By the light! I know this vile demon! The Heck Demons of Hell are back once again, this time in hand held form. Diablo Immortal takes us through the untold story that bridges the gap between Diablo II and Diablo III in a free to play Action RPG designed for Mobile platforms.

Diablo Immortal is now taking the world by the rib bones of its skeletons and whirlwind spinning its way into our phones and computers. Announced in 2018 to a muted response, we’re finally able to experience this game that has been in development for over the last 4 years. So how does the most recent entry into the series stand up, and is this just an unfortunate money grab using the Diablo moniker to soften the blow?

Diablo Immortal, despite being developed for mobile, does not shirk on the visuals; the opening cinematics are just as impressive, if not more so, than previous Diablo titles. This extends into the both the gameplay itself and even the character creator. Diablo Immortal does not shirk on its graphical fidelity. Whilst there are definitely some models that are lower resolution to maintain the smooth nature of the game and keep game size relatively low for mobile platforms, it never hurts the overall presentation.

I was particularly impressed with the character creator options, Blizzard have expanded upon character customisation options in the last few years, particularly in World of Warcraft where there was a complete overhaul of the system at the start of Shadowlands. Whilst there is only a few options for each category, the quality and detail of the character customisation cannot be understated. For those who like to fiddle and make their character exactly as they imagine, there may be a little lack of fine-tuning ability. But for the die-hard RPG fans who often find themselves battling the character creation boss for far too long, Diablo Immortal hits that sweet spot just perfectly. There is enough to give you a unique feel, without being bloated and feeling like too much.

Diablo Immortal blends some of the best classes from both Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 and gives you a relatively varied plethora of choices, though notably absent are series main stays, Sorceress and Druid, which may be a deterrent for some. Unlike other titles, every class can be both male and female so that they aren’t gender locked. Whilst this small change means Wizard could technically be taken as Sorceress, it seems a strange choice to drop some of the most well-known classes from the game, yet keep less enjoyed ones, such as Crusader and Demon Hunter. The 6 classes are Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer and Wizard, with Necromancer being my choice, and I found the system worked pretty well. You always have some skeletal companions with a decent AI system, and the ability to command them. Corpse Explosions, scythe swinging, bone walls and summoning even more allies. The Necromancer does feel toned down from the over powered class it was in Diablo 3, but feels more well-rounded and developed than it was in Diablo 2.

Most of the classes do play incredibly well, and the control scheme for the game on mobile is well designed. There are four abilities that are accessible at all times and changing them is as easy as choosing the new ability in the menu and then choosing which spot to bind it to. Potions work on a two-tier cooldown system, which didn’t seem problematic through most of the story but may prove to become more of an issue in end game and higher tier content.

Whilst I wasn’t able to engage in group content due to a lack of players during the early access review period, it seems quite easy to get involved in group content. Dungeons unlock as you play through the story that you can replay at will. You can choose to either play solo or queue up and search for players. Most content seemed well balanced for solo play, so I would believe group content would be scaled upwards, otherwise it may prove to be far too easy. 

Many similar mechanics from other games come across to Diablo Immortal as daily options to do, to ensure that there is something to do at all times. Rifts and Challenge Rifts are accessible each day, with a free rune given each day, which can be saved up to make the rewards greater by running them more sporadically. This is where the mobile-centric pay-to-play aspects come into the game. A lot of daily mechanics/quests/gameplay components can be done more regularly for those willing to pay for them. Whilst this won’t be something that will affect the average day to day player, high end content players and those looking to absolutely min/max their gameplay hours will inevitably find this to be parasitic game design. It should be noted though that there was never a moment that I felt pay-walled by Diablo Immortal, so for the average player the game you shouldn’t feel like you need to pay anything, in order to enjoy the game.

For the average player the story here is actually surprisingly well fleshed out. It will take you anywhere upwards of 10 hours to play through, and if you engage in some of the battle pass activities or Codex farming as you play, you’ll find yourself with easily 40 to 50 hours’ worth of gameplay, per character on your push through the story. Coupled with the ease of multiple character creation and changing, Diablo Immortal will definitely be one to keep you occupied and if you’re looking for a good free to play MMO option, Diablo Immortal definitely stands out.

There are quite a number of quality touches in Diablo Immortal that make it feel like a full experience, with all characters being fully voiced, series icons make appearances and little plot holes are filled in and explained. Your character feels important to the world, having their interactions be fully voiced, connects them to the world, ensuring that they don’t feel like a hollow mute shell. The story is solid, if not a little overly reminiscent of the stories that we’ve seen in previous titles. There is nothing offensive on the whole here, but there are definite areas where it feels a little too safe. Some risks with a change to the story, or even a unique class would go a long way to making Diablo Immortal stand out just a little more. There is definitely the ability to extend the world here, and if there is aspirations of continuing Diablo Immortal as a live service style title, and giving free content updates, it could really become a daily game for many players.

Diablo Immortal is going to be a divisive game, there are some that will be upset that the game isn’t Diablo 4 and on the other side, those who think Pay-to-Play aspects are an intentional cash grab. What you need to know is that for anyone who is a fan of the Diablo style of gameplay and are looking for something to keep them interested, Diablo Immortal is a great option. The cross-progression feature, allowing for mobile play on the go and then PC play at home, will surely be welcomed by many. Being able to enjoy a full Diablo experience when and whenever you feel like it, is honestly game changing, plus the perk of not having to maintain two different characters, is a big plus. Diablo Immortal is an interesting title and will definitely be one to watch as time goes on, as Blizzard have been big fans of keeping titles going, years after they first release. While they seem to have the right start to compete against other Free-to-play games currently on the market, only time will tell if it is enough.