The 2021 online BlizzCon event had some big news for Diablo fans, as the Rogue class from the original Diablo is returning in Diablo 4, and Diablo 2: Resurrected is bringing a remastered version of the classic hack and slash game to PC and consoles. While the Diablo 4 announcement is less surprising, meant to placate players as they wait for the game to release in at least one year, the Diablo 2: Resurrected announcement did take players a bit more by surprise.
Blizzard has been gradually announcing the characters and classes that will be present in Diablo 4 at launch. Players will have a greater degree of customization over the appearance of their character than in previous games. The skill tree in Diablo 4 will be even more expansive than in previous games, with the player able to empower character abilities in different ways.
The opening ceremony of 2021 BlizzCon featured announcements of new Hearthstone and World of Warcraft content, but the Diablo franchise was given the most attention. The fourth class to come to Diablo 4 is the Rogue, which the player can tailor to be an archer or dual-wielder. The Rogue's trailer showed her collecting the ears of her slain foes. The bigger announcement, however, was that Diablo 2: Resurrected is coming in 2021. This is a remastered version of Diablo 2, which includes the Lord of Destruction expansion. The player can switch between the remastered version of the game and the original with the switch of a button, but all of the cinematics have been completely redone. A trailer for the game was released on the official Diablo YouTube channel.
Diablo 2: Resurrected has been rumored for a while now, but one of the biggest surprises is that it's coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. There are also plans for cross-progression across all supported platforms. The game includes a number of QoL improvements, such as an improved UI, controller support, and a bigger stash, but there won't be any significant content additions to the game. Screen Rant recently took part in a group interview with developers Matthew Cederquist and Robert Gallerani, where we learned that Diablo 2: Resurrected won't feature any microtransactions, nor will it replace the original Diablo 2 in the same way that Warcraft 3: Reforged did for its original game. We also learned that there will be a dedicated PS5 version of the game, and it won't just be running the PS4 version through backward compatibility.
The original Diablo 2 was released over twenty years ago, and there are many fans who look back fondly on the game. A remastered version of Diablo 2 is something that Blizzard fans have wanted for a long time, and they'll finally get their wish this year. The same amazing gameplay is there, but with a fresh coat of paint, and even the ability to play it on the go with the Switch.
Source: Diablo/Youtube