Diablo 2 Ressurected

Stay awhile and listen

There come those times in the gaming marketing cycle where the entire fandom is utterly shocked by a completely unexpected product that shakes the very foundations of what we expected. (For better or for worse) Those inconceivably well kept secrets that are crafted with such excellence they become the very soul of discretion. And then, there are those obvious reveals: the ones were it's quite possibly the worst kept secret of it's day, and we're just sitting around playing pretend with the developers, waiting for them to announce the thing that we know they're doing, and they surely know that we know. 'Diablo 2: Resurrected' is the latter. Oh god, did we know this thing was on it's way. Almost like a grand apology for Diablo Immortal, it's been all anyone in the Diablo circles can talk about. And now it's announced and we're all supposed to clap our hands to our mouths and go "Nani? I did not expect that!" Give me a break. But at least it's real now and we can talk about it, there's that.

So the Blizzard team did a great job of pre-empting this with big-ups about how influential and important the first two Diablo games are, before then forgetting about the first one and only talking about the sequel. (Guess that one's not good enough for the ol' remake treatment.) But at least the team can agree with their audience that this was the golden age of the franchise. Since then ARPG's have evolved in a great many directions and facets, but it seems that the grandfather of the genre, Diablo, is not exactly leading the pack in today's age. Talk about the ARPGs of today and you'll hear mention of Torchlight (which I love) Van Helsing (Which puts me to sleep every time I play it, I don't know why) and Path of Exile. (Which I'd love to play seriously, if only it didn't run like a three-legged antelope because of my spotty internet) People have had their alternatives for the Diablo games, and not everyone has sought out these alternatives just because Diablo 3 is old. Some people say that 3 just lost a lot of magic of the genre, either in basic progression/ customisation or just the thematic world about them. Fans didn't feel that dread and disgust as they delved into the pits of damnation in their war against the Prime Evils. Not like they did with Diablo 2.

Thus with Diablo IV too far away for comfort, this impending 2 remake does actually seem like the ideal project in the meantime. Aided by the same team that were involved with the Tony Hawks and Crash Bandicoot 'remasters', Diablo 2 Resurrected aims to completely recreate the famed APRG, with the Lord of Destruction expansion, in a 60 FPS environment. And, similar to other Blizzard remasters, this game will be running ontop of the original game, allowing players to switch to the original style if they're feeling nostalgic. But what of this new style? Well that's where I think this idea is really going to sink or swim, because Diablo 2 is an aesthetic to a great many fans out there. A template of how to create a fallen demonic world. Presuming to amend that style, even with the intention of keeping everything true to the spirit of the original, is certainly playing with fire.

I'm sure it was pleasing, then, to hear the team reaffirm several times their position that nothing was to be added to the game, and everything to be an imitation. It's an important distinction to make, in the art department particularly, because where as this is called a 'remaster' within the studios, what we're looking at is an evolution from old-school 2D sprites to 3D renders; meaning that there's going to be some difference no matter how hard you try. Committing to ensure that none of those differences change the heart of the world is the right way to go if you're trying to make it through this job without having angry fan boys jump down your throat. Of course, that hasn't meant that they've completely neglected the wonders of the modern age. Dynamic lighting, a zoom function, 60 FPS all come to this new edition; but hopes are that these are more just quality of life enhancements. And for the most part I'll say they look fine.

What I'm less enthusiastic about, however, are the animations, although I understand why they are the way they are. You see, the original Diablo 2 ran at 24 FPS and decided all of it's important data off that; how long animations are, tick rate, everything that matters to a gameplay designer. And in the team's fervour to recreate Diablo 2 to the letter, they copied the animations to the exact same frame-rate and shape as the original. It's faithful, to be sure, but as someone who doesn't have the nostalgia-tinted glasses to fall back on; it does make combat look ludicrously stiff and I cannot imagine playing any melee-centric class for fear of dropping dead out of boredom. Animation talents have evolved a long way since 2000, and I like to think that's mostly been for the better; recreating the old style for the sake of being 'faithful' could be the wrong move in some instances, although I recognise that opinion places me staunchly in the minority.

What is still there, however, is the heart of an ARPG that launched a genre, and I really would love to get a glimpse of all the things that the imitators and iterators saw in this precursor. Again, I never played the original Diablo 2, (I was a child when it launched, meaning I'd only played Metal Gear Solid. No, I'm not exaggerating.) but I'm ever the one for rediscovering gaming history and thus I'm all aboard with this remake. The ARPG genre is one that I've only ever touched fleetingly, although I feel it has the chance to become my fresh obsession if I let it, in all the same ways that it has for other gaming genres. Yes, I very much blame Diablo 2 and it's kin for the 'looter Shooter' craze which grips certain sectors of modern game development, and if its recompense is to stage a grand return to the modern age in order to show these pretenders how it's done; I would be happy with that.

For me the biggest question is simply; can we trust Blizzard to deliver on what they promised? Let no one forget, afterall, about the Warcraft 3 Reforged debacle which demonstrated all the worst inclinations of the IP owners and left a sour mouth in many strategy gamer's mouths. In that they lied about the 'fully reshot cutscenes', (Diablo 2, conversely, has a much tamer promise of fully re-rendered scenes) they cannibalized their own community with creatively stifling stipulations; (Diablo 2 Resurrected has already announced Mod support; there's still plenty of room for similar rules to be set) and, worst of all, they overwrote the original Warcraft 3 in many people's game launchers, meaning that they had no choice of going back to that beloved original, they were stuck with this tainted successor. Blizzard have been clear to come out and say that Diablo 2 will not follow that same mistake, but it's already established a reputation of being nefarious on it's own, I wouldn't blame Diablo fans for proceeding with caution.

Lastly, my ire slightly ruffles when I look at the price; which is around £35 over here in Britain. In all honesty the game looks okay, but not exactly like a brand new AAA APRG, thus that price point seems to be straining with my goodwill. This isn't like a Bluepoint remake, this isn't Demon Souls we're looking at here, Diablo 2 Resurrected seems far more mundane in comparison and worthy of a price that reflects that. (£30 would be much more sensible to me.) At the end of the day, it's comforting to know that, rather than wait for the uncertainty which is Diablo IV, fans can coddle themselves with the familiar warmth of a game they already know is somewhat good, under the knowledge that there's absolutely no possible way that Blizzard and it's subsidiaries could possibly mess it up. Right?