Over 20 years later, the original Diablo is still just as engrossing as ever. This GoG release runs beautifully on modern systems, letting you experience the game just as it was. Of course, this means you get to experience this inaugural effort's more irksome quirks ("I know I heard a ring just drop, where is it???" and "Okay, which of these 20 items that I left laying in the town has that Dex boost on it?" are always popular), but if you don't let those little quality-of-life things bother you, there's a wonderful, atmospheric adventure to be had. And of course plenty of monsters and loot.
Book of Demons is not at all shy about its inspiration: the original, and immortal (no, not the phone one) Diablo 1. The moment you jump in, you'll see very obvious tribute and light parody of the story, characters, and setting. I feel like the fortune teller should be saying "I sense a soul in search of answers!" whenever I talk to her. But even with a generous helping of inspiration from Diablo, Book of Demons does its own thing and manages to stay fresh and engaging. The most obvious deviation is in the art style: Book of Demons is presented as a papercraft pop-up book. Taken in this context, the predefined movement tracks make sense; it's like those pop-up books where you push/pull a tab, and some character or other object moves along a track cut into the page. Stats and inventory have been simplified, and while I think calling it a 'minimalist' approach would be going a bit too far, it's fair to say that it is 'reductionist'. You have two character stats: max health and max mana. When you gain a level, you choose which of these to increase by one point. Enemies also have their max health reduced by one heart, representing your character's increased offensive power. Inventory has been simplified to a card system, and while there's not really any card-play like in a card or board game, the cards represent your equipped items, skills, and consumable items, all of which are available in different common, magical, and legendary varieties. There is a LOT of room for character customization and build optimization here, easily on par with Diablo 1, despite the simplifications. There are three character classes available - warrior, rogue, and mage, naturally - and I'm looking forward to trying out the other two. There are also three modes/difficulty levels, one of which is a "hardcore"/roguelike mode. I'm finding Normal provides a perfect level of challenge. I'm staying on my toes, but not getting frustrated. Book of Demons is highly recommended for Diablo 1 fans.
