Diablo 1 & 2 were my reintroduction to fantasy after having played Gauntlet & Gauntlet 2 on the ZX Spectrum years earlier and got me into Warcraft, Lord Of The Rings and the world of TTRPG.
Oh, Gauntlet. The amount of time I played with friends and family... I remember very little of the actual games, but the memories of fun are still there.
Diablo I've loved since playing it for its atmosphere and replayability. Diablo 1, even with how limited it is compared to the sequels, remains my favorite solely due to the mood. There's just something so entrancing and terrifying about the idea of this seemingly endless series of dungeons and caves under a town which the increased scope of 2 and 3 can't hold a candle to. Being a lore fiend I eventually got into the novels and I ended up loving those a lot. They're actually what made me love the Necromancer class. Because like it's revealed in them that necromancers, while feared, are less like ooh spooky evil guy who controls the dead for his own reasons and more...They're a religious order that cares deeply for the dead. And is trying to right the wrongs done to the dead and help them eternally rest. And that and with the character who was the necromancer in those early books just really sold me on necromancy in general in Diablo. They're like psychopomp helpers. Love 'em. Haven't played 4 and won't. It looks neat. But I said years back when things came out that I'd never buy a new Blizzard game and I keep to my words. That's just my own personal shit though.
diablo 2 is still my favorite game of all time. its the sort of game that is really fun on a casual level, but the more layers you peel back, the better it gets. i still regularly boot it up twenty years later.
I remember being hooked on Diablo 1 & 2 after a fellow geek at uni showed us the cinematic - it was dark and gorgeously rendered so we were drooling over it (same for the Warcraft cinematic when it dropped). I'm totally with you, its the atmosphere that really grabs you on Diablo, so immerisve, gloomy and spooky. I'm getting shivers just remembering it.... 😁😁
"Too easy" is a perfectly valid complaint when it makes the game less engaging and/or satisfying. Monster Hunter Rise has the beat core gameplay system in all of Monster Hunter, but it's less satisfying to progress and finish armor sets when the monsters aren't balanced around said gameplay system. (The tweaks to monster attack tracking have helped this somewhat, though.)
I initially hated the fate of Leah in Diablo 3, but over time it seemed to fit the universe. In the first game, the reward for stopping Diablo is to become the Dark Wanderer. In Diablo 2, Tristram is destroyed, further enforcing the idea that the first game was a pyrrhic victory at best. In addition, Lord of Destruction ends with you stopping the last Prime Evil only to have the Worldstone destroyed. The first 3 games have a definite (and refreshing) theme that no matter what the player does, there's never going to be an entirely happy ending.
I think the problem is Leah is the first time anyone has been truly well characterized in the game. You really feel like you know her as a well rounded person and not just an archetype. I can’t say that about anybody else, especially not the player character.
Elena and Shen have dialogue that states (in their opinion), that Leah’s Horadric training/spells would have protected her soul from being consumed when she was possessed. No idea if her soul would have been freed or also trapped in the Black Soulstone at the end of the base game (of course, said soulstone is itself destroyed at the end of Reaper of Souls). I was always bitter that killing Adria didn’t give any resolution to that implied storyline.
I played Diablo 1 for the first time recently - my first game in the Diablo series as well, though I've dabbled in a couple of other ARPGs. I was surprised by a couple of things. Firstly, by how much slower and more methodical it is than, say, Grim Dawn. Combat can get hectic, of course, but it still feels like a slower paced game than others that came later. Secondly, how close it hews to Angband (one of the games the inspired it). A town sitting on top of a dungeon, scrolls that take you back and forth between the town and dungeon, lots of useless loot, a mission to get to the bottom and kill a boss (Morgoth in Angband, Diablo in Diablo). I've played a fair amount of Angband, and although I knew there was a connection, I wasn't expecting how closely related the two games feel.
So, I wasn't going to play 4, and I have played every Diablo game since the beginning, so that is a big thing to say. I wasn't going to play, I played the open beta, which was free at the request of a friend of mine, and I will say after that little taste, I pre ordered the game at the ridiculous price they asked for the most expensive with all the bells and whistles. ActoBlizz is hard to side with these days, but I do love Diablo. 2 hands down my favorite. I even refused to give them nostalgia wins, in the beta, and I played a class I didn't play, or like in 2, and it won me over. It hit all the nostalgia feels. It knew who it's audience was, and I felt personally singled out by this game several times before it even came out for real. I am currently playing the first season which has added new story beats, and quests, and it's pretty good. The story is great, though a little railroady, and if you saw any spoilers you would understand why. It does not focus on Diablo himself, at least not as yet, and the cinematics are top shelf. Great voice acting, and an amazing cast of characters. The bring back some obscure references. They sprinkle in some of the original music, and the classes are diverse and fun to play and build. If you liked 2 I would recommend this game to you. I agree about 3 and Leah, I think because she was sort of the spiritual successor to Deckard and then we lost them Both, and there was just no catharsis to it. Bitter as all hell about it, to this day, I did not enjoy what happened and it actually turned me off of Three, which until then, I had been enjoying. I quit playing over it, and never played any seasons, I remember the gear for cash, I bought some, it was super odd. 2 Still the best, because my sword wielding armor wearing Sorceress was my favorite. I do Love me some Diablo, all of them, except the abomination that is immortal and Three which was OK.
