I’ve never played any of the Diablos, or met anyone who has. But they are obviously popular for a reason. Are they worth going back to the first one?
Edit: Thanks for the answers, the community is alive! Based on you recommendations it looks like I’m going to give 2 resurrected a try.
I’ll throw my vote for Diablo 3. The game can be wicked addictive. I got the platinum trophy on PlayStation which was no quick feat. I just couldn’t stop playing. I would suggest choosing the Crusader to play as first. Super fun and has these flails that are specific weapons to his character. I had so much fun with the Akkhan armor set and the legendary flail called Fate of the Fell. Can take you well into the torment difficulty levels. Chef’s kiss of a game. I think people should really give it a chance if they like the Diablo style of game at all.
You should give Path Of Exile a shot. It’s very much like Diablo, but it’s free to play (just pay for cosmetics).
As a warning, this game is wildly complex. I played up to the first boss and kept getting wiped immediately even though I would handle the mobs in the area.
Also a lot of people feel that it’s more free-to-try rather than free-to-play because of the inventory restrictions in the later game. Every new in-game activity currency they bring out is more incentive for you to buy inventory tabs. So maybe $30 USD investment to properly experience the game later down the line. Still cheaper than full price Diablo 4 but definitely worth keeping in mind.
If you like action RPGs, diablo 2 is the game that made it into what the genre is today for the most part. It’s practically a perfect game from a fundamentals and gameplay standpoint (meaning it’s perfect at what it aimed to do and the impact it’s had, not that it’s without flaws). I have never been as into AARPGs as my friends, I burn out on them too quickly usually, and I don’t have the patience for the grind. But for people who like that style, it’s the OG. Its probably the first game I ever sunk more than 100 hours into, but those are rookie numbers for AARPG vets.
Diablo 1 is fantastic, but is very dated at this point. Partly because Diablo 2 improved on damn near everything.
Diablo 3 was…fine. I played through it twice when it launched and I’ve never touched it again. It was/is insanely popular but it wasn’t for me.
I haven’t played 4 and personally don’t plan to, but it seems like people really like it so far! I’m not against it by any means, I’m just not into the seasonal content type games, and I really prefer to play single player, and I play offline a ton. I can’t keep up with the grind or the time commitment, but wish the best for those that can and enjoy that game style.
I only ever played diablo 2, but I had a lot of fun playing it!
I’ve been meaning to try the series for about 20 years now, and just pulled the plug on Diablo IV. I’ve only done a couple of quests but I’m really enjoying it so far.
The gameplay feels relatively basic at the moment, but I realise there’s probably a lot of complexity I’ve not revealed yet. For now I’m having a great time just hitting mobs, finding better gear and exploring the over world.
I’ve also picked up Diablo 1 from GOG and am enjoying that - it feels even simpler, but is a lot of fun. I’m using the DevilutionX port which adds a lot of modern features to the game.
I’m playing both games mostly on my Steam Deck, and they play really well with the gamepad controls. IV looks fantastic too. I do intend to play some on my PC though, I need to justify that graphics card I told my wife I needed…
PS: first post on BeeHaw, it’s nice here!
You’re in for a treat, start with Diablo 1.
Thanks to it’s color palette, it’s still very atmospheric, even today. There’s HD mod that not only makes it no hassle to run this on modern PC with higher resolution but also adds ton of content that was originally cut from the game. It even adds re-imagined cut content that was only just mentioned somewhere in-game or was planned for Diablo 1 but actually ended up being part of Diablo 2 later on. Purists will whine about too many balance/item changes, it’s worth it to try the game firsthand.
https://mod.diablo.noktis.pl/downloadI personally love the games; they provide a satisfying gameplay loop of murdering hoardes of enemies to get better equipment so you can kill even stronger enemies. Using new builds and discovering new attack combinations/synergies is a lot of fun as well!
Diablo 1 has a great atmosphere but is pretty lacking by modern game standards. If you decide to play it, I’d recommend adding the Hellfire expansion so you get an extra class and the ability to sprint.
Diablo 2 is brilliant and lets you party up with up to 7 people instead of the max of 4 in D3 and D4. It’s definitely a tougher game compared to the newer releases.
Diablo 3 is a fantastic game now that they’ve added the Adventure mode and rifts which make it way easier to tackle quests and grind for gear. It’s also almost limitless on its difficulty unless you invest hundreds of hours into a character.
I’ve been jamming on Diablo 4 since it came out, and it could work out to being the best in the series; however, it’s clear that it has a bit of growing to do. The skills are fun and fair though, and the five classes are diverse enough to give you plenty to chew on as you discover your preferred play style.
Obviously I love them, but I could see how others might find them repetitive. I’d snag D3 on sale (or it’s probably discounted now) and decide if you feel like D4 would be worth $70.
Yeah, but they aren’t fun if you run into cheaters. They’re a blast if you play with some of your friends. There are other similar games too, so I recommend you give the whole genre a shot.
Having sunk tons of time into D3, I can say it’s worth a look. The paragon leveling system from D3/D4 is a clever way of rewarding players who keep playing well after the main 3 (or 4 with D3 DLC) acts. I think I was at Paragon level 1100 or so when I stopped playing.
The biggest complaint people had about D3 IIRC was it’s too colorful (something they poked fun at with the Whimsydale/rainbow goblin).
D2 was a favorite in college, but admittedly I never played outside of some lab parties.
D4 is shaping up to be a solid game, but this is patient gamers, so I don’t know if that counts.
Oh no, how dare a game known for its dark visuals make use of the whole spectrum lol. If that’s the highest critique then it’s gotta be the best dungeon crawler of all time
:D I know right? I didn’t pick up D3 at launch because of their store/always on DRM (which were two more legitimate concerns), but when I finally joined in after the first expansion I could not for the life of me understand the, “it’s too colorful” complaint.
Plus Whimsydale is bonkers awesome - slaying demon rainbow unicorns and teddy bears is a blast.
I wouldn’t recommend going as far back as the first one. Diablo 2 Resurrected came out last year and is a good starting point for the series if you’re thinking about trying it out. I never got into 3, but so far 4 feels really good.
Thanks! I’ll look for resurrected then. If you don’t mind replying, what is with the massive appeal of the game?
You have to remember that this game came out a long time ago, it had many features at the time that set it above other games.
It had a good storyline, multiplayer, maps that would change every time you logged in (multiplayer), the ability to be powerful after spending a lot of time in the game (and if you saw anyone with a rare/cool looking armor you know they worked for it, there were no lootbox mechanics where you could just pay money for it). And of course… there is no cow level ;) The skill tree allowed for tons of different abilities and combos, or you could grind away at a single skill and become godly with it.
You may not recognize the appeal to the game now just because so many of the mechanics have been copied and implemented in countless other games since then.
