Improved graphics, a vast game world, expanded lore, more classes, a deeper and more involved loot system – everything was significantly upgraded from the original.īut what the game is most fondly remembered by is the myriad of ways you could build your characters. But it would be overshadowed by its sequel.ĭiablo 2 was everything an ideal computer game sequel had to be – bigger and better in just about every way possible. This version includes some bugfixes and high-resolution support.īy every metric possible, the D1 was a resounding success. In March 2019, Diablo 1 (complete with Hellfire expansion pack) was made available on GOG, marking the first instance that the game was released on any digital distribution platform. Even side quests would change, so you could never experience everything the game had to offer in just one playthrough.

Sometimes you would enter a level and wander aimlessly around looking for a staircase descending to the next level, while other times the staircase would be right next to the one you just came down from. This gave Diablo an incredible sense of replayability where every playthrough would be subtly different from the last one.

Just like in Moria, only the town (a “safe” zone, where you can buy and sell items and gears, and pick up quests) area is set. Your main objective is to slay the main boss at the final level of the dungeon – the Balrog in Moria and Diablo in, well, Diablo.

It was from Moria that the lead designer, David Brevik, got the core idea for Diablo – you descend ever deeper into the bowls of a randomly generated set of dungeons, fighting enemies along the way. The game was heavily inspired by some of the best roguelike games of the 80s – predominantly Moria, Rogue, and Nethack. Publishers were hesitant to greenlight a concept they considered archaic, and Blizzard requested two important changes to the game right off the bat – for it to be in real-time, and to have multiplayer. Initially envisioned as a turn-based game the likes of which were popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Diablo 1 nearly wasn’t even made.

Diablo 4 spell trailer