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Diablo II: Resurrected is the long-overdue remaster of Diablo II, this time with the default inclusion of Diablo II's DLC, Lord of Destruction. Diablo II was first released in 2000 and is often credited as the quintessential dungeon-crawler. Resurrected was released in September of 2021, meaning fans were forced to wait over 20 years to see a remaster of this cult-classic RPG. Though Diablo 2: Resurrected is an excellent remaster that breaths new life into the franchise, while not detracting from the charm of the original, there are a few big changes that players should be aware of.
For players jumping into Diablo II for the first time: the game picks up where Diablo left off, but players needn't feel obligated to play the first installment before sitting down with number 2. Diablo II is set in the world of Sanctuary where an unnamed warrior has just defeated the Lord of Terror and attempted to contain his essence in his own body. Since then the unnamed hero has become corrupted, causing demons to wreak havoc on the work. The story of Diablo 2: Resurrected is the same as the original and doesn't change anything with the plot, though hardcore fans will surely notice a huge difference in some of the cutscenes.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is a true love letter to the original, and everything that a remaster should be. It gives the game a modern feel while still preserving the original's charm. In April of 2021 Blizzard launched a Single-Player Testing Alpha and allowed a small group of fans to give feedback on the progress of the game. The company held different sets of tests a couple of times throughout the year, each time implementing the previous criticisms, no doubt this is exactly the reason the remaster is doing so well. Considering the age of Diablo 2, many fans have grown up with the Diablo franchise, and the games have held a lot of nostalgia for players. Changes from this testing phase include an updated HUD and improved color palette, along with customizable UI accessibility options.
The most obvious and biggest change to come from Diablo 2: Resurrected is, of course, all the visual updating that fans would expect when hearing "remaster." Diablo 2: Resurrected implements modern 3D graphics, 4k visual effects that make lightning spells really pop, and upgraded audio effects that provide an immersive experience. Diablo 2 was really ahead of its time, and while some of its original graphics hold up well enough for nostalgic players to enjoy the game, many new players could be turned off by the clunky nature of its interface.
Diablo 2: Resurrected smooths everything out and even brings completely new cutscenes to the classic title. For fans that may enjoy the original 2D graphics, Resurrected allows players to switch between the original graphics and the updated ones at the push of a button. This can be useful for those that don't want to fuss with the compatibility issues of the original but still want those chunky visuals.
As with any good ARPG, half the fun of the Diablo series is collecting all the great loot. In the original Diablo 2, players had to jump through all sorts of hoops in order to share items between their characters. With Diablo 2: Resurrected, not only can players finally have a singular stash to share between different saved files, but Blizzard is even including a huge storage expansion.
Following one of the Alpha test runs, it was announced that Diablo 2: Resurrected will include 2 extra 10x10 tabs of storage, meaning that players will have access to 300 slots of all of their items. Another added perk of the remaster is automatic item pickup. For old school RPGs this was not a given feature, as storage space was often limited, and the mechanics of it were a lot harder to program. But modern players expect the ease of this interaction, especially after the feature was included in Diablo III. Resurrected has brought Diablo 2 back into modernity with this little mechanic.
The original Diablo 2 was released only for Windows and MacOS. Diablo III was the first in the franchise to be released across all platforms, and Diablo 2: Resurrected will follow in its footsteps. Not only is Diablo 2: Resurrected being released on consoles from the start, but players will be able to transfer their saves from one platform to another. As long as fans sign up for a Battle.net account, they will be able to seamlessly access a saved game from any platform they own and then access it on any other device of their choice. This feature does require the purchase of multiple copies of the game, but that could definitely be worth it for some players. Unfortunately, this feature is not yet available, but Blizzard has confirmed that is indeed coming, the company just hasn't announced when that will happen.
One of the most beloved parts of the original Diablo II is the "Secret" Cow Level. Officially known as the "Moo Moo Farm", players may access this only after collecting a specific combination of items that allows them to open a portal to the level. This special level comes from a hoax surrounding the first installment in the Diablo franchise that became so popular that the developers decided to include it in the sequel. In the original Diablo 2 the Cow level would be locked after players defeated the "Cow King" and could only be replayed on a different difficulty. Diablo 2: Resurrected changes that and players will be able to return to the level and defeat the Cow King as many times as they want. It seems like the process of getting to the Cow Level is the same as it was in the original game, and players will have to complete the game before opening the portal to the Secret Cow Level.
Overall the changes from Diablo 2 to Diablo 2: Resurrected are huge, and minimal at the same time. The graphics overhaul and small UI differences are sure to make the whole game more player-friendly and enjoyable. The inclusion of the Lord of Destruction expansion to the base game gives players more bang for their buck, with an already incredibly reasonable price of $39.99 for the whole game. With the 4k visuals and 7.1 surround sound audio support, Diablo 2: Resurrected does the series proud and pushes the game back to the top of the list for best ARPGs out there.
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