Diablo Immortal: not all "evil" comes to harm

So, let's start with order: nobody (but really “nobody”) in Blizzard had ever stated before BlizzCon 2018, that the highly anticipated would be presented on the stage of the event Diablo 4, much less an (equally highly anticipated) remake di Diablo 2. This premise is necessary to see things from the right perspective. Why have thousands of players around the world even chosen to sign one petition to request cancellation di Diablo Immortal? The new chapter of the Blizzard series has the "fault" of being a video game conceived and designed to be played exclusively on mobile devices, tablets and smartphones, iOS and Android. Diablo fans were expecting much more. Diablo fans were waiting for Diablo 4. "Immortal" was found in his hands, and his "death" was decreed without the possibility of appeal, due to a wave of disapproval that first invaded the conference room that has hosted the event, then the entire WEB, in live streaming, with a few seconds of delay. We are here to tell you that you can vent the accumulated anger on Diablo 3, waiting for the (real) new chapter of the series. Take down every demon, to the best of your ability, rigorously armed with a mouse and keyboard: let off steam, then come back here. Diablo Immortal has something to tell you. Not all "evil" comes to harm.

May the "EVIL" be with you (wherever you are)

Diablo Immortal is a MMOARPG ("Massively Multiplayer Online Action RolePlaying Game"), which is a role-playing game strongly focused on action, where demons and evil creatures of all sorts are blown off the screen with the same ease with which you breathe. To be more precise, Diablo is a series belonging to the genre of Hack'n'Slash (literally “Cut and Squarciare”), which adopts one isometric visual from above to offer total control of the action to the player, who can choose to strike down on the enemy as they prefer, between fighting skills melee and an infinity of magic, incantations e witchcraft assorted (depending on the selected Class). What makes titles like Diablo a real drug is a complex, deep and (to most) difficult system of management and growth of one's virtual alter-ego, through a constant improvement of skills, of the pieces that make up the equipment and of the weapons used, represented by an infinity of statistics that, at first glance, scare the most casual players (in the good sense of the word, otherwise we start badly, please!).

Why shouldn't Diablo Immortal work on mobile devices? At the moment, there is no element capable of justifying any criticism of the game which, we repeat, pays the price of not being the long-awaited (but never “pre-announced”) Diablo 4.

Immortal is a chapter designed from the ground up and designed exclusively to “work” on smartphones and tablets. Intuitive controls, actions and gestures, as Blizzard ensures, will allow players to have incredibly precise control of their Hero. Also in theory, players will not regret the fact of not being able to rely on a keyboard mouse: the gameplay mechanics developed in Immortal will allow the player to hold down on the desired skill and, by dragging, unleash the devastating effect at the point. desired level. A sort of "quick command" will be introduced to allow you to quickly equip newly collected weapons and armor pieces.

As stated by the developers, and as you can see for yourself from the trailer shown at BlizzCon (and reported below), in Diablo Immortal will be present new skills e unprecedented possibilities for level exploration (see for example one of the Heroes, in the movie, descend from a rope, or move across floating wooden boards, moved by a rushing current). Having said that on an aesthetic level, both as regards the graphic style used and for the modeling of the characters in 3D, Immortal turns out to be virtually identical to Diablo 3, there is no reason (at least for now) to doubt the quality of the product, developed in collaboration with NetEase, a development house expert in the production of mobile titles. The doubts, if anything, concern the number of creatures that Diablo Immortal will be able to reproduce on the screen at the same time, without merging the processors of tablets and smartphones. When asked about the matter, the developers on stage at BlizzCon 2018 candidly admitted to have not yet decided this aspect of the title which (we absolutely agree) is certainly not trivial stuff, in a videogame belonging to this particular genre.

The "Stone of the World": in fragments, but not destroyed!

The events narrated in Diablo Immortal are positioned between the end of the events described in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction e Diablo III. As the beautiful trailer made in CG (always at the bottom) tells:

The Worldstone is shattered, but its corrupted fragments still contain great power. The servants of Diablo want to reap this power and allow the return of the Lord of Dread.

THEArchangel Tyrael he is given up for dead and humanity has to deal with the consequences of his actions. The fragments of the Worldstone corrupt the earth, calling out ancient evil entities who want to gather the power of the stone and use it to control humanity.

Da Heart of the Brand (set in an era prior to the corruption of Malthael), base camp from which to leave for new adventures, to manage the inventory and to interact with the various merchants, the story will be told through new areas and undergrounds, from the town of Wortham to the Zoltun Kulle Library, passing through the mysterious island rich in vegetation known as "Palustria". Tombs, forgotten towers, ruined buildings, rotting swamps, devastated lands ... The "dream" of every Diablo player and, bearing in mind the premise made in this article, someone tell us why we shouldn't consider it magnificent, as fans of the series , being able to face all this by holding a smartphone (or a tablet) in our fingers, while we pass the time somewhere out there, or when we do not want to stay at the PC, preferring to lie on a bed to "rot". Diablo 4 will arrive, we are sure, but that "Immortal" is somehow held responsible for its failure to announce, we underline once again, with conviction, it's pure madness.

A "class" hero

Blizzard has announced six Classes so far. The Software House has already specified that, after the launch of the title (which we still don't know when it will happen), new ones will be introduced. At the moment, however, we know for sure that we will be able to take on the role of the Barbarian, the Monaco, the Mago, the Crusader, the Demon hunter and, finally, of Necromancer. It is therefore probable that the first Class to be introduced after the launch will be that of Shaman, the only one absent taking into account all the Classes currently present in Diablo III. Paladin e Amazon, coming from Diablo II, are the other two Classes to be missing (at least for now) in Immortal. We can easily imagine that the new Classes (as well as new game elements in general) will be offered to the public as paid content. But Blizzard has not yet unbuttoned about the matter.

New Heroes need new enemies, and those already announced by Blizzard are literally creepy, such as:

Skarn, Herald of Terror

The demon known as Skarn, Herald of Terror, was once the strongest lieutenant in Diablo and is now gathering a new army. Skarn wants to collect the corrupted shards of the Worldstone and use them to bring Diablo back to life, rekindling the Eternal Conflict between angels and demons.

Skarn is not the only one who wants to seize the opportunity given by the destruction of the Worldstone: a new coven makes its appearance and dark cultists roam the world, spreading corruption.

Other demons will be reborn directly from Diablo II, like the "Vile Mothers”And the developers hinted a something terrifying awaits the players, hidden in the shadows, without revealing further details.

Diablo Immortal, you should have understood by now, is not a "Diablo 4" who believed it less, but a new chapter of Diablo, with new creatures to face and new environments. We still don't know how long a single game mission will last, but we imagine that being a mobile title, these shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to complete.

The only hatred from which you must not get carried away is that generated by the mass, by the disappointed, by those who constantly feel the need to criticize everything and the opposite of everything. Hate, the "real" one, you should unleash it on the battlefields of Diablo, whether it is through mouse and keyboard or through smartphone and tablet. Wait to try “Immortal” firsthand, before decreeing its death. Which certainly will not happen due to a crazy petition created by those who have forgotten the most important thing: love, the one for videogames.