Diablo + Hellfire

GoG has done an amazing job bringing this up to date to run easily on current OS/systems. It includes both the untouched original incarnation as well as then new updated version for current gen compatability. The gameplay is untouched and behaves exactly as I remember it. Buy this game, turn the sound up, (soundtrack is otherwordly) the lights down, and enjoy the Feluci infused terror that launched the modern ARPG as we know it. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

Disclaimer, this was one of the first games I bought with my own money around 2000, a retail version boxed inside a dvd case wich I still have lurking around, complete with his Golden awards or something label. and this game with the Age of Empires saga deformed my mouse and slightly. In this game you get your Token main quest, go Slay the Baddie, you got your Token tank, and your Token female character, and a Token foreigner, in this case a practicioner of the Dark Arts, is nothing new and was not in the release day. The great thing about this game was it was a Roguelike in Isometric with "almost" 3d characters, voiced and almost complete random runs, and a fun fact about experience, at some point the chaff is not worth killing anymore. In practice you have a random run but you almost allways tend to average your characters. This version is like the original, with a maybe noticeable but not really important grafical improvements, and bugfixes, original was stable to hardly notice bugs in singleplayer, maybe a weapon effect not activating or some faulty loot-chance calculation. Online play was not something I could experiment in the day, but they said that was a blast, PVP, Campers and lots of common occurrences nowadays that were "mostly new" at the time. and i am not trying really in this age. This game is like watching the Schindler List, or another good old movie, has his charm, you see the good points, you notice the lackings in this case very slow movement, you see the problems and the gems, and they are not easily shown in a let's play video, the joy of watching blue loot, and gold trinkets is more alluring at play when in watch, deciding if a +15% to hit is better than +1 to damage, 1+ to strenght is better than +20 in health, all of those things you can enjoy for a while... untill it gets old. You get your standard 4 levels by world metic, you start to read how the mechanics work, and then you simply start doing the same thing again and again.

Has the original Diablo aged well? No, not quite. Is it's grid-based navigation clunky? Very much so, it was originally a turn-based strategy game in it's early development stages. Am I nostalgia blind for it? With zero shame, yes. Yes I am. This is the game that finally got me to invest in a Windows 95 PC after previously being solely a Commodore user. It's still my favorite of the series for it's concise and smaller scope compared to Diablo II and III. The gameplay loop is the originator of the hack n' slash loot-fest RPG and shows with near perfection how to implement the hunt for better gear in a way that still gives mundane equipment meaning to the player's progress and survival. That being said though, it's very easy to see that a lot of gameplay sensibilities and standards we now take for granted are entirely absent as this was 1996, after all. For me, muscle memory kicked in and I fell right back into the rhythm of it like it was yesterday so I'm not as thrown off by it's antiquated design. If you weren't born yet or just never had the chance to play it back then and you have enough of an interest, I can't recommend buying it enough. If anything, you might enjoy it as a historical experience in PC gaming. Should you need some guidance, there are plenty of gameplay guides out there to help and older players who can impart some advice and pointers. One last thing to note, this does NOT include the Hellfire expansion made by Sierra but it's non-canon and you're not missing much without it. The Monk class and couple new dungeons felt pretty tacked on and arbitrary anyway, in my opinion. You couldn't play them over battle.net either.

Firstly! I love Diablo....I really love Diablo. Its aged and by today standards its a bit thin....but this was the daddy of it all. The core ARPG is there and in tip top shape. Its a bit slower but that adds to the tension (think Dark Souls) The atmosphere is dark and gritty, the music is awesome, Loot is perhaps not by today's standards incredible, you wont really see your character decked out that often but still satisfying and rewarding to earn. The whole game is really rather awesome and I find myself playing it quite often even today. I wish we would have had more classes but honestly classes dont really matter in this game. You build a hero and then put points into whatever and however you want. sure some classes have a bit of a bonus but your not going to find that kind of character customization that you would in DII If you have a PC with WIN 8 or 10 I can easily recommend this version of the game. Hell, I can all around recommend this version of the game. But if your Win 7 like me you can get it easily free as abandonware and even mod it. Multiplayer still works as well on other servers. I bring all of this up because I feel that Diablo is a easy game to come across now these days but getting it running on modern OSs is where GOG helps you out if that's the case. However I would rather invest in a HD version of the game and thats where im at flaws here and also a little sad. Im happy that GOG is finally able to re sell this classic but have lost hope in Blizzard to spark interest in an HD remake.I want to buy the game again. 6th or 7th time now but can I please get and hd version like what they did with Starcraft. I know thats my personal quirk but regardless. This is welcome company and its good to have an old friend back. You see the one empty star in my review. Thats me wishing for HD remake. Otherwise....Classic Masterpiece!

The original diablo, even though there is just one village (Tristam) and no other spot than the old cathedral, is the best diablo according to athmosphere and gameplay. I've been playing it extremely long and often as it came out even in multiplayer mode (ipx) and its still worth a try.