Diablo + Hellfire

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to like this old software as much as I did, but it was pretty entertaining to mess around with the original example of an ARPG. Like, it's extremely simple compared to more modern takes, and there's some really annoying design things that make later levels of the labyrinth super annoying, like throwing 40 of a super annoying ranged mage enemy in one area and expecting you to just deal with that...but the loose class system means you can basically do what you want buildwise and it'll work. I ran the entire early game as a typical dex Monk, but became a spellcasting Monk later with just a few levels' worth of points in Magic and the right gear, it just worked, and got me to the end to beat beat Diablo. So it's definitely fun to check out despite it's first entry woes. Not to mention it ran super well with no crashes at all, gotta thank the GoG team for keeping this in such a good condition that it runs buttery smooth on a Windows 10 machine. Would reccommend it to anyone curious about it.

great game, reminds me of simpliar times

Giving Diablo anything less than 5 stars feels criminal. It redefined, if not outright invented, an entire genre. While ARPGs and the video game industry have come a long way since, Diablo 1 is not just an historical artifact. I feel it entirely holds up today, and would argue modern games still have a lot they can learn from the classic.

While the game is very basic by today's standards it is still quite fun and this is the best way to play it on modern systems.

I first played this game at 12 years in 2002, and since then it's laways had a special place in my heart. The darkness and unhingedness of the original Diablo intrigued me back then, scared me so bad I had to stop playing in the Catacombs (second area of the game after the Dungeons), and since then come back to it to play a couple levels periodically every couple years. While the controls and UI leave something to be desired and have definitely not aged well, the gameplay is sufficiently demanding to force you to keep an eye out, and not so hard that you have to throw away the mouse in frustration. I personally do not miss the more complex item management of its successor, and evne though that aspect of Diablo 2 is marginally better, Diablo 2 absolutely takes the backseast in the atmosphere department. The only other Hack & Slash I played so far that comes close to Diablo in terms of atmosphere is Path of Exile, but that's very situational. The graphics are not pretty I guess, but I don't mind them at all. I think they work just fine, even today, for what they are designed to do. It's the kind of disturbing horror atmosphere that either needs very rough graphics or obscenely realistic graphics for maximum effect, so it's fine. While it has overall aged to a point where I'd say it probably won't be the main game in your library, it's great for short sittings once in a while. There is simply no game like it, and at this point I doubt there ever will be. Personal suggestion: use The Hell mod. Improves the game in many ways, most notably it makes it evne more disturbing. Another personal suggestion: do give Hellfire a try. Many people seem to think it stinks, but it's really just more of the same, with a pinch of icky creepiness on top.