The title says it all, but I'll dive a bit more into it. This game has aged about as well as the contents of a septic tank. It started badly and then became much worse with time. I'll give credit where credit is due: this game gets a point above the minimum due to the replay-ability options. A lot of games from this era lacked difficulty selection and character import/export features, but Darkstone seems to have implemented it well. There is also quick-save mapping which is incredibly useful in any game where it comes up. Now for the rest of it. Well, it is by far the worst Diablo clone I've ever played. There was some nostalgia in Darkstone for me since I initially played it back on PS1. For a game that came nearly two years after the first Diablo and on the brink of Diablo 2 no less, Darkstone is awful in many regards. To start, you will fight in this dark world. Oh, you will fight. You will be fighting for your life with the atrocious camera. The 3D design of Darkstone is gimmicky at best, but typically incredibly clunky. This "feature" wholeheartedly differentiates it from the Diablo games. Continuing, pick any single aspect of Diablo that Darkstone cloned, and you will see that it is a much crappier version of it. You have quests galore, but no quest log. Overlay map completely obscures your view. The monsters are hard to spot and fight. The loot is even harder to spot and pick up. Magical items are terrible. There is seemingly inflation happening in town as all prices are ballooning... but sometimes not. You can make yourself an AI companion to travel, but lo and behold, your line of effect can be blocked by your allies. Combined with clunky combat to begin with, and this becomes an exercise in frustration. Then of course you have traps which will either do nothing or straight up kill you. None of this is worth it, especially since the story is dismal and forgettable. If you have never played this game before, avoid it. Buy Diablo and call it a day.
This game is amazing. You want to put it on your bucket list immediately! Diablo is special and deserves its own type of analysis. Let me begin by saying that I used to skip my middle-school classes and play this game. It was scary at the time, but super rewarding. Something about it kept me coming back for more. Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was something else. Either way, it was a memorable time. Cannot imagine my luck when I am still able to play this game in multiplayer over Battle.net something like 25 years after it has been released! Can you imagine!? That is freaking insane! Good to see that the support for the online portion of Diablo is still there and is still live to everyone! Thank you to Click Here character for even introducing me to a greater world of Diablo 1. So much to discover these days, that I never imagined before. I digress. The original Diablo is a testament of time and effort. This game straight-up built the aRPG genre. All other games in the action-RPG genre came from this gem, right here. Hard to believe, but there you have it. Nothing more and nothing less. Just as Warcraft gave a kickstart to the RTS genre, Diablo was an innovator in its space. There are things which you will notice do not sit right. Diablo 1 is old and clunky by today's standards. The game is incredibly tough! This cannot be understated, the game is very, very tough! Nevertheless, it is also extremely rewarding. You get one piece of gear that helps, then boom! it is off to the races! Every piece of magical gear has a certain weight to it that is seemingly gone from the modern titles. Diablo 1 still has things which can be considered legacy and hold their own weight. At this point I am rambling. Diablo 1 is a fantastic title and any enthusiast of aRPGs should be giving it a serious look. What do you have to lose!? The game is noticeably short if rushed through in single player. Give it a chance and you will want to come back for more. I f*cking guarantee it.
