Do you have phones and are you ready to go back to fighting the demons? Relax, smartphones turned out to be optional, although you can see that we are dealing with a port of the mobile version. Techniques are important, but gameplay is even more important. We check what the next title set in the extremely popular universe brings – is it worth staying a while and listening to the next advice from Deckard Cain? Perhaps an early review of Diablo Immortal and the impressions of a return to hell will answer this question.
Benefits
- Killing demons is a lot of fun – a rewarding fight despite the simplifications
- A clear progression of the character up to a certain point
- The plot does not bother and was not added by force, fans of lore will be pleased
- Lots of content and activities waiting to be discovered
- The style of the visuals in a dark tone and nice sound
- Good optimization on both platforms and the presence of the 60 FPS mode on smartphones
- Convenient control in the version for smartphones
- Cross-play and cross-progression
- Multi language version (subtitles)
Disadvantages
- An aggressive micropayment model that calls into question the sense of the PvP mode
- Too much shallow down a lot of mechanics and prepare them with monetization in mind
- Unfinished version for PC and related problems
- Mixed feelings about itemization, there is room for improvement
- From a certain level, an absurd grind – the character’s progress slows down and we collide with a wall encouraging us to buy
Contents
Diablo Immortal and the big Blizzcon scandal. A small rain from a large cloud or a prophecy fulfilled?
The announcement of Diablo Immortal at Blizzcon 2018 has gone down in history for good. This is an instructional video titled “how not to announce the game” and it is not known exactly what the representatives of Blizzard were hoping for. Fasted crowds of die-hard fans of the hack & slash series, known primarily from PC gameplay, waited for the announcement or at least a teaser of Diablo IV , and received information about the MMO game on the phone . Developers were cheated at one point, and the following question amused the entire Internet:
The project had no chance at that time to win the favor of the players. After almost four years , we can see for ourselves whether the prophecy has come true, or whether we have received a valuable title, offering good entertainment. Ultimately, with the premiere for Android and iOS from Apple , the beta version for the PC also made its debut , which was not supposed to be.
Outline of the plot and choice of characters. So go on, straight into the den of horror …
The plot of Diablo Immortal takes place between the events of the second and third Diablo games. The Lord of Destruction, Baal , was defeated by the heroes, and the sword El’druin , thrown by Archangel Tyrael , reached the power of creation and the World Stone , causing it to disintegrate on all sides of the Sanctuary.
These passages awaken the desires of the most wicked beings. This time we will face the Lord of Damnation – Skarn , who wanted to possess them in order to enable the return of the youngest of the three Prime Evils , Diablo himself .
This is where our adventure begins. We will travel the area of Westmarch , we will visit Mount Zavain and we will not be afraid of the sands of the desert surrounding the Shassar Sea . We will meet many independent characters (including our old favorites) and learn about the stories of people living in these areas.
Who will we be? What will our story be – will we overcome the forces of evil? It will depend only on us. We will introduce justice and order by choosing one of the following character classes:
- Barbarian – solves problems at close range, dealing massive physical damage. In the team, he acts as a tank due to his high vitality and survivability, thanks to which he can effectively focus the enemy’s anger on himself. Recommended choice for people just starting their adventure with the world of Diablo.
- Crusader – a flesh-and-blood warrior, specializing in holy-weapon attacks and shield defense. Like a barbarian, he fights mainly in close combat, but as a living fortress he has a bit more possibilities to support his companions in battle.
- Demon Hunter – the perfect choice for people who prefer fighting from a safe distance. The advantage of this class is high damage and high mobility, which is required in positional play (low damage resistance means that we have to pay attention to the surroundings and keep a distance).
- Sorceress – another vulnerable class in melee, but with great potential for dealing damage and crowd control. For fans of magic, it will be an obvious choice …
- … unless we discover the dark side of ourselves and reach for the Necromancer . A specialist in curses, area damage, summoning the dead and using them in the fight against evil.
- Monk – A newcomer from distant Ivgorod is an expert in direct martial arts conducted in a clever way. It is better to shower the stunned enemy with a barrage of blows and be in a different place in a moment than waiting for a counterattack.
Gameplay mechanics, endgame and monetization
So much for the introduction, and what does the game look like from the inside? The beginning promises great fun. We come by boat to Wortham and we are immediately thrown into the main plot and getting to know the mechanics through practice – cleaning the area of devil’s droppings.
Two characteristics stand out against this background. The simplicity of the fun of the casual game and the clear progression of the character we control, which slowly draws us into the snares of the game. The corpse is thick and we have a lot of fun dealing with new hordes of enemies, we find new items with better statistics, and the storyline – surprisingly – was run quite smoothly and completely does not interfere with the game.
While the gameplay defends itself, based on a proven formula of exploration , dynamic, satisfying combat and collecting better and better equipment , the problems begin when we invest more time in the title. When we get to know the game, we discover that some systems have been too shallow and prepared for micropayments.
Let’s start with skills that do not have runes that change their effect, which translates into fewer builds and methods of annihilating opponents. Although they can be modified by items , we do not always get something that will drastically change the way the game is played (unfortunately, there are a lot of modifiers in the form of + x% or -x%, e.g. to damage or cooldown reduction, which are hard to call exciting). Don’t get me wrong – there is also a lot of cool gear to make a real difference in your playstyle , but I see room for improvement here (I broke down when I saw the legendary species giving + 10% Jump Damage).
