All the way back in June 2015, I wrote a blog post titled “Bring Diablo To iOS: An Open Letter To Blizzard Entertainment,” in which I championed having all of the Diablo games ported to mobile like the Titan Quest series. I included Torchlight in my complaint, too, for good measure. It was my personal wishlist of great action RPGs I wanted to have in the palm of my hand.
Well, I sort of got my wish, since I can now play Diablo 2 Resurrected on the Nintendo Switch.
And I am already over it.
Fond eMachine Memories
I don’t consider myself too serious a gamer.
I didn’t grow up with games. I was never allowed to have consoles as a kid. No, it was not out of moral reasons. The opinion of my boomer parents was that it was “just more shit” to gather dust, break, need replacement, and junk up the entertainment center. And I’m sure they didn’t want to encourage a couch-potato kid to become even more sedentary and reclusive.
But a family computer was unavoidable in my high-school years (a concept now laughably ancient).
The hulking and junky eMachine was stationed in the kitchen, and it was my first portal into a virtual world of adventuring.
One of my first games was the original Diablo. I remember it fondly. I was transfixed as my character’s sprite traipsed through the subterranean dungeons, catacombs, and caves of the darkly medieval world of Tristram.
That wonderment quickly turned into an obsession.
It’s surprising I remained a solid B student, since I devoted so much time and attention to my Sorcerer character (spelled incorrectly as “Sorceror” in the game’s menu). Hell, the game even proved its educational uses, since I was the only person who knew what a tome was in my junior-level English class.
When Diablo 2 finally came out in June 2000, I was in a panic that the already strained eMachine would not be able to handle it.
But it did. Not well, but it did.
And at the time, Diablo 2 was a revelation.
My initial character, a Necromancer named Barnabas, summoned an army of skeletons and golems that loyally followed me and killed all enemies in my path without question.
I soon needed a taste of the Sorceress’ magic, and quickly tried her out after giving the Necromancer a fair shake. The inclusion of ice magic into the original repertoire or fire and lighting sorcery was a mind-blowing addition. Enemies exploded into icy shards upon death and quickly melted away, never to be seen again. I was hooked.
Warm And Fond Memories
I played the Lord of Destruction expansion a year later, and I quickly warmed to the Druid’s hybrid design, fusing my my favorite aspects of the Sorceress and the Necromancer.
I toggled between those three classes over the years. I played with my best of friends online, people I thought I’d be close with forever. How life has a way of turning out the way it does.
In those ancient days only log onto Battle.net at night, since the now-inconceivable dialup still reigned supreme. Only on the rarest of occasions was I given permission to tie up the single phone line during the day.
I was pulled into “mule games” often. I’d help lower level characters collect waypoints with a well-stocked tome of town portals.. I’d power level through many Baal runs. Admittedly, I never had a taste for magic-finding. Perhaps it reflects my relative low levels of materialism and active practice of minimalism today in adulthood. Though I was only playing a computer game, my memories of it are very warm and fond indeed.
A Worthy Successor
As I grew older, my love for Diablo transmuted into a general love for RPGs when I started buying my own home consoles for myself. I moved on to what you’d expect: Final Fantasy, Persona, Skyrim, BioShock, Shin Megami Tensei, Dishonored, and the like.
Though, I’d still dip my toe into the dark world of Sanctuary here and there. The demons were always calling, and I’d sometimes answer the invitation to battle.
When Diablo 3 was announced, my excitement was unrestrained. And when it was released, I was one of its defenders. No, it was not perfect, and yes, the tone and style was off. Regardless, I found it a worthy successor, especially when considering it’s gameplay mechanics and quality-of-life enhancements. At the time of Diablo 3’s release, I was living in New York and working full-time. But play it I did, and I enjoyed it very much. More so, it was interesting to reflect on my life using the series as a through line.
Remaining A Memory
The years have passed, and I’ve grown up with them.
I went from 16 to 26, and now, here at 36, I have relieved a treasured experience through Diablo 2 Resurrected.
Part of me wishes the experience simply remained a memory. I already started counting down the days until release upon its announcement in February 2021. I wanted the game’s dark magic to flood my mind all over again.
But after two weeks of play, I already feel quite done.
Nostalgia wasn’t ignited. Addiction was. I’d stay up late binging episodes of The Tim Dillon Show while power-leveling a sorceress to 39 and then a druid to 24. Sure, it was easy falling into a rhythm exploring the world and gaining power. But it was a world already explored long ago. What was left to see after the glamour of the game’s fresh coat of pain wore off?
And, as already reported by many other, you feel the games age as you play. The quality-of-life advances in later games were sorely missed. The stamina bar was a frustrating drag. Inventory management was a gross chore, especially on consoles. And potions… potions were seriously that important?
And then it dawned on me. Yes, video games are a great joy in my life, but they are a joy I’ve properly compartmentalized. As I get older, I want more peace in my play, and so I cherish games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. An immersive experience doesn’t always require a final boss.
And, as is expected with age, I have more responsibilities and obligations in my life now. I have a full-time job. I am working on a second book. I try to read as many books as possible. I worry about rent and healthcare, something that unfortunately can’t be fixed by collecting gold from dead demons or popping of a red potion.
I’m a different person now, but Diablo 2 Resurrected is very much the same. I certainly had some fun giving it some time once more. But it did not rekindle a long-ago love.
Instead, it helped me realize I’m perfectly content with leaving it in the past.