Being a kiddo (11-12 years old) I was playing Diablo 2 a lot and still have my old copy of "Legacy of Blood" - very cool book although titular Diablo appears only in the epilogue, killing the book's main villain. The bad guy, some kind of mantis-shaped demon, hears somebody, turns around, whispers "Diab..." and is ripped to shreds immediately :D
I'm around long enough to remember the time Diablo I showed up and made crawling through spooky dungeons whiile fearing "The Butcher" a fun exerience for every PC gamer - including myself. I spent hours under Tristam. And with the same pleasure I followed the Wanderer east, always into the east in Diablo II. And I really enjoyed being a kick-ass Demon Hunter in Diablo III. The most fun for me is playing with my brother and friends and having a blast while we fight waves afeter waves of scray monsters: Diablo IV is darker and more grim the III which is great. And I can understand while people despise Activision-Blizzard. Diablo IV is the first game of them that I'm playing in years and mostly because it's fun to play it with others. And I just bought the basic game and will not spend money at other stuff related to it. One can tell that this studio has lost a lot of their former mojo, because they think of money first and about a fun game second. And after all the failures they had in the recent yeears this might be their last shot for many. Not to mention the huge task they still have in front of them - as a lot of gamers and studios - which is to overcome sexism, racism, queerphobia and all the other shitty treatment of people.
I love the first 2 Diablo games, I started playing as a kid before I even spoke the language the game is in, good times, I had no clue what was going on and my parents had to help me do everything. Now as an adult I started playing again, I still have not completed any of the games, I'm a bad gaymer, but now I understand what's up at least and that's progress. One day I'll suck less at gayming and I'll finish both Diablos, it's a question of honor at this point 😅
I'm glad there's an open source engine for Diablo 1, DevilutionX, I wish there was one for Diablo 2, I still have the CDs, I wouldn't have to give them any more money. Not today.
I played Diablo 2 a fair amount. A lot of fun. The early Fallout games, while different in mechanics, the games had a similar structure. Create a team of fighters to explore an environment, complete quests, and find useful stuff along the way.
As an 8 year veteran of Marvel PuzzleQuest myself, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Absolutely loved Diablo 1 and 2, but was too busy trying to be a responsable adult when Diablo 3 came, so never played that and now never will.
Thank you for the video, Vera! I am not a fan of the "Diablo" series or action role-playing dungeon crawler games in general. The closest I got to the genre was playing "The Lord of the Rings" games for Game Boy Advance, which, ironically, are classic "Diablo" clones. But the current state of the gaming industry really turns me off, especially their big releases. The exploitation of developers, the aggressive monetization, the anti-consumer practices by publishers and they pushing unfinished games to release, instead of delaying them, make me disgusted. And that without mentioning the gatekeeping and the toxic discourse of the "GamersTM", such as "no women (as good characters), no people-of-color, no minority groups, and no (progressive) politics (that we disagree with) in our games", and the "git gud" argument against including easier modes and accessibility options, especially for people with any disabilities (I will admit that, in the past, I also did share the very stupid "git gud" opinion). To be fair, the toxicity and exploitation in games already were problems in the past (heck, developers were not allowed to include their names in the credits of their own games! Sometimes, only pseudonyms!). It does not mean that such issues being common or the standard in the gaming industry makes them right either! However, we being more aware about theses problems now will help to fight against and solve them!
Cheers for this. As someone who never was able to get into Diablo (Back when all my online friends were playing Diablo II I was mostly playing Nethack for broadly the same itch - Though I get the impression Diablo plays a lot closer to the *Bands that I was also never able to get into than the *Hacks that I was if you're familiar with the divide of the traditional roguelike family tree of design branches), it's definitely interesting hearing what you like about that style of game. One thing I would be interested in hearing in a follow-up video is if any of the not-Diablo, not Activision-Blizzard, games that are deliberate attempts to riff on Diablo's genre do it for you, if so which, and if not why not for the one's you've tried, if you'd be up for doing that sort of thing.
I never really went into the "diablo-likes" because... well I had Diablo. And even now I'd rather sink more time into Diablo 3 than roll the dice on something not being any good.
@@CouncilofGeeksThis isn't a recommendation, but Torchlight is a spiritual successor to Diablo 1 and 2. Torchlight even ripped off key concepts from D1 and D2. For example, in Torchlight 1, there are three playable classes similiar to the 3 in D1. In Diablo 2, one of three playable classes become corrupted, similar to D1.
Marvel Puzzle Quest is such a fun game, and there is no need to spend money on it! Diablo 1 & 2 are such fun games, and i love to play them! Never played Diablo 3, i don't like games that need to be online! That is why i gave up on Blizzard many years ago!
I played Diablo II a lot. Was also deeply invested in the lore. I am one of those people who never got into playing the higher difficulties, because the story was over. I know that for a lot of people this is where it starts, but not me. :P Diablo 3 I felt very mixed about. I loved most of the character designs, but making the characters more chatty with dialogues in practice didn't work for me. Enjoyed the expansion more than the main game.
I personally also always stayed a while and listen. And read the manuals ferociously. For plotstuff. Man, I miss paper manuals that you could read while installing and get you invested in the world before you were waiting to play.
Completely unrelated to the video topic, but have you considered painting your nails a pink or red? It would look super cute with the pink streak in your hair and would pop against your pale skin!
I loved (and still do) Diablo 1 and 2, but the 3 was a slap in the face. I pre-ordered it pretty much as soon as it was possible, and to stress how significant it was for me, I very rarely pay for games. In my entire life I've only paid for Sims 2 and 3, Diablo 2 and 3, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, and Gotham Knights, and only D3 and GK through official means (I'm from the part of the world and old enough to remember, ahem, questionably attained CDs sold at spontaneous street markets). So, I pre-ordered it. Then it was delayed. Ok, cool, things happen. Then news dropped that they were removing the manual attribute point distribution. I absolutely hated it. I loved the absolute control over my build in D2, and in D3 it was just... gone. So when the game finally dropped, my expectations were already pretty low, and then I couldn't even play it properly, because apparently the crappy internet in this part of the world wasn't enough to load the areas. So it took me a few years and a new computer until I could actually experience what I paid for. And it was... mediocre. At best. I almost swore off ever giving my money to game dev companies ever again. Thankfully I gave GK a chance, because I love it, but even if Activision/Blizzard weren't the sleazy company they are, I don't think I would've trusted D4 to be good.
