"Is this an out-of-season April Fool's joke?"
That was the query of a fan when Blizzard announced Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon in March 2018. Perhaps no title in gaming history has had as hostile a reception as Diablo Immortal did, with fans and gamers lashing out at Blizzard for developing a "mere" mobile game rather than a full-fledged one for PCs or consoles. "Don't you guys have phones?" Blizzard designer Wyatt Cheng asked in surprise when his announcement that the game would be available only on Android and iOS devices and not on the PC was greeted by loud boos.
Diablo Immortal review: Four years after a hostile reception, it is here
There was a reason for this hostility. Blizzard had said that it would be releasing information about its legendary role-playing game series Diablo at the event. Almost all fans had assumed that this meant that the company would be launching the next instalment in the series, tentatively titled Diablo 4. When the company announced that it was instead going to be releasing Diablo on mobile phones, the backlash was intensely abrasive. After all, this was 2018, and mobile gaming was still considered to be the poor cousin of "real" gaming that took place on PCs and consoles. The thought that a new game in a classic PC series like Diablo would be released on mobile was an anathema to many hardcore gamers. "Don't you guys have phones" became a meme that was used by many to poke fun at Blizzard.
Four years down the line, the star of that gaming horror show has made its way to mobile phones. Diablo Immortal has now arrived on the App Store and Google Play. While it is not a mobile phone exclusive (there is a PC version as well), it is mainly seen as a mobile title. And it is on the mobile platform (phones and tablets) that we have been playing it for a couple of days and think it could well set a new benchmark for mobile gaming.
Diablo Immortal review: Bringing the Diablo heritage to mobile
That is because Diablo Immortal brings to mobile phones exactly what Diablo brought to the PC in 1997 — intensely addictive gameplay. It is not as If Diablo Immortal does not have great graphics and sound. It does have plenty of both and the cutscenes ('cinematics' as Blizzard calls them) are magnificent and build up the sort of atmosphere that the game needs. But even after you have been dazzled by multimedia, you will find yourself coming back for more, simply because the game is so easy — and so much fun — to play.
Blizzard has been nicknamed the Apple of gaming as the company has the gift of making difficult gaming genres more accessible to general users without compromising on the overall gaming experience. It made role-playing games (RPGs) that had been complex, and fun with Diablo, and did the same with real-time strategy (RTS) with Starcraft and Warcraft. Its smooth implementation of World of Warcraft made online gaming a rage more than a decade before the likes of PUBG came along.
Diablo Immortal review: You can play it on most phones…and it is FREE!
It is this blend of great presentation and easy-yet-addictive gameplay that makes Diablo Immortal so irresistible. Interestingly, the game does not need high-end hardware to run. It will work on iPhone 6S and above with iOS 11 and higher, and on any Android phone having a Snapdragon 660/ Exynos 9611, 2GB RAM and above, and running Android 5 and higher. You will need a lot of storage space, though. The download is more than 3GB on iOS (with a 9.5GB patch after that) and about 2.5GB on Android (with a 10GB patch on top of that).
In simple terms, any phone that is priced above Rs 15,000 and has about 15GB of storage space should be able to run this game well enough. Of course, the better the hardware, the better the experience. Incidentally, the game is free to download, making this the first Diablo game to come without a price tag.
Diablo Immortal review: The Dark Lord could rise…so go stop him
Diablo has always been a simple hack-and-slash game with a strong storyline and elements of character development and adventure. Diablo Immortal does not deviate from this template. The story is based on events between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. Without making it too complex or getting into detailed story flashbacks, let us just say that a magic item called the Worldstone has been corrupted and if you do not wade into war against the hordes of evil, Diablo, the lord of evil, will rise again. The game starts with the inevitable gloomy cinematic that tells you how all is not well after the events of Diablo 2 and that you need to save the day. "If humanity is to survive, they must stand together against the rising darkness," says the grim narrator. After a dramatic pause, he adds, "Though that might not be enough."
You choose a character for yourself — you can go for male or female versions of Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some are strong, some agile, some are adept at magic and summoning creatures, and so on. You can change the appearance of your character, give it a name, and then, well, it's time for action. Your task is relatively simple: slaughter all that is evil. And there is lots of it.
