Diablo 2: Resurrected review – a flawed and faithful remaster

With Devil 2: risen, Developer Vicarious Visions had the unenviable task of releasing a game published by Activision Blizzard.

Starting in July, a storm of controversy has raged around the publisher, which has faced multiple lawsuits alleging toxic work environments, a “pervasive frat boy culture” and discrimination against women, one of which was instituted by a federal agency and ended with a recent settlement. Vicarious Visions released its creation in an environment shrouded in cynicism and anger at its affiliate publisher and the creator of the original game. Longtime players have stopped participating in the Activision Blizzard ecosystem; high-ranking employees I have left. Even in the best of times, working for a company like Activision Blizzard, or any major corporation, at the lower levels can be difficult. Adding more toxic layers can do it, to use a suitable term for Devil 2, hellish.

I want to review this game. But I also want to be aware of the alleged atrocity committed by the men in power to Activision Blizzard workers who simply wanted to do their job. Tasked with remastering a classic, originally created by this same embattled corporation, Vicarious Visions doesn’t deserve this blemish. The question is whether Vicarious Visions succeeded in its task.

In short, it did.

For the uninitiated, Devil 2 is an isometric action-adventure with RPG elements, set in a dark fantasy universe with angels, demons and all kinds of nefarious entities. Upon its release in 2000, it was the video game equivalent of a self-conscious black metal album, with an interpretive seriousness that should not be taken seriously. It’s still cheesy as hell, and it’s a pleasure to be.

Diablo 2: Risen is a remastering of the classic dungeon crawler. There are no big updates to the controls, camera angles, or map layout. It is, in essence, Devil 2, with all the joys and annoyances players can remember.

Players choose from a group of seven character classes, with whom they smash, shoot, and magically fight their way through random environments ranging from rural camps to creepy tombs. For the purposes of this review, I have reviewed all of them. However, there were highlights. My martial artist Assassin would be right at home in a Yakuza game, chaining punches that turn into a devastating finishing blow. Rather, my Necromancer steps aside to let his army of filthy beasts, demons, and skeletons simply invade the land, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.

The controls are wonderfully responsive and each class has its own mechanical feel. Playing on PS5, I feel every hit and every magic bolt on the DualSense.

However, in keeping with the old school gaming theme, Diablo 2: Risen does little to guide the players. Tutorials are almost non-existent. When I got a new skill, I thought it would automatically map and link to an available button; instead I had to figure out the linking and do it manually myself. He also had no idea that by leveling up, he could choose to gain new skills and abilities, what’s more to update Attributes. It’s not hard to figure out, but a little more guidance would have been welcome, especially for new players who never played the original.

Once I figured out the button mapping mechanics, the characters opened up. Risen allows me to map a secondary set of actions to the left trigger of the controller. For example, I press X to do a basic attack, but by holding L2 and X, I can execute a character’s most powerful magic attack. I tend to use these secondary buttons for magic or special abilities (which deplete characters’ mana pools), while keeping my vanilla buttons for immediate attacks that don’t deplete. By mixing and matching combat and magic, my characters became absolute machines. Given the responsive controls, it became a pleasure to play as any of the classes.

Diablo is a famously addictive franchise, even though it consists almost entirely of fighting from the same fixed angle. But the monotony is broken with the variety of enemies, the evolving environments, the randomization of the dungeons and the loot. He was constantly excited when he found a powerful wand or a unique sword.

However, leveling up my character was the main push. Surely many MMORPG fans can speak of this excitement: I just wanted to level up one more time profit one more ability. Before I knew it, the hours had flown by, despite putting a limit on me. With a level cap of 99, there are many hours to spend; even the main and original game could be registered in just less than 200 hours for finalists.

The plot remains the same as ever, with shot-by-shot cut scenes told through beautiful, up-to-date cutscenes. Well written, acted and directed, they remain wacky scenes that we can all love and treasure.

Since this is a game from the early 2000s, the NPCs drown me in words, rather than engaging in interesting or lively discussions. They are very well acted, but they get cloying anyway. I hardly ever skip dialogue in games, but in Risen He often did, because the subtitles served the same purpose. In fact, the first two Diablo games don’t have both characters and two-legged glorified audio records. (Only in the third game do we find real NPCs, who grow, learn, conflict, and have their own agendas.)

But maybe Diablo 2: Risen‘s The worst problem is its inventory “management”, another hangover from the old-school design of the original. If you love delicate management and Excel balances, you will love this. Otherwise, expect a hell of a secretary job. Inventory space is extremely and unnecessarily restrictive. you is it so given a large stash to drop items, but there is no way to send any items directly to the stash as games like Demon souls‘remake allow. Here, you must play pack mule. As I killed countless enemies, I had to pause, return to camp, and drop or sell items to make room for plus loot that would have to be thrown away or sold. The cycle is tedious and annoying. Break the flow of combat and exploration. I just hope a solution is implemented.

It’s hard to talk about Diablo 2: Risen without thinking too much about what he did Devil 2 great to start. It’s also hard not to dwell on what makes the original frustrating by today’s standards. The updates are a pleasure to behold: loading times are instantaneous, controls are precisely designed, and it’s still a very easy game to learn and play. The graphics, animations, higher frame rate option and sound design are a feast for the senses. But its initial problems – poor tutorials, boring dialogue, and infuriating inventory management – persist. The test is not really if you like it Risen but if you like Devil 2. And since 20 years have passed, you probably know the answer.

However, there are a couple of new issues to consider: Risen It allows online and offline characters, but the two columns will never overlap, so if you have leveled up your Amazon offline to higher levels, you will never be able to play with friends. This barrier is regrettable, since I do I recommend playing it offline first, as the game is more responsive. In fact, I would recommend that you use the offline game as your own introduction, to familiarize yourself with the game before jumping online, where you will face lags, slightly delayed entries and annoyance from cooperative partners. But otherwise, the co-op was very easy to set up and play with friends. Risen benefits from cooperative mode, especially when the characters complement each other (Paladin and Sorceress are a great combination!).

There were also network issues on launch day. The biggest shock was that I lost all progress on an offline character (a problem developers are aware of), restarting it at Level 1. There are minor issues when playing online, especially lag and occasional stuttering (even in a private solo game). However, it was mostly a seamless experience, whether online or offline.

Diablo 2: Risen it’s a game of contrasts: it’s a solidly crafted dungeon crawler with the traps of a game from the early 2000s; it has incredible and intense performances from its actors, but the whole plot is ridiculously silly; is made by a talented team of developers, but leaves the undeserved smoke of its troublesome editor.

The original Devil 2 It was the pinnacle of dungeon crawlers in 2000, but in its current form, it’s more of a fossil. Vicarious Visions have done an amazing job wrapping it in amber. I loved my time with him, despite the flaws that are still visible through the shell. For better or for worse, the story remains.

Diablo 2: Risen was released on September 23, 2021 on Windows PERSONAL COMPUTER, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo switch. The game was reviewed on PS5 using a pre-launch download code provided by Blizzard Entertainment. Vox Media has affiliate associations. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.