Why didn't you like paying for games? I at least hope you didn't nick/torrent them. I never played D1 or 2, and rather loved 3. The criticisms about the use of colour, for example, just seemed insane, and in retrospect they seem gamergate/ME3 end adjacent in attitude. I doubt I'll enjoy IV as much, but the open beta was fun, and I'll get it at some point - hopefully when Kottick is gone, and certainly after several months of patches and balances.
I missed big game in the series. I didn't have a good enough computer when 2 came out. I wasn't very interested in it either as the equipment seemed very overwhelming. You're video has me kind of wanting to try it now, but I don't want to give them money for it. I did play 1 before 2 came out and enjoyed it a lot. I've played 3 for the first time recently and wasn't very into it, but maybe it would help if I tired solo instead of with friends where we're just blasting thorough everything.
Diablo 3 also had ranom spawns for named parts of dungeons. Each level has x mini dungons that are named and each play through / reload you have a different % of which willl spawn, and there used to be achievements for finding each one. Okay, that makes more sense. I wondered why you weren't talking about Siera's Hellfire but kept sorta mentioning elements and how they'd have effected the game if they existed. Hellfire gave you the monk, rune bombs, an expanded monster pool, and the hive. But yeah, Siera's art team made them look different to diablo enough that you knew it was handled by a compeltely different art team. I want to say the monk came with a baked in idetify spell so you didn't have to spend as much at Cain identifying things. I'll respectfully disagree about the auction house. It was how I got to the whimsyshire the first time, but after the acution house was closed down, I almost never got drops for whimsyshire and made getting stuff for my class harder because I started getting more drops for other classs -shrugs- but that's about like I started minecraft and my game glitched and instead of apples, trees dropped creepers.
I've found since that the monetization in Diablo Immortal is not as bad as was reported. It's still not good but it has a playable campaign at least and you can just nope out of everything else.
Other than you never warmed up to D3, even though I did play the expansion. once. In between D2 and D3 I fell for Path of Exile, which is about what you get when you start with D2 and move into the direct opposite direction for complexity than with D3 . and about twice the distance ;-)
I never played Diablo 1 or 2, but I picked up 3 for PS3 second-hand, and really enjoyed it, especially with finding all the lore stuff. I then got it on the Switch when it came out. But then when the stuff about Activision Blizzard came out, I put it down and uninstalled it from my Switch. I know that I have already payed for it, but I didn't want to show up in the numbers of people playing it for the seasons. Maybe if Kotick is fired, and there is an external investigation...so basically I won't be playing it again.
You put words to what I felt about Diablo 4; there's nothing new. Not that I wouldn't buy it and play if could but even the base version is ridiculously expensive so... Not anytime soon anyway. And I do struggle a lot with not wanting to support ActiBlizz for many reasons but at the same time I really enjoy several of their games. I wonder what will happen if the Microsoft deal goes through.
Nothing new about Diablo IV? There's Lilith. Lilith is new. ; -) (actually, no idea, as I've only played 3, plus the IV open beta) The structure is new, being fixed open-world - which I unfortunately don't really like. It reinforced the MMO vibe, and I never like that. I hugely enjoyed 3, and IV plays pretty much just as well. To me it doesn't need to do much that's new, it just has to be well crafted fun, and it is. I've heard quite good things about the story, which given I play solo, is a bigger deal. I'm not interested in the seasons concept, so I'm waiting a few months to see how it evolves, and try to get in on a 'good'/not-bad cycle of updates. Re Microsoft? I'm not sure how much would change. They might watch them closet to try to make sure they behave better, but MS have very recent history with being too hands off. They want to give parties freedom, but then we have Halo Infinite and Redfall... They don't seem to have sussed how hands off/on they should be. Perhaps that's changing now, due to Redfall. But it's far too early to tell. ActivisionBlizzard is a huge company, which will make it even harder to affect its culture. Right now, an effect of MS on development is stopping Starfield coming to PS... That's a bad decision to enforce on a company. So yeah, I'm skeptical of MS, and we'll need a few years to really know what's what (I game exclusively on Series X, btw, so I'm no console war dumbass, just a realist).
@@SabiJD Like stated in the video, there's no new class that we haven't seen before. There's only five to choose from at this point which feels cheap for me at least. There's probably only so much you can do in terms of new environments in the franchise. I've played 1-3, so I've killed Diablo 3 times and he keeps coming back, he can have the world as far as I'm concerned lol. Then there's the MMO wannabe thing that makes it hurt less to be unable to afford it. But there's mounts I think so that's new at least. Microsoft doesn't feel very hands off with Minecraft at least. But against my better judgement, I still kinda hope they would resuscitate Hots. That's the only good potential I see with that deal. As for the Diablo franchise, I think they should leave it be.
I liked Reaper of Souls story better than the D3's original story panned out with Leah. /sob I liked the angel of death lore and diving into the Nephilim's personal stories that sometimes even involved the D2 player characters. I do wish they used the expansion's theme for us to at least save Leah's soul though. But they just shoved an echo of her in that's not even really her. So we're forced to assume her soul is in hell forever or got ate by Malphael. 😢
I quite enjoyed Diablo 1 when it came out, played it for many hours. But I *hated* Diablo 2, and bounced right off it, and have never played a Diablo game since, and, honestly, I don't think I've missed anything
The only one I've played is Diablo 3. I liked it, but I always get bored about 3/4ths into the game, go play something else for a while, and when I come back to Diablo 3 have always completely forgotten what was going all or what all the buttons do, and give up.
There is a saying in my language that translates to "I can eat any fish that comes out of this sea". And i was converting that saying to "I can eat anything that comes out of blizzard". Played everything they produced, was hardcore wow raider and more. I even have Horde emblem tattoo on my biceps... Stories they shared in their games, gameplay which powered the atmosphere, tearjerk moments, succesful community. They were everything. I even traveled half the world to go to blizzcon twice. But the company and stories are not there anymore... So i quit... not just wow but blizzard altogether. They are now just a company like ubisoft which i promised myself to never play their games if they dont change one thing. For blizzard its the money schemes. For ubisoft its if they release a good PoP game :).
