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Since this review begins with a heavy intro, this gallery focuses on the remastered CGI cutscenes included in the package. Click through the additional pages of this review to see live gameplay screens.
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Each comparison first shows the timing of the remastered cutscene. These were all created from scratch and mostly reflect the original cut scenes.
Snow storm
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This is still followed by the same shot from the original 2000 cutscene, scaled in this week’s version using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Snow storm
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Remastered cinematic.
Snow storm
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Original kinematics, scaled using machine learning.
Where do I even start Diablo II: Risen? Unfortunately for its creators at Blizzard and the developers at Vicarious Visions, the answer is not “the game”.
We need to extract other elements first, and I appreciate your patience in this regard, as no review of Diablo II: Risen (now live for $ 40 on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch) is complete without an explanation like this to begin with. (If you don’t need the reminder of Activision Blizzard’s recent woes, skip to the section called “Doing a good job in a bad time” and start there.)
In the years that followed DiabloDuring the heyday of the early 2000s, its creators at Blizzard racked up some infamy. In late 2019, the decades-old game developer capitulated to the Chinese government over pro-Hong Kong statements made by esports players (although thankfully the decision was overturned soon after). Months later, Blizzard shipped WarCraft III: Reforged, which did not meet the usual standards of the publisher (in particular because WC3R deleted the previous functional set in favor of a broken client with incomplete functionality). Worse, since WC3RThe launch of months of agonizing silence over updates and promised features spoke volumes about Blizzard’s apparent lack of plans for the game.
Longtime Blizzard fans like me are understandably skeptical that Diablo II: Risen could see the company getting back into shape. Still, as a mega-fan of the original Diablo III remained optimistic, until about two months ago, when the above list of missteps was overshadowed by even darker developments.
Lawsuits, departures and modifications
A massive lawsuit filed by a California state agency exploded in late July, citing names and describing a toxic “frat boy” culture in Blizzard. The lawsuit claimed the women at the company were victims of abuse, harassment and widespread pay disparity. The lawsuit also described more than a dozen specific allegations of unequal pay and blocking promotions across the Activision Blizzard family of companies.
Other stories and public allegations quickly followed, including from women who came forward as witnesses and accusers in the state investigation. Part of the investigation led to the infamous ‘Cosby Suite’, operated by the formerWorld of warcraft team leader Alex Afrasiabi. The list of allegations regarding Afrasiabi’s behavior and the behavior of other influential Blizzard employees has grown.
Many of those involved have since left Blizzard, along with former President J. Allen Brack, who is also accused in the California investigation of turning a blind eye to internal reports on the same issues. (Departures aren’t just physical either – Blizzard also plans to modify existing games to remove in-game references to the men in question.)
ActiBlizz shareholders subsequently filed their own complaint in August. On Monday this week, the SEC announced its own investigation into company disclosures and allegations of sexual harassment and abuse, with subpoenas for many company executives (including CEO Bobby Kotick ). A day later, the legal director of Activision Blizzard resigned from her position with the company.
… So where does Vicarious Visions fit in?
So far, the last two months of legal maneuvering has not reached the satellite studios that Activision has contracted with, which brings us to Vicarious Visions. This long-standing Activision support studio was absorbed into Blizzard in 2020 to help repair the very, very bad reputation the Blizzard Classic division earned as a result of WC3R. Vicarious Visions was also tasked with a possible follow-up to Slam-Dunk: A Faithful 2000s Remake. Diablo II.
The pitch: Take the original 2D game, leave its codebase (mostly) intact, and apply high-definition 3D polish while letting the original graphics and code run at all times. The original graphics would be accessible with a gadget gadget button when gamers so desire. StarCraft: remastered did pretty much the exact same thing in 2017 – pretty well, in fact! WC3R botched this in part because of the way he tried to apply the same formula in 3D.
Remastering Diablo II is a tall order. The original sequel was made by one of Blizzard’s early teams, and most of its creators have long since left Blizzard. They continued to do their fair share of Diablo-like classics and “action RPG” experiences without contributing to the culture and claims we’ve heard about in recent months. (At the end of August, series creator David Brevik officially announced his intention not to support or talk about D2R.) This leads to a question I don’t always ask in game reviews: Can fans of the series safely feel excited about a remastered? Diablo II despite the company that Activision Blizzard has become? (Vicarious Visions’ D2R The team leader recently came up with a difficult answer to this question: that potential players should ‘do what they think is right’.)
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