I honestly dont understand all the positive reviews of this game. its a mess. although the skills are interesting, combat is a slow slog where you have to heal after every encounter. leveling up is pointless as enemies level up with you. enemies constantly respawn and worse you lose all your gear after death. the world is flat and lifeless but i do like the cell shaded graphics. the game can be fun at times but the joy quickly fades as you lose your gear, have to run back through maze like dungeons killing off enemies with lower level gear. it plays out like a bare bottom MMORPG. I might recommend it if it ever goes on sale for under a dollar but other than that its not worth your time. there are far better hack and slashes on GOG.
I first played Darkstone on the Playstation way back but never really got into it on the console. I was preoccupied digging deep into the JRPG library for the PSX at that time and this game just ended up collecting dust. I do remember liking it while me and my brother played co-op but thinking it was just a Diablo knock off so I have no nostalgia for the game. Fast forward to today. I just purchased it a week ago and finished it today on normal for the first time and can tell I will play much more of it. I could not put it down. I loved every moment of it. Honestly, I really am surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did and feel I have no business loving it as much as I do now. ARPGS today give you so many options in customization and builds and in gear and it can be very overwhelming and and frustrating sometimes, building your character. Darkstone comes from a simpler time. A time where skill was measured more on how you handle a situation through action and less so with what gear you had equipped. You can have good gear and still die if your clumsy and are not paying attention. Games like Diablo III are afraid of killing you because then you might get frustrated and log off. This isnt a complicated game but there is enough depth in it to keep you going. Getting new loot is just as fun and rewarding and the pace of the game is just right. The graphics havnt aged well but I put some Reshade on my copy and some anti aliasing and I was stuck in. The music is nice in some aspects and the quests and dungeons are randomized which keep the game feeling fresh. The inclusion of running a 2 man singleplayer party is really nice as well. I really wish this game had some mods for it as I see some real potential there...or a remake would really do this game justice. Nonetheless I really enjoyed this game a lot and recommend it highly for people interested in a good dungeon crawl. Superb..really!
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!