It's a shame how bad things are with Activision Blizzard, Diablo IV really does look like a fantastic game and in some ways a step up from Diablo III, but I just dunno if I'd feel comfortable spending money on the company at the moment. I swear the last couple years it really feels like every time I get into a thing or get BACK into a thing, the thing has to go and reveal itself to be backed by monsters
@@CouncilofGeeksPoE is free to play, made by a team of people who grew up with D2, and in the words of their game director 'is made to be a better Diablo 2'. And great timing, because right now their ExileCon event is ongoing so it's a prime time to look at what's going on there with the upcoming PoE2 and next PoE1 update
@@YomiShiousHow is PoE2 being funded? I've not heard anything about monetisation. I'd probably like to give it a go, but I'm on console and I don't think they have any plans of porting. Oh... apparently 2 will be coming to consoles. I guess I'll keep an eye on it next year.
I, much like yourself, grew up as a console kid. PC gaming wasn't for me. Chiefly because we couldn't afford a PC back then. To the extent I avoided PC gaming completely for many years. The game that changed that for me was The Binding of Isaac, in 2011. However, two of my cousins were absolutely obsessed with Diablo 2. I used to watch them play and be totally mystified. It wasn't my thing, but their enthusiasm for the game was quite infectious.
I remember my parents who were part of the satanic panic shooting down my ideas of playing Diablo or Warhammer Fantasy. I didn't even bother to ask them about D&D when my friends started to play. I just grabbed some dice and played during lunch.
I rather like story driven RPGs and also started on Nintendo (Terranigma rules!) but my partner started with PC games is into Diablo and we played Diablo 3 together a lot. He bought me Diablo 4 but the game needs way more resources than the description says. I cannot play it. For me it is also too huge. I like some hack and slay but for me alone replaying is boring. No story, no different quests, no emotional connection. Just trying to find better weapons and level up to nowhere. I recently went back to Dragon Age Inquisition and enjoy the DLCs.
I wasn't fortunate or unfortunate depending on optics, to have a pc never mind a gaming pc when some of my friends were able to play diablo, and then diablo 2. I did get to muddle around for half n hour here and there, but lets be real, that's not a diablo line sniffing addiction quantity. I did however grind d3 when that came out, and at that time was able to pc game. I tried to play the older games, but they just don't run smooth enough to not give me a headache, so I've never finished either of them. I did play the piss out of d4 open beta, and frankly I was disappointed at the safe design that wasn't executed very well, the shitty lood drops, the amount of aguments and systems to grind your face of just for some loot alocations to land in favor for your build. The spec trees are so clumsy I swear i've played better and more engaged ability progression in a lego game. They had TOOO much time to work on this to not have what other games have brought out in isometric rpg/mmo style games, it's a real telling of where they are as a studio, as a company, and as a corporation. I didn't want to play it on just pure game metrics alone, not feeling compelled by my friends who are playing it is easier when activision/blizzard are just actually toxic cespools. Yes i'm streaming hc ptr wow, yes i'm playing wotlk classic, and no I don't need to validate finishing up an expansion I didn't get to when I was younger, I have personal reasons. THAT SAID, I've uninstalled overwatch, and i'm sunsetting my account after wotlk classic is done and i've done a lvl 60 war at some point in hc. It's tragic to experience such a long and steady downfall.
I never really felt like the 'Janitor' in D2. Okay sure you're following in the wake of the Wanderer, trying to figure out what's going on and cleaning up messes. Is that really so different from the first game, where the town has gone to hell (pun intended not sorry) and you're doing the same? GOing into the depths to figure out what's going on and clean things up? The only real difference is instead of one big underground dungeon, it's split into four (later 5) acts. You're still the hero saving the day, you still go down into Hell and fight Diablo at the end, etc. Though to be fair I did find the story of Marius in the cinematics more interesting than the in game side of the story.
They brought back the butcher for Diablo 4 it's a good job I had an army of skeletons and an Iron golem to help I was playing as a necromancer, On Diablo 3 the necromancer is my favourite character class
Diablo is still sort of awesome; it's Blizzard that's become disappointing. I've played all the games from the beginning. I've been playing Diablo IV, and while I'm ashamed at how much money I've given Blizzard I do still enjoy the game.
I quickly lost interest in the series after 2. When it became clear that NOTHING you did would permanently weaken the powers of hell, that they'd come back again and again as strong or even stronger than before, and the best you could do was sending them back to hell for a little while ... I stopped caring. I'd have found it okay if, like the angels, defeated Great Evils were reborn as a new being, with maybe comparable power, but lacking the experience of the defeated evil, while mankind continued to develop and slowly getting stronger ... but I'm not interested in a conflict that simply CAN'T be won. I prefer Grim Dawn because I feel like I AM changing the tide of the war there, if slowly.
I regret so hard that I actually bought D4 against my better judgement. I mean, I like the atmosphere and the Lilith storyline but the game is not great and the company sucks! :(
At some point in the series I feel they need to pull a Lucifer. You play as an actual demon. Diablo is gone, you have to create a church of Diablo and attempt to free your evil God and lead a rebellion against heaven. 😁
Diablo 1 & 2 were my reintroduction to fantasy after having played Gauntlet & Gauntlet 2 on the ZX Spectrum years earlier and got me into Warcraft, Lord Of The Rings and the world of TTRPG.
Oh, Gauntlet. The amount of time I played with friends and family... I remember very little of the actual games, but the memories of fun are still there.
Diablo I've loved since playing it for its atmosphere and replayability. Diablo 1, even with how limited it is compared to the sequels, remains my favorite solely due to the mood. There's just something so entrancing and terrifying about the idea of this seemingly endless series of dungeons and caves under a town which the increased scope of 2 and 3 can't hold a candle to.
