Since Blizzard announced that it was working on the resurrection of Diablo II, many fans and gamers who reveled in the original game have been delighted, as it is the classic addictive hack-and-slash title in an immersive world that defined a epoch.
More than 20 years later, Blizzard resurrects the classic Diablo II.
Well, in this kind of preview, we participate in the technical alpha for a player of Diablo II: Resurrected, the first of several tests of course. The idea is to know how this version works, which is one of the first, and send any errors to the development team. We have a button within the game for the «Bugs» reports.
The requirements are not that demanding and you can play it without problems with an Nvidia GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT if we are going to use the Full HD resolution of 1080p.
| Minimum requirements | Recommended requirements | |
| Operating system | Windows® 10 | Windows® 10 |
| Processor | Intel® Core i3-3250 / AMD FX-4350 | Intel® Core i5-9600k / AMD Ryzen 5 2600 |
| Video | Nvidia GTX 660 / AMD Radeon HD 7850 | Nvidia GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT |
| Memory | 8 GB of RAM | 16 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 30 GB | 30 GB |
| Resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Internet | broadband internet connection | broadband internet connection |
Blizzard’s idea is also to make Diablo II known to new generations, so that they can live and enjoy this much-remembered game. The technical alpha seeks to know if the authenticity of the design is maintained with new images and changes in quality and playability.
In the alpha version, we only have the possibility to choose three classes: Amazon, Barbarian and Sorceress. Amazons are warrior women who use spears and have a very accurate aim with a bow and arrow. They also have superhuman agility, great for dodging deadly blows. The barbarian mainly stands out for their brute strength, they are very strong and fearsome. He handles axes and swords very well. Finally the sorceress uses pure magic, weak in close combat but very powerful to perform spells, generating fire or freezing demons. In the final version will be all the complete classes.
On the other hand, only the Acts I and II , where we set off from Camp Rogue, a picturesque site populated by survivors of the Brotherhood of the Invisible Eye, as they begin their search for the Dark Wanderer. However, the one who impersonated the Rogue Monastery Brotherhood stands in the way. We will face Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish. Then we have the “The Secret of the Vizjerei” where we will travel to the city of Lut Gholein. At night, the townspeople disappear and there are rumors of undead abominations hiding …
-
Classic view -
Zoom view
Well, the technical alpha has been a pleasant experience, I have found almost no bugs or problems to play, which indicates that it is quite polished. A good job has been done both graphically and in gameplay, including, for example, the zoom function, that is, it allows you to zoom in to see the battle and the character in detail more closely.
Movement, attacks, powers and defenses remain practically the same as the original version, which is essential, the spirit of Diablo II has to be latent. It is more of a Remastered than a remake.
Blizzard has mentioned that the cinematic part still needs to be improved, so I will not comment on this aspect.
The menu and inventory is still current and very practical to use. You have to arm yourself well and level up to face the enemies, some very powerful. Depending on the character class you choose, the combat tactics will be different.
-
How it looked originally -
How it looks now
Blizzard also added the feature so that, in real time, you can relive what the original fully pixelated game looked like. In this way you can see the new changes that have been implemented, something very useful when evaluating a remastering.
First impressions
During this weekend that I was testing the single player technical alpha, it left a very gratifying impression on me. Without finding too many errors, the gameplay has been fantastic, maintaining the original spirit of Diablo II with an acceptable graphic quality, being possible to play it in 4K without loss of details. If you go to the original pixelated function (G key), you will see the big difference.
The great novelty will be the multiplayer part that will be implemented later, this aspect will be crucial since it will give an exquisite added value to this classic.
The art is also very well worked and in terms of gameplay in general it is on the right track. Do not expect a completely new game but rather the return of a classic according to the times than today. BLizzard expects to release Diablo II: Resurrected by the end of 2021 alongside the Lord of Destruction expansion. Surely in the future we will have more tests so that everyone can participate, the road to launch still has its long development stages.
–
