Diablo + Hellfire

Diablo is not the game that invented "Dungeon Crawls," but it is the game that solidified the genre as being distinct from other CRPGs. The basic format is that of an ever-deepening dungeon to plunder. Above the dungeon is a single town with 8 or 10 NPCs and a shop or two that serve as a hub for your expeditions. There is a loose over-arching story, strung together by smaller quests that typically culminate in a boss fight in the dungeon that differ from standard fights only in the levels and powers of enemy you confront. At the time of it's release, Diablo's gameplay felt like a drastic simplification of the CRPG genre in general, but this is mostly because there hadn't been anything that hit the specific balance of hack'n'slash and stat crunching it introduced. In spite of the perceived simplicity of the game, it was enormously popular with fans of more technical CRPGs and with fans of FPS-style (like Hexen) games alike. Indeed, it was the balanced of gameplay pioneered by Diablo that makes it so fun and additive. However, this isn't saying that it is without flaws. My one biggest gripe about Diablo is how dull the game looks. Every environment in the game is a dull grey-red-brown-black covered with a hazy fog. This isn't a resolution issue or a scaling problem, it's the way the game was meant to look. I would guess that it's supposed to conjure a sinister feeling, like the town and the dungeon are infected with some sickness. It does, but it's also extremely difficult to see and it's ugly as hell. This isn't a review specifically of the GOG version, but I would like to add that the game tends to crash a lot on newer systems, even if you have been careful to follow all the advice online about setting it up. If you grew up during the birth of CRPGs, then you have probably played Diablo already, and none of this is going to be new to you. If you didn't, then play it. Regardless of how bad it looks, it's a truely classic CRPG with amazingly addictive mechanics.

Great old game but it lacks Sierra expansion Hellfire.

Guys could you please add TCP/IP on your GOG version please? The ability to play the game with people on my GOG friends list would be awesome! This is the only thing preventing me to have a blast playing with my old friends in the game. Just please add it on your servers and i'll be a lot more happy consumer. Playing the blizzard version without the correct resolution on my 4K screen is just a bummer ;( add to that the hassle with unlocking some ancient ports in router to be able to play online, create some new blizzard account for old battle net etc. it is just a bummer.

Very happy with this purchase. It ran smooth out of the box in Windows 10 without any tinkering. The game is a true classic (which you probably already knew if you found your way here) and is still worth to played today. The game is easy to pick up and play. It only takes a few minutes to be in the middle of the action and not much longer to get the hang of things. There is a town, where you can get hints, quests and trade goods. There is the dungeon, where the action is. Delve into the dungeon and vanquish the foe at the 16th level. A few things I wish had been better explained to me before starting (or maybe I just didn't read the instructions well enough): * Hellfire isn't a different game. It's Diablo + two additional (smaller) dungeons that are pure side quests. I would definitely recommend playing this version. Don't do like me and first play through the regular Diablo, just to realize you can only partially transfer your character to the Hellfire version. * If you kill off all the easier enemies and then level up poorly, you won't be able to get past the stronger enemies that remain. You'll basically be in an unwinnable situation. If you take your time and think before you act, this shouldn't be a major problem and you should be able to get through the game. However, it's also possible to keep in mind that you at any point can restart the whole game, while keeping your character's levels. Kind of a time-waste though, but a possibility. The dungeons (layout and monsters) are mostly randomly generated and there are tons of different equipment and upgrades that can be played around with. There are also three different characters that mix up the gameplay quite a bit and require different approaches. So there is replay value if you liked the game well enough. In summary, this is worth playing for several reasons. It's a first and foremost a good and fun game. Also, it's part of gaming history and culture.

When this game was originally released, my teenage self had some very preconceived notions about what an RPG was supposed to be: turn-based, with a profound story and interesting characters, a variety of colorful environments to explore, and so on. Diablo, with its real-time, action-focused gameplay, what appeared to be a threadbare plot, an ever-present sense of gloom and dread encased in a palette of muted grays and browns was not something that interested me. I wrote it off as a mindless click-fest, and the handful of times I tried playing it, I blamed my character's death as the consequence of poorly-balanced gameplay. In 2012, my tastes had changed. Diablo III came out, and I decided to try it out. I actually really liked it. It appeared the genre had evolved a lot since the "mindless click-fest" that I'd made Diablo out to be. "Thank goodness those designers at Blizzard finally learned how to make a game with interesting, well-balanced mechanics!", I thought. When Diablo showed up on GOG, something occurred to me: what if the original Diablo *wasn't* a mindless click-fest, but I'd just failed to appreciate it for what it was? I'd since seen David Brevik's 2016 GDC post-mortem on the game and it seemed like the game may have had more going for it than I'd given it credit for. So 25 years later, I decided to give it another shot. I'm now about 6 hours in and just defeated the first boss, who I found pretty challenging. Even the townsfolk reveal interesting histories as I progress; there's enough of an air of mystery about the story that I'm intrigued by it, rather than bored. Exploring the labyrinth is engaging; I'm always curious about what's around the next corner, while also readying myself in case a horde emerges from the darkness. In short, I'm having fun so far, and I'm glad I gave the game a second chance.