Being a lore fiend I eventually got into the novels and I ended up loving those a lot. They're actually what made me love the Necromancer class. Because like it's revealed in them that necromancers, while feared, are less like ooh spooky evil guy who controls the dead for his own reasons and more...They're a religious order that cares deeply for the dead. And is trying to right the wrongs done to the dead and help them eternally rest. And that and with the character who was the necromancer in those early books just really sold me on necromancy in general in Diablo. They're like psychopomp helpers. Love 'em.
Haven't played 4 and won't. It looks neat. But I said years back when things came out that I'd never buy a new Blizzard game and I keep to my words. That's just my own personal shit though.
diablo 2 is still my favorite game of all time. its the sort of game that is really fun on a casual level, but the more layers you peel back, the better it gets. i still regularly boot it up twenty years later.
I remember being hooked on Diablo 1 & 2 after a fellow geek at uni showed us the cinematic - it was dark and gorgeously rendered so we were drooling over it (same for the Warcraft cinematic when it dropped). I'm totally with you, its the atmosphere that really grabs you on Diablo, so immerisve, gloomy and spooky. I'm getting shivers just remembering it.... 😁😁
The poem and journal in the Halls of the Blind in Diablo 1 gave me nightmares as a wee lad.
"Too easy" is a perfectly valid complaint when it makes the game less engaging and/or satisfying.
Monster Hunter Rise has the beat core gameplay system in all of Monster Hunter, but it's less satisfying to progress and finish armor sets when the monsters aren't balanced around said gameplay system. (The tweaks to monster attack tracking have helped this somewhat, though.)
I initially hated the fate of Leah in Diablo 3, but over time it seemed to fit the universe. In the first game, the reward for stopping Diablo is to become the Dark Wanderer. In Diablo 2, Tristram is destroyed, further enforcing the idea that the first game was a pyrrhic victory at best. In addition, Lord of Destruction ends with you stopping the last Prime Evil only to have the Worldstone destroyed. The first 3 games have a definite (and refreshing) theme that no matter what the player does, there's never going to be an entirely happy ending.
I think the problem is Leah is the first time anyone has been truly well characterized in the game. You really feel like you know her as a well rounded person and not just an archetype. I can’t say that about anybody else, especially not the player character.
Elena and Shen have dialogue that states (in their opinion), that Leah’s Horadric training/spells would have protected her soul from being consumed when she was possessed. No idea if her soul would have been freed or also trapped in the Black Soulstone at the end of the base game (of course, said soulstone is itself destroyed at the end of Reaper of Souls). I was always bitter that killing Adria didn’t give any resolution to that implied storyline.
I played Diablo 1 for the first time recently - my first game in the Diablo series as well, though I've dabbled in a couple of other ARPGs. I was surprised by a couple of things.
Firstly, by how much slower and more methodical it is than, say, Grim Dawn. Combat can get hectic, of course, but it still feels like a slower paced game than others that came later.
Secondly, how close it hews to Angband (one of the games the inspired it). A town sitting on top of a dungeon, scrolls that take you back and forth between the town and dungeon, lots of useless loot, a mission to get to the bottom and kill a boss (Morgoth in Angband, Diablo in Diablo). I've played a fair amount of Angband, and although I knew there was a connection, I wasn't expecting how closely related the two games feel.
Hot Take; I absolutely love fem-Diablo from D3 and will defend it til the day I die
Not a gamer in any way (I barely even play online match 3 games anymore). But I appreciate your game and story aesthetics.
So, I wasn't going to play 4, and I have played every Diablo game since the beginning, so that is a big thing to say. I wasn't going to play, I played the open beta, which was free at the request of a friend of mine, and I will say after that little taste, I pre ordered the game at the ridiculous price they asked for the most expensive with all the bells and whistles. ActoBlizz is hard to side with these days, but I do love Diablo. 2 hands down my favorite. I even refused to give them nostalgia wins, in the beta, and I played a class I didn't play, or like in 2, and it won me over. It hit all the nostalgia feels. It knew who it's audience was, and I felt personally singled out by this game several times before it even came out for real. I am currently playing the first season which has added new story beats, and quests, and it's pretty good. The story is great, though a little railroady, and if you saw any spoilers you would understand why. It does not focus on Diablo himself, at least not as yet, and the cinematics are top shelf. Great voice acting, and an amazing cast of characters. The bring back some obscure references. They sprinkle in some of the original music, and the classes are diverse and fun to play and build. If you liked 2 I would recommend this game to you. I agree about 3 and Leah, I think because she was sort of the spiritual successor to Deckard and then we lost them Both, and there was just no catharsis to it. Bitter as all hell about it, to this day, I did not enjoy what happened and it actually turned me off of Three, which until then, I had been enjoying. I quit playing over it, and never played any seasons, I remember the gear for cash, I bought some, it was super odd. 2 Still the best, because my sword wielding armor wearing Sorceress was my favorite. I do Love me some Diablo, all of them, except the abomination that is immortal and Three which was OK.
Being a kiddo (11-12 years old) I was playing Diablo 2 a lot and still have my old copy of "Legacy of Blood" - very cool book although titular Diablo appears only in the epilogue, killing the book's main villain. The bad guy, some kind of mantis-shaped demon, hears somebody, turns around, whispers "Diab..." and is ripped to shreds immediately :D
I'm around long enough to remember the time Diablo I showed up and made crawling through spooky dungeons whiile fearing "The Butcher" a fun exerience for every PC gamer - including myself. I spent hours under Tristam. And with the same pleasure I followed the Wanderer east, always into the east in Diablo II. And I really enjoyed being a kick-ass Demon Hunter in Diablo III. The most fun for me is playing with my brother and friends and having a blast while we fight waves afeter waves of scray monsters: Diablo IV is darker and more grim the III which is great. And I can understand while people despise Activision-Blizzard. Diablo IV is the first game of them that I'm playing in years and mostly because it's fun to play it with others. And I just bought the basic game and will not spend money at other stuff related to it.
