Oh, the nostalgia. Just when we thought we were up to date with all the reboots and re-hashes of 90’s games, Blizzard decide to join in and bring Diablo 1 back to our screens.
The game is set to be re-released inside Diablo 3 in a time limited event called The Darkening of Tristram.
Originally released at the back end of 1996, Diablo is nearing its 20th birthday, (feeling old yet?) and what better way to celebrate than to re-release it in all its funky retro glory?
Tristam is now nothing more than ruins…
Instead of the sort of remake we’re used to, Blizzard have promised us something different- Diablo 1 will have that classic look and feel of a retro game. Frank Pearce, Chief development officer at Blizzard said at BlizzCon that we will get a ‘Proper old school Diablo experience’ when the game is re-released sometime in January next year.
Among other things the game will include:
- A classic ‘pixellated and grainy’ look
- 16 Levels of dungeon
- The four original bosses from Diablo
- The cows are back, folks!
Blizzard know what we want to see. Gamers flock to play retro-style games, and although there have been gamers voicing disappointment over the fact that they won’t be able to play a 2016 style Diablo, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.
Image Credit: Blizzard
Blizzard are going so far as to having character movement restricted to eight directions like back in the old days, and the UI is going to have that familiar old look, too.
Sadly it’s a time limited event, so you’ll only be able to delve back into the world of Diablo one every January.
The Darkening of Tristram is coming to Diablo 3‘s public test realm next week, but the event itself is coming our way in January next year.
Not only is this exciting because it’s a remake of an old game (we love those!) but it’s so different. The Darkening of Tristram is likely to be the most faithful remake of an old school game we’re going to get.
Image credit: Blizzard
Limited time event?
The question I’ve heard enthusiastic fans asking the most is ‘Why is it a limited time event?’
It’s a good question, if the game’s there, it seems counter intuitive to only allow players to access the content one month out of the year. Though it will pretty much line up with the game’s birthday every year, which is a nice little gesture it’s not surprising that many fans are wishing that the Darkening of Tristram was a permanent feature.
Though when people have Diablo 3 to play, it’s not unreasonable to assume that people might get bored of The Darkening of Tristam is we could play it whenever we wanted, whereas if it’s once a year people aren’t only going to play it, they’re going to be counting down the days.
Diablo’s actual release date was 31st December, 1996, so perhaps we’ll get some more news then? We’ll have to hang on until New Years Eve to find out!
Reaper of Souls is required to play, but the content is free.
We all have great memories of Diablo – I was introduced to it a couple of years after it came out – it was my first ever PC game, and I remember being left alone with a PC, a copy of the game and spending a full day trying to figure out how to get it to work. (I was eight.) After a few weeks of staying up too late and ignoring what school friends I had I was a firm fan, and I can’t wait to play it again.
Though it might be just a little too retro for some, it’s definitely a date to mark on your gaming calendar.