Diablo Immortal review: Great graphics + great sound + easy gameplay = sheer addiction
Diablo Immortal, like all Diablo games, is played from an isometric, top-down view, which might strike some as being a little old-fashioned when you see titles like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Mobile. Play the game for a while, however, and you get sucked into it. There is a lot of detail in the graphics — the water shimmers, leaves move in the wind, and you can see the stones and tiles on the roads you take, although you cannot zoom into the action at any stage. Unlike Diablo III, which had a slightly brighter look to it, Diablo Immortal returns to Diablo's slightly brooding, dark graphics ethic.
We think it looks better and is more atmospheric, but it does need you to turn up the brightness of your phone's display, and that could guzzle battery.
Then there is the voice acting — Diablo has always had great character voices and they are present here as well. The music just blends into the atmosphere, switching from grim to heroic, depending on the state of your progress. This is proper PC/console-level gaming and we would recommend playing it on the biggest display you can get — the game looks fantastic on the iPad!
Gameplay is button mashing at its simple best — you have one on-screen button to control the movement of the character and another to launch attacks. The buttons are conveniently located so you can basically hold your phone in landscape mode and have your thumbs right on the buttons on the display — there is one near each corner. You progress by killing more and more enemies, moving up levels. And there are swarms of enemies — demons, undead, the works, and you generally have a "boss" character to tackle. There is a lot of fighting here. And the action is spectacular, although we so wish we could zoom into it.
Every time you move up a level, you can improve your skills. Your exploits also get you access to gold and other loot, which you can use to purchase better equipment. The process is simple and you even have some interesting conversations with those who repair your weapons or sell you new ones.
Diablo Immortal review: Epic in stature, but presented in small, mobile-friendly morsels
Diablo Immortal is classic Diablo — roam around, talk to people, get missions, find enemies, kill enemies, get new equipment, move up levels…and repeat. Some might find it predictable, but Blizzard's presentation will keep you riveted, with enemies and game characters being fascinating. You can also play against or with different players, and well, best of all, you can actually start this game on your phone, and pick up where you left on a PC and then get back on your phone again and so on. It is incredibly seamless and very well implemented.
Also, even though this clearly is a long game (running into several hours), Blizzard has taken care to make the missions relatively short in most cases. We found ourselves getting through a mission in about 10-15 minutes, which is perfect for short trips or breaks — scenarios when most of us turn to our phones for entertainment. The fact that it is mostly single-player also means that you do not need to hang around to find people to play with (unless you want to get into player vs player or multiplayer mode).
Diablo Immortal review: The free-to-download rose comes with possible in-app purchase thorns
Of course, it is not all roses. This is the first Diablo to come without a price tag, but there are in-game transactions. And while you can keep progressing even without spending actual money (we have been able to get through several hours so far), you will keep getting reminders of special options and offers, which can be a trifle irritating. There is also the concept of loot boxes where spending some money might (read again: might!) help you get better weapons and equipment, which makes things a bit like a lottery — something which has stopped the game from being released in some countries which frown upon the practice.
We are not sure whether you can get through the entire game without making a real purchase, but many beta testers have told us that progress is otherwise sluggish. The temptation to purchase better equipment also comes to the fore in player vs player scenarios. As of now, this does not seem to be too much of a stumbling block, but depending on the level of challenges gamers face, we think it could become an issue in the coming days.
Diablo Immortal review: Play! Just play!
All said and done, at the time of writing, Diablo Immortal goes into our books as one of the best games on mobile, both in terms of presentation and gameplay. It is not for casual gamers but is simple enough for anyone to pick up and play and is so immersive and easy on the eye that most people will enjoy it. It costs nothing upfront (whether you choose to splurge later on is totally up to you) and can be played on a number of devices. It seems unfair to ask for more. We would strongly advise you to give the game a go, even if you are not a gaming fan. Just remember to block some time when you start playing. It is going to be dark, dangerous, and crazily addictive. Blizzard had changed PC gaming with the original Diablo. Twenty-five years down the line, it could do the same with Diablo Immortal, making the action RPG a mainstream mobile genre. It might even roll back the battle arena and FPS surge of recent years. Yep, it is that good.
Diablo Immortal is many things, but more than four years after it was officially announced, we can confidently confirm that it is not an out-of-season April Fool's joke. Other game developers might wish it was, though.