so, Diablo 4 There is still some way to go, but the good news is diablo immortal Coming soon – including a surprise PC release. at the same time, Diablo 3 Even though most of its seasonal content is being recycled at this point, it’s still surprisingly strong on PC and consoles. But you know, the ordeal never ends.
Amid the numerous issues Blizzard has faced in recent years and Microsoft’s imminent acquisition of parent company Activision, it’s surprising that Diablo has triumphed as one of the company’s IPs and has a brighter future ahead. Over the years, Immortal has been derided as an unpopular version of the D3’s long-term potential or D4’s announcement. Thankfully, the reveal of mainline Diablo IV in late 2019, so players began to embrace Blizzard’s vision for Immortal — an enticing side dish designed to introduce new players to the series.
It’s hard to ignore the striking visual differences between Immortal and Diablo 4, and we’re not talking about graphic quality here – Immortal was developed for mobile devices – but a completely different art direction. While D4 wanted to evoke the disturbing dark fantasy vibe of D2, Immortal has almost always used D3’s more colorful approach to characters and vistas.
This decision is easier to understand if we go back to the very beginning of Immortal development. First announced at the opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2018, Diablo Immortal is described as a collaboration between Blizzard Entertainment and Chinese tech giant NetEase. It’s easy to see that the main goal of this game is to impress the Asian market, where mobile gaming has become super big and filled with impressive titles that rival the PC and console versions (or Direct porting, e.g. Genshin Impact).
With that in mind, we can guess that a more cartoonish art style will be more successful than dark and faded visuals. There’s a reason why most MMORPGs from Asia (especially from Korea) and hard-to-play mobile games look the same. A perfect example is Lost Ark – now released internationally by Amazon Games – which doubled down on Diablo 3’s visuals (and still works to this day).
Another great benefit of choosing an art style that puts colorful designs above the “realistic” vision of the dark fantasy genre is that the game in question will only age better. We’re all too familiar with this: video games that rely too heavily on cutting-edge graphics are quickly surpassed 90 percent of the time. On the other hand, a strong artistic style with a distinct personality has proven time and time again to be future-proof. Now, D3 is probably one of the best-looking releases of 2012, and it’s been a decade. In all the fiery chaos and gore, it’s easy to read and visually navigable, and it looks cool; like a rad fantasy comic book comes to life.
Going back to Diablo and its goals, we can’t ignore that it’s a mobile-oriented game after all. Few mobile games attempt to simulate realistic visuals due to hardware limitations, so it’s wiser to double down on an engaging look that will grab the attention of potential players scrolling through crowded app stores.
As with its predecessor, it was never meant to be more accessible to those outside Diablo’s sphere of influence. While D3’s intent was to improve upon the immortal formula that made the second game famous, the team always wanted to honor the legacy of the first two installments. At one point, an early version of Diablo 3 looked like a modern-day version of Diablo 2 — we ended up getting that in Diablo 2 Resurrection — but Blizzard eventually went ahead and opted for a more Big, more colorful ideas that bring a high fantasy sensibility to the third entry.
If you think die-hard Diablo players have been bogged down by D3 over the years because of its more flexible progression and skill system, dig into the comments about its art style. You’d think fans would be more open to a different rendition of the fantasy world — regardless of its narrative tone — but that’s not the case. While many hardcore Diablo players jumped from Diablo 3 to Grim Dawn or Path of Exile because of the more classic, denser approach to core systems, others did just that because they seemed closer to growing up with them of Diablo.
For the above reasons, even the Diablo Immortal has slightly darker tones despite the D3’s overall aesthetic. I’ve always defended the third game and its big swings, which certainly worked in the long run, but I also understand why it might be time for Diablo to recapture the full attention of those who made it the dominant series it is today strength.
The last thing I’d like to say is that keeping the D3 from being as cold-blooded as previous entries is essential for bringing it to two different generations of consoles in the future. I suspect this was what the team had in mind when they were developing the game before 2012, but it really helped. I never felt the PS3 and 360 versions of the game looked different, and they played great.
What’s more, much of the seasonal post-release content has been moved to the PS4 and Xbox One versions thanks to the new CPU power, before the absolutely excellent Nintendo Switch port joins the fray. The game looks and runs great on all modern consoles, and it’s cool to see newcomers to the series being able to experience D3 without any cuts.
As for what the future holds, I’ve pre-installed the beta of Diablo Immortal on PC, hoping for a nice little gadget, which honestly feels like a fitting goodbye to D3’s long and complicated rules. D3’s dazzling High Heavens environments and Warcraft-like fighters will start to feel distant and dreamy once Diablo 4 comes out in its more mean and creepy look. It’s been a good run and I’m ready for the future.
