Diablo II: Resurrected

Diablo 2 Resurrected should have been a remake. The approach might be more streamlined than most modern RPGs, and combat is just as enjoyable as it ever was. However, it's also difficult to recommend for those unwilling to push back against the game at almost every turn. If you're familiar with the original and know its quirks already, the visual refresh is enough to warrant yet another playthrough.

Diablo 2: Resurrected both benefits and suffers from its faithfulness to the original title, but overall provides an adventure full of satisfying gameplay and fun exploration.

Diablo 2: Resurrected updates the graphics of a great, classic action RPG for a new generation. It masterfully preserves the mood of a singular game, and at the same time it preserves the gameplay as it has been for over a decade – mostly for better, occasionally for worse. Unfortunately, parts of that gameplay that were standard 20 years ago just look bad now, or feel like a waste of our time. Those looking for the old king can find it right here, but they might want to politely bow rather than kneel.

As a big Diablo 2 fan, Resurrected has let me down in many ways. What little changes have been made to the original formula are welcome, but feel like leftover bread crumbs from a larger pie that could have been. Diablo 2 was in a bit of a weird place in that it was not hard at all to access and play the original game, even on modern PC hardware. This new release does make the game available to console audiences, which is an awesome change, but the lack of crossplay really hurts here. Resurrected could end up becoming a much better value down the road as the development team begins introducing updates and upgrades, but as of right now, you should avoid this package unless you are happy with straight-up Diablo 2. That being said, there are many reasons to be thrilled to revisit the game, particularly for the timeless soundtrack and to get a glance at the spiffy new paint job. Just make sure to set your expectations accordingly.

Eventually, and with a lot of googling, I found my groove and started to enjoy what Resurrected has to offer. Just make sure you go in prepared for the clunkiness.

Diablo 2 Resurrected achieves what it set out to do: remaster Diablo 2. Its enhanced visuals and spectacular cinematics repackage the game in a whole new way, making it feel as though it really is your first playthrough all over again. Breaking this immersion, though, are a slew of irritating bugs that are likely to be fixed soon. As patches drop over time we hope this sorts itself out, but at the moment they can be so game-breaking that they make you want to do diabolical things to your computer. Despite all of this, I’m excited to jump back into the game. In fact, I’m itching to do it. Why? Because evil has returned, and it’s the Diablo 2 I know and love.

The beloved classic returns with a lot of promise… but it doesn’t quite meet our lofty expectations. It looks, sounds and plays great, but there are downsides: you’ll find loads of bugs and glitches, some important features are missing and it turns out you can actually be too faithful to the original.

It's why, unlike Diablo III, I don't foresee myself spending a lot more time with Diablo II: Resurrected. That's not to say the adventure was without merit, and it's certainly great to have a way to play one of Blizzard's classics with a coat of paint that does its visual aesthetic justice so many years later. But outside of players already well-versed with the game's aged design choices and imbalance, there's not a lot here outside of a history lesson for new players to enjoy. A lot of the time spent playing Diablo II: Resurrected, I just longed to return to Diablo III.