2 at least once a year.
The Remaster Is a Pitch Perfect Revival
What really got me back into Diablo II big-time was the release of Diablo II: Resurrected which is a complete re-skin, and slightly updated version of the game which looks and plays like a dream. It lets you switch between the original and modern graphics with the tap of a button, and brings back online play.
I actually opted to buy the Switch version, because the idea of playing Diablo II on a handheld I can take anywhere with me was just too good to pass up. I later also bought the PC version, and I do appreciate the silky frame rates and additional detail, but for me, it’s still best played on my OLED Switch.
I Will Play It for Another 25 Years
I have played Diablo III, and while I didn’t like it much at first, I did eventually have fun with the game, despite (in my opinion) it regressed so much of what made Diablo II great. What I liked most about Diablo III was that I could play couch co-op with my wife, and we did the entire campaign together.
Likewise, I spent $150 to buy Diablo IV with early access so that my wife and I could enjoy another long-awaited adventure, but after just a few hours, we both realized that there was nothing of what we liked about Diablo in this latest game.
While Diablo II was a dark, atmospheric adventure with great progression pacing, and often brutal difficulty, Diablo IV was a theme park for caffeinated children who like to see multi-colored numbers fill the screen.
So, back to Diablo II I go, and I don’t think that will ever change.
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