One can tell that this studio has lost a lot of their former mojo, because they think of money first and about a fun game second. And after all the failures they had in the recent yeears this might be their last shot for many. Not to mention the huge task they still have in front of them - as a lot of gamers and studios - which is to overcome sexism, racism, queerphobia and all the other shitty treatment of people.
Shoutouts to the venerable Heroes of Might and Magic 2! Such a good game!
I love the first 2 Diablo games, I started playing as a kid before I even spoke the language the game is in, good times, I had no clue what was going on and my parents had to help me do everything. Now as an adult I started playing again, I still have not completed any of the games, I'm a bad gaymer, but now I understand what's up at least and that's progress. One day I'll suck less at gayming and I'll finish both Diablos, it's a question of honor at this point 😅
I'm glad there's an open source engine for Diablo 1, DevilutionX, I wish there was one for Diablo 2, I still have the CDs, I wouldn't have to give them any more money. Not today.
I played Diablo 2 a fair amount. A lot of fun. The early Fallout games, while different in mechanics, the games had a similar structure. Create a team of fighters to explore an environment, complete quests, and find useful stuff along the way.
As an 8 year veteran of Marvel PuzzleQuest myself, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!
Absolutely loved Diablo 1 and 2, but was too busy trying to be a responsable adult when Diablo 3 came, so never played that and now never will.
Ah this threw me back in time... My 1st boyfriend played Diablo 1 & 2 with such passion 😅
Diablo 2
Warcraft 3 FT
Counter-strike 1.6
Vanilla wow (of course)
But also GunZ the Duel
Awesome memories.
Thank you for the video, Vera!
I am not a fan of the "Diablo" series or action role-playing dungeon crawler games in general. The closest I got to the genre was playing "The Lord of the Rings" games for Game Boy Advance, which, ironically, are classic "Diablo" clones. But the current state of the gaming industry really turns me off, especially their big releases. The exploitation of developers, the aggressive monetization, the anti-consumer practices by publishers and they pushing unfinished games to release, instead of delaying them, make me disgusted. And that without mentioning the gatekeeping and the toxic discourse of the "GamersTM", such as "no women (as good characters), no people-of-color, no minority groups, and no (progressive) politics (that we disagree with) in our games", and the "git gud" argument against including easier modes and accessibility options, especially for people with any disabilities (I will admit that, in the past, I also did share the very stupid "git gud" opinion). To be fair, the toxicity and exploitation in games already were problems in the past (heck, developers were not allowed to include their names in the credits of their own games! Sometimes, only pseudonyms!). It does not mean that such issues being common or the standard in the gaming industry makes them right either! However, we being more aware about theses problems now will help to fight against and solve them!
Cheers for this. As someone who never was able to get into Diablo (Back when all my online friends were playing Diablo II I was mostly playing Nethack for broadly the same itch - Though I get the impression Diablo plays a lot closer to the *Bands that I was also never able to get into than the *Hacks that I was if you're familiar with the divide of the traditional roguelike family tree of design branches), it's definitely interesting hearing what you like about that style of game.
One thing I would be interested in hearing in a follow-up video is if any of the not-Diablo, not Activision-Blizzard, games that are deliberate attempts to riff on Diablo's genre do it for you, if so which, and if not why not for the one's you've tried, if you'd be up for doing that sort of thing.
I never really went into the "diablo-likes" because... well I had Diablo. And even now I'd rather sink more time into Diablo 3 than roll the dice on something not being any good.
@@CouncilofGeeksThis isn't a recommendation, but Torchlight is a spiritual successor to Diablo 1 and 2. Torchlight even ripped off key concepts from D1 and D2. For example, in Torchlight 1, there are three playable classes similiar to the 3 in D1. In Diablo 2, one of three playable classes become corrupted, similar to D1.
Marvel Puzzle Quest is such a fun game, and there is no need to spend money on it!
Diablo 1 & 2 are such fun games, and i love to play them! Never played Diablo 3, i don't like games that need to be online! That is why i gave up on Blizzard many years ago!
I played Diablo II a lot. Was also deeply invested in the lore. I am one of those people who never got into playing the higher difficulties, because the story was over. I know that for a lot of people this is where it starts, but not me. :P
Diablo 3 I felt very mixed about. I loved most of the character designs, but making the characters more chatty with dialogues in practice didn't work for me. Enjoyed the expansion more than the main game.
I personally also always stayed a while and listen. And read the manuals ferociously. For plotstuff. Man, I miss paper manuals that you could read while installing and get you invested in the world before you were waiting to play.
Completely unrelated to the video topic, but have you considered painting your nails a pink or red? It would look super cute with the pink streak in your hair and would pop against your pale skin!
I loved (and still do) Diablo 1 and 2, but the 3 was a slap in the face. I pre-ordered it pretty much as soon as it was possible, and to stress how significant it was for me, I very rarely pay for games. In my entire life I've only paid for Sims 2 and 3, Diablo 2 and 3, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, and Gotham Knights, and only D3 and GK through official means (I'm from the part of the world and old enough to remember, ahem, questionably attained CDs sold at spontaneous street markets).
So, I pre-ordered it. Then it was delayed. Ok, cool, things happen. Then news dropped that they were removing the manual attribute point distribution. I absolutely hated it. I loved the absolute control over my build in D2, and in D3 it was just... gone. So when the game finally dropped, my expectations were already pretty low, and then I couldn't even play it properly, because apparently the crappy internet in this part of the world wasn't enough to load the areas. So it took me a few years and a new computer until I could actually experience what I paid for. And it was... mediocre. At best. I almost swore off ever giving my money to game dev companies ever again.
Thankfully I gave GK a chance, because I love it, but even if Activision/Blizzard weren't the sleazy company they are, I don't think I would've trusted D4 to be good.
Why didn't you like paying for games? I at least hope you didn't nick/torrent them.
