Diablo II: Resurrected is a fantastic port
Diablo II: Resurrected is a faithful remastering of both the original game and its expansion. It features chillingly detailed high-resolution 3D visuals and Dolby 7.1 surround sound, while also keeping the game’s classic gameplay intact. At the outset of our journey, we will have the opportunity to select one of seven different character classes. There are no more options for character customization; your stats, as well as the skill trees and abilities you have access to, are entirely determined by the D2 items for sale you find and the character class you choose. Fans may only remember five character classes being available in the initial release, but D2:R comes with the Lord of Destruction downloadable content pack, which adds two more classes to the game (along with the fifth and final act). The full experience can be had here, including all of the available classes like Paladin, Necromancer, and Assassin.
There have not been many adjustments made to the gameplay, and those that have been made are relatively inconsequential but nonetheless welcome additions, such as a shared chest space that allows players to easily transfer items between characters or the automatic collection of gold that has been dropped. Aside from that, it’s just the same old loot fest where you grind on the same bosses over and over again for the slim chance of getting a new item. Because of its breadth and potential volume of content, it might take you dozens or even hundreds of hours to complete. This is largely attributable to the versatility that d2r sunder charms provide in terms of the creation of unique character builds. Because of the three different skill trees, each character class has the potential to develop into an entirely new subclass based on the types of gear and skill trees that the player invests in. This is where the appeal of the gameplay lies, and it continues to be enjoyable even as you slaughter a large number of foes in the intricately crafted overworld maps and dungeons.
It is also a game that requires a significant amount of patience and perseverance, significantly more than what is required of players in many games these days. When playing on a handheld device, the fact that certain dungeons can last for a considerable amount of time and offer few opportunities to save the game can be quite frustrating. If you are using an online character to cross-save your progress through your battle. net account, a loss of connection can cause your session to end prematurely or prevent you from starting it in the first place. You can avoid this by using a local character to cross-save your progress.
Because both the gameplay and the addictive qualities have remained the same, it is probably more interesting to discuss how D2R plays and controls the Switch rather than how the gameplay and addictive qualities have changed. After all, we are restricted to using a portable console, which has a restricted amount of power and only a controller as an input option. To be fair, using a controller for Diablo II is more convenient than controlling the game with a mouse, but it’s obvious that mouse controls offer more precision. This implies that your character needs to be facing a target in order to successfully attack it. If there is a large number of foes surrounding you, this may cause you to turn in a direction other than the one you intended, causing you to miss your intended target. The game requires you to use a cursor that is controlled by analog sticks in order to move individual items around the screen. This makes managing your inventory very difficult. It is inevitable that you will rearrange a significant number of items as the game continues to shower you with more loot; consequently, the process of reorganizing your inventory space will become extremely laborious and will cause the overall experience to crawl to a stop.
Playing Diablo II: Remastered with a controller, despite the aforementioned drawbacks, is unquestionably preferable to not playing the game at all, mainly due to the fact that the ability to assign skills to specific button combinations works very well. The fact that the game looks great and runs smoothly on the Switch is fantastic news, despite the obvious and manageable downgrades that are present in comparison to other versions of the game. The resolution is noticeably lower, and there is less attention paid to the environment’s finer details. You are able to switch between the Resurrected appearance and the original appearance at will, which unmistakably demonstrates that the differences are vastly distinct from one another. The transition from 2D sprites to 3D character models, as well as new animations, stunning visual effects, and sharper and more detailed textures ensure that the game maintains its recognizable aesthetic without appearing or feeling as dated as a game that is over 20 years old.
The frame rate of the Switch version is capped at 30 frames per second, which is half as fast as the frame rate of the other versions that are available. Because this is not a game that requires higher frame rates, the experience is not affected in any way by this. In addition to this, it does an excellent job of remaining focused on the target. The 30 frames per second caps remain extremely stable throughout the entirety of the game, regardless of how far you have progressed in the game or how much is going on around you. If portability is a concern, then playing D2:R on the Switch is a workable option that involves making sacrifices that do not negatively impact the experience as a whole.
The rough launch period with server issues that are still ongoing and have the potential to, at any moment, deny access to your online character or boot you from the game altogether is something that we are unable to circumvent. You are required to use the online character slot in order to make use of the cross-progression feature. Because you cannot play as that character if you do not have internet access, the portability aspect of this game may not be relevant to you at all, depending on the circumstances. You have the ability to create an offline character on your local computer, but that character cannot take part in any online events or multiplayer games. When you load your character, the map won’t have a different layout as it does with online characters; this feature does not have that feature. One final consideration to take into account is that the online play capacity of the Switch version is capped at four players, whereas other versions allow for as many as eight players. There is no cross-play between any of the platforms; however, all versions of the game support cross-progression through the use of battle. net.
Diablo II: Resurrected is a fantastic port, but it suffers from the standard problems with its online servers. D2:R is a great port that polishes up a cult classic without losing its original charm or gameplay loop, and it will be even better once those issues have been resolved, or if you can find a way to work around them. D2 is an experience that is a delight to have when played on a handheld device because of its improved visuals, which run smoothly on the Switch; improvements to quality-of-life aspects; and good controller implementation. There are, without a doubt, a few obvious drawbacks, but none of them negatively impact the overall experience, and in fact, they are obligatory in order to guarantee that the game runs without any hiccups. If you value portability more than quality, the Switch iteration of D2R is a game that you should consider purchasing.
