Diablo 2: Resurrected will be made available at some point in 2021, and gamers are almost universally overjoyed at this announcement. Diablo 2: Resurrected is a complete remaster of the original game. Everything from the original will be included, with only minor changes being made. Most of these changes are to improve the game’s interface and ease-of-use.
Anyone who hasn’t read-up on this remaster probably missed some important details that they should know before purchasing it when it launches. There’s nothing worse than buying a game and realizing there was crucial information you wished you knew before the purchase. So, stay awhile and read on.
10 Characters Cannot Be Imported To Consoles
Upon hearing about Diablo 2: Resurrected, many players of the original were probably eager to continue the adventures of their high-level paladin whose Aura of Thorns wiped out enemies before he could even lift his sword, or their assassin who could clear a room of enemies in a matter of seconds. Not so fast. Apparently, your characters from the original PC game cannot be imported into Diablo 2: Resurrected for consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch). So, if you happen to have some of your (or your parents’) old save files from 18 years ago you can load them up on the PC version of Resurrected, but not if you get it for a console.
9 Dynamic Lighting
The original Diablo 2 had a very dark, creepy atmosphere. If your character had a small light radius you were essentially wandering in the dark – no matter how much you increased the brightness of your monitor. Diablo 2: Resurrected will feature dynamic 3D lighting effects. This will help alleviate the gloominess of the original game and make it look much better. Let’s be honest, the way the lighting interacted with the scenery and sprites in the original Diablo 2 was visually unappealing at times. Improved lighting will probably be one of the best upgrades in Resurrected.
8 New(ish) Cinematic Cutscenes
Early Blizzard games, like Starcraft and Diablo 2, had very well-made and memorable cinematic cutscenes. Admittedly, the cinematics in more recent Blizzard games, like Diablo 3, are good too – they’re just not as memorable. The cinematic cutscenes in Diablo 2: Resurrected will be given a makeover.
Seeing as how these seem to be a labor of love for the developers at Blizzard, these remastered cinematics will probably be the sort that nobody will want to skip – sort of like the into to the episodes of season one of One Punch Man.
7 Improved Online Play
The original Diablo 2 had a very fun multiplayer mode, but like most games of the era it had its problems. With Resurrected, most of these shortcomings in the multiplayer mode have been updated. There will be different rooms for different difficulty levels. Duplicate names will be possible – so if someone already claimed your handle all is not lost. Now the bad part; Diablo 2: Resurrected will not support cross platform play online. At least for now anyway; Blizzard claims it is looking into including cross platform play at some point.
6 No Microtransactions
Diablo 2: Resurrected will not have microtransactions – so sayeth Blizzard. This is great news. Microtransactions have a habit of unbalancing games when players start buying upgrades that are only available via the online store. Microtransactions can also be addictive when offered in the form of random loot boxes. Here’s the problem, many developers release a game with the claim that it will never, ever, include microtransactions. Then, six months later they go back on their word and start offering new character skins or special weapons for a small price. Time will tell if Blizzard is serious about this claim about microtransactions in Resurrected.
5 The Expansion Is Included
All three Diablo games had expansions; for Diablo 2 it was Lord of Destruction. This expansion added a ton of additional content. This included runes for improving items – something many fans of the series still can’t believe wasn’t included in Diablo 3. However, the most notable addition was the introduction of two new character classes for players to choose. These were the assassin and the druid; which quickly became favorites among players. The assassin was absurdly overpowered. The expansion, with all of its additional content, will be included in Diablo 2: Resurrected. The inclusion of the expansion makes Resurrected well worth its (as of now) $39.99 price tag.
4 It Supports 4K Resolution
The original Diablo 2 looked pretty good for the time. It wasn’t particularly high-res, and had an aspect ratio of 4:3 – it still looked good though. For Diablo 2: Resurrected, Blizzard went all-out and gave the game a 4K remaster. The game looks fantastic; especially with the aforementioned dynamic 3D lighting.
In some instances it looks better than Diablo 3 – most notably the dungeon settings. It gets better; the game has a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. This widescreen view gives a great view of the battlefield. These two new features make Resurrection look like a newly developed game – rather than a 20 year old remastered game.
3 It Can Be Modded
Another reason to get Diablo 2: Resurrected for the PC rather than a console is that it will support mods. The original had some excellent mods – the most notable was probably Project D2 (PD2). This added a lot of new content like new skills and item re-balancing. Sadly, a lot of the larger mods (like PD2) won’t be supported by Resurrected. That doesn’t preclude fans from remaking these mods though. Many of the smaller mods, that make smaller and fewer changes to the base game, will be supported. On a somewhat related note the PC version will also support console-like controllers. Forget the consoles – get this game on the PC.
2 Shared Stash Box
Unlike Diablo 3, Diablo 2 did not have a shared stash box for your characters. This is the chest in the hub area where players can store the items they wish to keep – rather than sell or trade. That meant it was a burdensome process if you wanted to transfer an item from your paladin to your druid. Players had to drop the item(s) on the ground and then switch to the second character and pick the item up. This is one of those changes that even the most diehard purists will not mind. It is an ease-of-use feature that players of Diablo 3 will be expecting in Resurrected.
1 Vicarious Visions Helped With Development
Blizzard did not tackle this project alone; they contracted Vicarious Visions to help with Resurrected’s development. For those readers unfamiliar with Vicarious Visions this might not mean anything, but their involvement is a good thing. This development studio has a good track record at remastering classic games for modern consoles and PCs, and has made quite a few classic games themselves. This is the studio responsible for the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games and the Crash Bandicoot HD Remaster for the PS5. Blizzard stated they chose Vicarious Visions in part because of their experience coding games for consoles.
