Diablo II: Resurrected Technical Alpha Preview - Improved Old School
The world has been given its first taste of Diablo 2: Resurrected through an invitation-only Technical Alpha that is currently live. Screen Rant has had a chance to experience this new version of Diablo 2, which has revitalized its visuals and made the game easier to enjoy than ever before.
Diablo 2: Resurrected was announced at Blizzcon earlier this year. This version of the game will keep the same content from Diablo 2 and its Lord of Destruction expansion, but the visuals have been reworked and a number of improvements have been made to the overall experience. Diablo 2: Resurrected is bringing the original game to consoles for the first time, which means that it will also be adding controller support for all versions of the game.
The Technical Alpha is single-player only and it contains the first two Acts of the game. There are only three Diablo 2 character classes available: Amazon, Barbarian, and Sorceress. From the moment the game is booted up, it hits with a strong feeling of nostalgia thanks to its music and interface. Anyone who played the original Diablo 2 in the early '00s will be whisked back to the days cutting through hordes of enemies with their friends in the dimly lit Monastery. Most impressively, Diablo 2: Resurrected succeeds in capturing the spirit of the original game, even with the new and improved visuals.
Diablo 2: Resurrected has two visual modes: Resurrected and Legacy. Resurrected uses modern graphics that are of a similar quality to Diablo 3 while still matching the aesthetic of the original game, while Legacy is the original game's visuals. It's possible to switch between the two at any time with the press of a button without disrupting the gameplay. The new visuals are impressive, and the gameplay of Diablo 2: Resurrected is the same old-school hack and slash fun from twenty years ago. However, Diablo 2: Resurrected is targeted towards original fans and it remains to be seen if it will attract a new audience, especially with so much competition on the market.
The Technical Alpha of Diablo 2: Resurrected features controller support, but it's still in a basic state and not all commands are available just yet. The game is fully playable with a controller and it's easy to bind different special attacks to buttons in order to quickly use them on the enemy. Items like potions can also be set to the D-pad for instant use. There were no issues with movement or targeting with the controller, but navigating the inventory can be cumbersome, especially when dragging items around to make space for more items. It's clear that the controller support still needs work, but it didn't take long to get used to them. Mouse and keyboard will still likely be the superior method of play, but console buyers won't be left behind, especially if they have played Diablo 3.
Diablo 2: Resurrected has some quality of life improvements, such as automatically picking up gold, but it's also old school in its design. The player is dropped into the world without tutorials and is only given the most basic information for completing quests. In most cases, the player will need to scour the hostile zones in search of a location that has been mentioned in town, with no indicators or directions to guide them. This fits with the type of update that Diablo 2: Resurrected is trying to be. The intention is to make the game look as good as possible and to iron out the more frustrating parts of its interface while keeping the core gameplay experience the same. It's even going to be possible to import classic Diablo 2 save data in the PC release.
The best way to describe Diablo 2: Resurrected is an attractive shell that is covering the original game. The Technical Alpha version of Diablo 2: Resurrected has its share of bugs and pathfinding issues, but it's still in an early state. What the Technical Alpha has done is prove that Diablo 2: Resurrected is true to the game that won over so many fans two decades ago, while fixing some antiquated design elements, and making it look as good as it can on modern systems.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is currently in development for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant was provided with a code for the PC version of the game for the preview.
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