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Posted by Diablo II: Resurrected - Tech Test / Alpha Test.
Spent a little over 6 hours with this over the past weekend's Tech Test / Free Weekend. I got lucky and got in. There's no NDA here, so I can speak on this.
I've got plenty to say. And yes, I think many gamers are going to be very happy with this; past fans and newcomers alike.
Did you basically want Diablo II: Complete Edition (with LoD expansion), but prettier w/ modern resolutions, modern textures, modern performance (i.e. 60fps), and some few tweaks? Well, this is what you're getting. And it's awesome.
Not all of the content was in the Tech Test/Alpha Build here. Namely, you had Acts 1 and 2 here. Not all of the characters were here - Barbarian; Sorceress; and Amazon are here. And it was eating up 30GB of space here. Can't wait to see what this game's size will be, once it's all finally here.
It plays like Diablo II, even in new graphics mode. You have some UI and AI adjustments you can make it use, if you want - you can make text look bigger; put the Mini-Map in small corners (instead of the old full-screen transparent mini-map); etc etc. You don't have to, though - as you can still use the old full-screen mini-map and the normal UI, if you like.
It looks great - similar to Diablo III in some ways (i.e. modern), but it also has the Diablo II gritty-ness. It felt too bright (but not as bright as D3) out-the-box, but that can be remedied by cranking Gamma setting down. Luckily, in new graphics mode, if you crank down the Gamma setting in D2:R, you can get this game looking dark, like D2 should look. But it certainly looks smoother and more animated - and all of this is executed real well - in its new mode. Though, it's not entirely gritty as D2 old-school version though, as....well, pixelation still also gives D2 some of its grit.
Regardless, on-the-fly, you can hit a hotkey and switch b/t New Graphics Mode and Legacy Mode. Like C&C Remaster, Halo: MCC's older games, and whatnot - D2:R also allows you to switch b/t old-school graphics and new-school graphics at anytime you want, while on-the-fly and in the middle of actual gameplay. If you want to see how great it looks now (with modern looks for assets & resolutions) and also what it looked like back in its day in its pixelated glory (up to max of 800x600, like the old game) - you're free to do so.
It ran fine here on my RTX 3070-based PC (with also an i7 10700KF; 16 GB RAM; W10 x64) at 1080p60fps in new mode; and also at 60fps in 800x600 mode when switching to Legacy mode. I love that I can switch easily here b/t the two modes, on-the-fly and all.
It's still difficult at times for me, at its default setting. Namely, when you got too many enemies on-screen, not utilizing your skills properly, not equipping your gear right, and whatnot. You still pay the piper here and lose your equipped items and lose all your money - so you have to go back to get your body to get it all back. You still sink points into skills here; and your stats and its number...when you level-up. You still hear and the excellent sounds and music, as you're fighting enemies and looting them for another piece of loot like they are a pixelated piñata; and you're likely going to Stash or Sell this gear at the Vendor. You're going to get Gems and socket them into equipment.
While I'm very familiar w/ keyboard and mouse gameplay and the clicker-fest that Diablo II is, it also surprisingly also plays solid with a controller. Sure, not entirely my gameplay style of choice here, but it seems to play just fine and when I feel like leaning back & relaxing in my gaming chair, instead of say getting all intense on the keyboard/mouse and up-close & personal with my monitor and the on-screen action.
The few modernizations and tweaks, and options that are here - all feel like it's here as options; and some might find that stuff necessary, some might not, which will probably depends on the player. Most importantly, D2: Resurrected feels like D2 in every way without changing what made D2 so great - it plays & feels like D2 in both graphics modes; looks like D2 in old mode; and everything.
This is just a Tech Demo and Tech Alpha here - and it's already in great shape, IMHO. Pretty much, everything here looks on-track and is very impressive here, as long as they keep doing things...just like this.
D2: Resurrected looks like it'll be basically exactly what I wanted out of a D2: Remaster.
Can't wait to see the final version, once it's out, sometime down the road.
- shrinerr, RagManX, IronChariot and 6 others like this
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