I never played D1 or 2, and rather loved 3. The criticisms about the use of colour, for example, just seemed insane, and in retrospect they seem gamergate/ME3 end adjacent in attitude.
I doubt I'll enjoy IV as much, but the open beta was fun, and I'll get it at some point - hopefully when Kottick is gone, and certainly after several months of patches and balances.
I missed big game in the series. I didn't have a good enough computer when 2 came out. I wasn't very interested in it either as the equipment seemed very overwhelming. You're video has me kind of wanting to try it now, but I don't want to give them money for it.
I did play 1 before 2 came out and enjoyed it a lot. I've played 3 for the first time recently and wasn't very into it, but maybe it would help if I tired solo instead of with friends where we're just blasting thorough everything.
Diablo 3 also had ranom spawns for named parts of dungeons. Each level has x mini dungons that are named and each play through / reload you have a different % of which willl spawn, and there used to be achievements for finding each one.
Okay, that makes more sense. I wondered why you weren't talking about Siera's Hellfire but kept sorta mentioning elements and how they'd have effected the game if they existed. Hellfire gave you the monk, rune bombs, an expanded monster pool, and the hive. But yeah, Siera's art team made them look different to diablo enough that you knew it was handled by a compeltely different art team. I want to say the monk came with a baked in idetify spell so you didn't have to spend as much at Cain identifying things.
I'll respectfully disagree about the auction house. It was how I got to the whimsyshire the first time, but after the acution house was closed down, I almost never got drops for whimsyshire and made getting stuff for my class harder because I started getting more drops for other classs -shrugs- but that's about like I started minecraft and my game glitched and instead of apples, trees dropped creepers.
I've found since that the monetization in Diablo Immortal is not as bad as was reported. It's still not good but it has a playable campaign at least and you can just nope out of everything else.
Other than you never warmed up to D3, even though I did play the expansion. once. In between D2 and D3 I fell for Path of Exile, which is about what you get when you start with D2 and move into the direct opposite direction for complexity than with D3 . and about twice the distance ;-)
I never played Diablo 1 or 2, but I picked up 3 for PS3 second-hand, and really enjoyed it, especially with finding all the lore stuff. I then got it on the Switch when it came out. But then when the stuff about Activision Blizzard came out, I put it down and uninstalled it from my Switch. I know that I have already payed for it, but I didn't want to show up in the numbers of people playing it for the seasons. Maybe if Kotick is fired, and there is an external investigation...so basically I won't be playing it again.
You put words to what I felt about Diablo 4; there's nothing new. Not that I wouldn't buy it and play if could but even the base version is ridiculously expensive so... Not anytime soon anyway. And I do struggle a lot with not wanting to support ActiBlizz for many reasons but at the same time I really enjoy several of their games. I wonder what will happen if the Microsoft deal goes through.
Nothing new about Diablo IV? There's Lilith. Lilith is new. ; -) (actually, no idea, as I've only played 3, plus the IV open beta)
The structure is new, being fixed open-world - which I unfortunately don't really like. It reinforced the MMO vibe, and I never like that.
I hugely enjoyed 3, and IV plays pretty much just as well. To me it doesn't need to do much that's new, it just has to be well crafted fun, and it is. I've heard quite good things about the story, which given I play solo, is a bigger deal. I'm not interested in the seasons concept, so I'm waiting a few months to see how it evolves, and try to get in on a 'good'/not-bad cycle of updates.
Re Microsoft? I'm not sure how much would change. They might watch them closet to try to make sure they behave better, but MS have very recent history with being too hands off. They want to give parties freedom, but then we have Halo Infinite and Redfall... They don't seem to have sussed how hands off/on they should be. Perhaps that's changing now, due to Redfall. But it's far too early to tell. ActivisionBlizzard is a huge company, which will make it even harder to affect its culture.
Right now, an effect of MS on development is stopping Starfield coming to PS... That's a bad decision to enforce on a company. So yeah, I'm skeptical of MS, and we'll need a few years to really know what's what (I game exclusively on Series X, btw, so I'm no console war dumbass, just a realist).
@@SabiJD Like stated in the video, there's no new class that we haven't seen before. There's only five to choose from at this point which feels cheap for me at least. There's probably only so much you can do in terms of new environments in the franchise. I've played 1-3, so I've killed Diablo 3 times and he keeps coming back, he can have the world as far as I'm concerned lol. Then there's the MMO wannabe thing that makes it hurt less to be unable to afford it. But there's mounts I think so that's new at least.
Microsoft doesn't feel very hands off with Minecraft at least. But against my better judgement, I still kinda hope they would resuscitate Hots. That's the only good potential I see with that deal. As for the Diablo franchise, I think they should leave it be.
I liked Reaper of Souls story better than the D3's original story panned out with Leah. /sob I liked the angel of death lore and diving into the Nephilim's personal stories that sometimes even involved the D2 player characters. I do wish they used the expansion's theme for us to at least save Leah's soul though. But they just shoved an echo of her in that's not even really her. So we're forced to assume her soul is in hell forever or got ate by Malphael. 😢
I just didn't find the angel of death that interesting compared to any other antagonist, I guess. And yeah, I'm still salty about Leah.
I quite enjoyed Diablo 1 when it came out, played it for many hours. But I *hated* Diablo 2, and bounced right off it, and have never played a Diablo game since, and, honestly, I don't think I've missed anything
The only one I've played is Diablo 3. I liked it, but I always get bored about 3/4ths into the game, go play something else for a while, and when I come back to Diablo 3 have always completely forgotten what was going all or what all the buttons do, and give up.
I loved the auction house.
There is a saying in my language that translates to "I can eat any fish that comes out of this sea". And i was converting that saying to "I can eat anything that comes out of blizzard". Played everything they produced, was hardcore wow raider and more. I even have Horde emblem tattoo on my biceps...
Stories they shared in their games, gameplay which powered the atmosphere, tearjerk moments, succesful community. They were everything. I even traveled half the world to go to blizzcon twice.
