Diablo 2: Resurrected Beautifully Builds on a Classic

Does the Diablo 2: Resurrected Technical Alpha live up to its original? We explored the first two acts of the game — and it's looking pretty good.


Published: April 17, 2021 1:00 PM /

Previewed By:


Diablo 2: Resurrected Technical Alpha preview cover

The Diablo 2: Resurrected Technical Alpha was the first chance for many to play the remaster of a classic action RPG. I spent a good chunk of the weekend exploring if it lives up to the original.

Diablo 2 first came out more than 20 years ago. It was later followed by Diablo 3 and its upcoming successor Diablo 4, but the second game in the franchise holds a special place in the hearts of many — myself included. I probably have well over 4,000 hours in the original and I was skeptical to say the least, especially after the mediocre Warcraft 3 Reforged port.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Technical Alpha preview - Gambling
A new "refresh" button on the gambling screen saves you from having to exit and leave the interface over and over again.

Tiny Improvements for the Better

Obvious graphical improvements aside, Diablo 2: Resurrected has made a number of small improvements in useful ways. These tiny changes cut down on some of the more annoying quirks of the original while still preserving the core of Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction.

Let's start with gambling. Gambling is a mechanic where you can buy unidentified items from certain merchants for an absurd amount of gold; all you would know is what type of item you're buying and not much else. If you didn't like what was for sale, you would have to exit out of the store screen and talk to the merchant again to get a fresh set of items.

The Diablo 2: Resurrected Technical Alpha introduces a "Refresh" button that allows you to rotate the available items without having to exit out of the dialogue. This is a welcome change that will save a lot of time in the long run. Unfortunately, there's no such option for the regular merchants, and rotating their stock is even more annoying — you have to leave town and come back. I think a Refresh button would be useful on those merchants, too.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Technical Alpha preview - Stash
The stash in Diablo 2: Resurrected is twice as big as in the classic game — and it also includes a shared tab for easily moving items between characters.

Cash in the Stash

Another welcome improvement is a healthy increase in the stash size. Your stash is where you can store items outside of your character's inventory and it was capped out at 48 inventory spaces in Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction. On the other hand, Diablo 2: Resurrected includes a much larger stash with 100 inventory spaces.

What's much more interesting, however, is the introduction of a shared stash that lets you easily transfer items between characters. This is a great quality-of-life improvement; previously, you would have to go into a multiplayer game, drop items, and pick them up on a new character.

My only concern comes from the perspective of someone who liked to do a lot of collecting. At my height in multiplayer Diablo 2, I had dozens of "mule" characters whose only purpose was to hold onto the massive collection of items I had. I would like to see an ability to expand this shared stash somehow with additional tabs to satisfy the people who like to collect as much as I do. There shouldn't be a need to create mule characters in a modern premium game.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Technical Alpha preview - Lightning Sorc gameplay
Pretty much everything you would want from a Diablo 2 remaster is here, great gameplay included.

Gameplay is as Good as Ever

Obvious improvements aside, the core gameplay is as good as ever in the Diablo 2: Resurrected Technical Alpha. It genuinely feels like I'm playing the original Diablo 2 with better graphics.

Sadly, my experience was limited to three of the game's seven classes. Amazon, Barbarian, and Sorceress were available to play for the duration of the Technical Alpha, essentially serving as easy, normal, and hard difficulties. The Assassin, Druid, Paladin, and Necromancer classes were not available. That was particularly disappointing to me; the Necromancer and Assassin are probably my favorite classes.

It genuinely feels like I'm playing the original Diablo 2 with better graphics.

I was restricted to progressing through the first two acts of the game. I managed to beat Duriel with a Level 21 bow Amazon and I also took a bit of time to get a Barbarian and Sorceress up to Level 6. Duriel remains as challenging as ever, and it was only the use of Full Restoration potions that allowed me to actually defeat him.

All of the janky bits remain, too. I've occasionally gotten stuck on objects just like the original. The mercenary A.I. is as braindead as ever. I'm fine with this — as frustrating as it can be, removing these issues wouldn't quite be the same experience as the original.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Technical Alpha preview - Character select
The characters have gotten noticeable improvements in fidelity.

 

Graphics Glow-Up

 

My gripes about the art style change aside, every other aspect of Diablo 2: Resurrected's graphics has been a massive improvement.  All of the characters look fantastic and the environments look great, too.

The level geometry is exactly the same where it matters — in fact, you can press G to toggle between the classic and Resurrected graphics on the fly. The look of these areas has improved, though; the walls and floors are not as bare as they used to be. It's a serious improvement in detail that makes the environments look more realistic.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Technical Alpha preview - Weapons and Models slice
Pressing F allows you to zoom in and get a good look at all of the detail. It's a striking difference when you shift back to the legacy graphics by pressing G.

Item models have had a bit of an overhaul. Longtime fans of Diablo 2 know that there were only a handful of item models and different item types often shared the same model. It looks like the variety may have been expanded in this sense, too; I can't say for certain until I get to play the later acts and see all of the item models in the game.

Some enemies look much better than the predecessor. The giant spiders from Act 1 and the lightning-enchanted beetles of Act 2, in particular, look much cooler and much less janky than the original game.

[The] walls and floors are not as bare as they used to be. It's a serious improvement in detail that makes the environments look more realistic.

The Diablo 2: Resurrected Technical Alpha showcased a largely faithful recreation that improves on the original in many respects. I'd be wholly content as a veteran Diablo 2 player If they can bring the remastered Amazon a little closer to her original design. This was the first of what will be many such pre-launch tests; I'm genuinely excited to be a kid again and explore the world of Sanctuary with some old friends.


TechRaptor previewed Diablo 2: Resurrected on PC using a copy provided by the publisher. The game launches later in 2021.

Previews you can trust: To ensure you're getting a fair, accurate, and informed review, our experienced team spends a significant amount of time on everything we preview. Read more about how we review games and products.

 

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


A photograph of TechRaptor Senior Writer Robert N. Adams.
| Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Diablo 2: Resurrected
Developer
Vicarious Visions
Release Date
June 30, 2021 (Calendar)
Genre
RPG
Purchase (Some links may be affiliated)