Around a month ago I randomly found a copy of The Black Road novel at home and decided to give it a go. I’m almost done with it, and I feel that it really lit a spark to finally play the games, going in their release order. My experience with the games prior to this point goes as follows:
D1: finished just now for the first time;
D2: played around 10 years ago and couldn’t beat Diablo with summoner necro as he just one-shot all my guys; haven’t returned since;
D3: played through the story twice (PS3 on release and on PC after RoS)—really liked this one and have fond memories of it;
D4: haven’t played yet.
So I’ve just beaten Diablo 1 for the very first time (using DevolutionX) with a warrior, going full melee without any spells except for mana shield.
Here are my thoughts:
The Good:
- The atmosphere is genuinely amazing. The visuals, the music, the tension—everything works together beautifully to keep you immersed in its world, and it’s definitely the main reason why I finished the game in two days.
- Lots of quests and dialogues fleshed out the world and made it a joy to explore every nook and cranny.
- Later levels made me sweat quite a bit. I had to pay attention to my movement, use the environment to my advantage, and not get surrounded. So even though I was just hacking everything down, it felt very intentional and engaging.
- Random jumpscares from mobs around the corner really heightened the atmosphere.
The Bad:
- Loot felt very underwhelming. My helmet, armor, and sword all came from quests, which I really liked at first, but I realized at the end that I didn’t find anything cool on the ground throughout the whole game. My loot came from either the quest or the blacksmith. I’m someone who has to explore every corner of the map, so the fact I didn’t find anything cool at least once a level felt disappointing.
- I would have welcomed an extra line or two of inventory space.
- I know that this is probably my mistake, but I thought I would get some warrior-related abilities at some point in the game, something to break up the monotony a bit. But maybe I’m missing something here…
Conclusion:
Even though my overall feelings are mixed, I don’t regret a second spent in the labyrinth. I’m glad I was able to finally tackle this classic, and I can understand why it is a classic and a beloved game even decades after its release.
Do the other characters play much differently, or do they get other quests? I’d love to stay and do maybe one more run before continuing on to D2, but I don’t really want to do 99% of the same things for another 10 h.