But the company and stories are not there anymore... So i quit... not just wow but blizzard altogether. They are now just a company like ubisoft which i promised myself to never play their games if they dont change one thing. For blizzard its the money schemes. For ubisoft its if they release a good PoP game :).
It's a shame how bad things are with Activision Blizzard, Diablo IV really does look like a fantastic game and in some ways a step up from Diablo III, but I just dunno if I'd feel comfortable spending money on the company at the moment.
I swear the last couple years it really feels like every time I get into a thing or get BACK into a thing, the thing has to go and reveal itself to be backed by monsters
Have you played Path of Exile and if so what do you think of it?
I have not.
@@CouncilofGeeksPoE is free to play, made by a team of people who grew up with D2, and in the words of their game director 'is made to be a better Diablo 2'. And great timing, because right now their ExileCon event is ongoing so it's a prime time to look at what's going on there with the upcoming PoE2 and next PoE1 update
@@YomiShiousHow is PoE2 being funded? I've not heard anything about monetisation.
I'd probably like to give it a go, but I'm on console and I don't think they have any plans of porting.
Oh... apparently 2 will be coming to consoles. I guess I'll keep an eye on it next year.
I, much like yourself, grew up as a console kid. PC gaming wasn't for me. Chiefly because we couldn't afford a PC back then. To the extent I avoided PC gaming completely for many years. The game that changed that for me was The Binding of Isaac, in 2011. However, two of my cousins were absolutely obsessed with Diablo 2. I used to watch them play and be totally mystified. It wasn't my thing, but their enthusiasm for the game was quite infectious.
I remember my parents who were part of the satanic panic shooting down my ideas of playing Diablo or Warhammer Fantasy.
I didn't even bother to ask them about D&D when my friends started to play. I just grabbed some dice and played during lunch.
CONFIRMATION BIAS FOLLOW FROM TITLE ALONE /SLAMS FOLLOW
I rather like story driven RPGs and also started on Nintendo (Terranigma rules!) but my partner started with PC games is into Diablo and we played Diablo 3 together a lot. He bought me Diablo 4 but the game needs way more resources than the description says. I cannot play it. For me it is also too huge. I like some hack and slay but for me alone replaying is boring. No story, no different quests, no emotional connection. Just trying to find better weapons and level up to nowhere. I recently went back to Dragon Age Inquisition and enjoy the DLCs.
After watching the video. I probably would have liked Diablo 2 most - the only part I never even started to play.
I wasn't fortunate or unfortunate depending on optics, to have a pc never mind a gaming pc when some of my friends were able to play diablo, and then diablo 2. I did get to muddle around for half n hour here and there, but lets be real, that's not a diablo line sniffing addiction quantity. I did however grind d3 when that came out, and at that time was able to pc game. I tried to play the older games, but they just don't run smooth enough to not give me a headache, so I've never finished either of them. I did play the piss out of d4 open beta, and frankly I was disappointed at the safe design that wasn't executed very well, the shitty lood drops, the amount of aguments and systems to grind your face of just for some loot alocations to land in favor for your build. The spec trees are so clumsy I swear i've played better and more engaged ability progression in a lego game. They had TOOO much time to work on this to not have what other games have brought out in isometric rpg/mmo style games, it's a real telling of where they are as a studio, as a company, and as a corporation. I didn't want to play it on just pure game metrics alone, not feeling compelled by my friends who are playing it is easier when activision/blizzard are just actually toxic cespools. Yes i'm streaming hc ptr wow, yes i'm playing wotlk classic, and no I don't need to validate finishing up an expansion I didn't get to when I was younger, I have personal reasons. THAT SAID, I've uninstalled overwatch, and i'm sunsetting my account after wotlk classic is done and i've done a lvl 60 war at some point in hc. It's tragic to experience such a long and steady downfall.
And yes, I've played the piss out of their RTS series
I never really felt like the 'Janitor' in D2. Okay sure you're following in the wake of the Wanderer, trying to figure out what's going on and cleaning up messes. Is that really so different from the first game, where the town has gone to hell (pun intended not sorry) and you're doing the same? GOing into the depths to figure out what's going on and clean things up? The only real difference is instead of one big underground dungeon, it's split into four (later 5) acts. You're still the hero saving the day, you still go down into Hell and fight Diablo at the end, etc.
Though to be fair I did find the story of Marius in the cinematics more interesting than the in game side of the story.
I only really play puzzle games 😂 actually, I only really play MYST and its successors… 😅
They brought back the butcher for Diablo 4 it's a good job I had an army of skeletons and an Iron golem to help I was playing as a necromancer, On Diablo 3 the necromancer is my favourite character class
I love 2. Palyed 3 a bit. Hate 4 from what i have seen.
Diablo is still sort of awesome; it's Blizzard that's become disappointing. I've played all the games from the beginning. I've been playing Diablo IV, and while I'm ashamed at how much money I've given Blizzard I do still enjoy the game.
I quickly lost interest in the series after 2. When it became clear that NOTHING you did would permanently weaken the powers of hell, that they'd come back again and again as strong or even stronger than before, and the best you could do was sending them back to hell for a little while ... I stopped caring. I'd have found it okay if, like the angels, defeated Great Evils were reborn as a new being, with maybe comparable power, but lacking the experience of the defeated evil, while mankind continued to develop and slowly getting stronger ... but I'm not interested in a conflict that simply CAN'T be won. I prefer Grim Dawn because I feel like I AM changing the tide of the war there, if slowly.
I regret so hard that I actually bought D4 against my better judgement. I mean, I like the atmosphere and the Lilith storyline but the game is not great and the company sucks! :(
At some point in the series I feel they need to pull a Lucifer. You play as an actual demon. Diablo is gone, you have to create a church of Diablo and attempt to free your evil God and lead a rebellion against heaven. 😁
Uh... Demos are still very much a thing.
I love xer deep feminine voice so much