We can trade the equipment, but of course not for free. The auction house spirit remains alive forever – to sell an item, we have to spend the premium currency, Platinum . Considering that we do not get a lot of it and it is needed for other activities, at the moment most often the game is not worth the candle.
You will probably ask if the situation is saved by the legendary gems known from Diablo 3 , which were directly designed with a large impact on the diversity of the game. I have good news and bad news – the gem effects themselves have been created with panache and are very important for character strength , but getting and upgrading them is worse. We can upgrade each gem and improve its rank, but a horse with a row of those who can max it out without spending money from the wallet.
Endgame in hack & slash items has always been associated with the best moment of the game , where we gain access to the best items and activities and show what we can do. This is when we should feel more and more powerful, meanwhile the game informs us that our inventory is weak (not a joke!), Encouraging us to buy.
It’s a pity, because the foundations for great fun are really good – we can take part in challenges, rifts and its variations (unfortunately, we will get better loot after buying tokens), events of various types or rallies. Over time, however, we realize that our progress has slowed down.
You can see it on a smaller scale after reaching level 40, and the further into the forest, the worse. Theoretically, we can get almost everything for free , but it is not possible to do it in a reasonable time (in one of the discussions on Reddit someone counted that we would have to count the time spent on farming in years).
Endgame is always about a grind, but associating equipment and gem upgrades with real money purchases is a misguided decision – Path of Exile has shown that it can be done differently. PvP mode , in which we can compete with other players , suffers from it in particular . Skills are not what counts then, but only the wealth of your wallet.
Although it is difficult to pass the final judgments at this stage, you can be tempted to say that some players will not like this model. Casual gamers who don’t necessarily have to see everything and can swallow certain limitations will have a pretty good time – at least for a while.
Audiovisual setting, quality of the PC version and the version for smartphones, hardware requirements
From the graphics side, the game looks quite good, especially when it comes to the style of graphics and the tone of the work chosen by the creators . It is clear that after the colorful Diablo 3, Blizzard has turned a lot into a darker style, referring to the first and second parts, which definitely pays off.
I rate the sound as a plus. The atmospheric soundtrack , which reflects the spirit of the universe , has been enriched with fully recorded dialogues , which is still not a standard for mobile games. The Multi language in text form is also happy .
The smartphone version does not raise any objections except for childhood problems – some devices are said to have artifacts and problems with displaying objects in the game, but I have not experienced anything like that personally. The control is intuitive , and the options contain a lot of settings, thanks to which we can adapt virtually every element of the interface to ourselves.
The situation is a bit worse in the case of the PC version . From the very first launch, Diablo Immortal shows at every turn that it is only a port of a mobile game , prepared in a hurry – at least it gives the impression. The control in the menu has not been prepared with the use of the keyboard and mouse in mind (there is even a lack of scroll wheel support), and during the game the camera was hung too low over the protagonist.
Life is bothering us with a larger list of very small problems that it makes no sense to mention here and that could have been avoided. The only joys are the ability to use controllers , unlock the frame rate andVSync controls , but it’s definitely not enough. Remember, however, that the title has just appeared in the open beta phase, so there is time and a chance to fix the shortcomings.
Optimization on both platforms is decent. On personal computers, the game does not have high requirements, and on mobile devices, programs can be comfortably played on mid-range equipment. It is true that the highest resolution settings are reserved for flagships for considerable money, but my not the latest OnePlus 7 Pro pulled out 60 frames per second at medium resolution and 30 frames at high – all this while maintaining very high-quality details and all visual effects (post processing , anti-aliasing, shadows, fog, environmental effects etc.).
Diablo Immortal PC: Minimum Requirements
- Operating system: Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10 / Windows 11 (64-bit version)
- Processor: AMD FX-8100 or Intel Core i3
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460, ATI Radeon HD 6850, or Intel HD Graphics 530
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Disk space: 24 GB
Diablo Immortal PC: Recommended Requirements
- Operating system: Windows 10 / Windows 11 (64-bit version)
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 or AMD Radeon RX 470
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Disk space: 24 GB
Requirements for Android (the manufacturer only provided information about the minimum configuration):
- Operating System: Android OS 5.0
- Processor: Snapdragon 660 / Exynos 9611
- GPU: Adreno 512 / Mali-G72 MP3
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
Requirements for iOS (the manufacturer only provided information about the minimum configuration):
- Operating system: iOS 11
- Equipment: iPhone 6s
Read Also: [Retro review] Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – a signpost for the entire series
How do I download the game? Remember about cross-play and cross-progression!
At the end, it is worth mentioning one quite important advantage of Diablo Immortal. The game supports cross-play and cross-progression functions . Cross-play means that both heroes from mobile devices and players from desktop computers (the so-called cross-platform game) can enter the battle in one team . The presence of the cross-progression function, in turn, allows you to play on one platform and continue it while maintaining progress on another.
Diablo Immortal can be downloaded for free from the following addresses:
Diablo Immortal – Apps on Google Play
Diablo Immortal – App Store (apple.com)
Diablo Immortal ™ – Diablo Immortal | Battle.net Store
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