Diablo + Hellfire

posted on 3 Jul 2023

I was fascinated with Diablo II as a kid because of what looked like a grim reaper on the front. Convincing my parents to buy it for me, I eventually got around to playing it while being scared shitless. Later on, I also got a hold of the first Diablo CD, but never got around to playing it.

Diablo IV coming out convinced me to give this classic a try. Unironically, I got more addicted to this game than I did to Diablo IV.

Nothing beats the focused precision of these older games nor the atmosphere they’re capable of invoking with such primitive technology. Their mechanics and graphics can be critisized for being “outdated” all they want to; Diablo held my attention until the very end which most modern games of not capable of doing. This in itself is a massive achievement, and a testament to Diablo’s timelessness.

Quite simply, the game is actually fun. Isn’t that what these things were designed for?

One would think so, but the picture becomes obfuscated and less intelligible when you begin to compare the present with the distant past.

In short, give this a playthrough if you dare. I credit early titles like this influencing my taste for such a dark and ominous aesthetic.

It’s 2023 and my heart was still racing fighting the low-res bosses in this gem.