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Diablo III: Eternal Collection Review


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411470297_DiabloIIIboxart.png.6f37e18466f77576f1a1dc1bf8d1263d.pngSometimes it's hard to believe how much the Switch has turned around the public perception and style of Nintendo. No one would have expected the Wii or Wii U to get games like Skyrim, Doom, or Diablo III, and yet all three now feel perfectly at home on Nintendo's hybrid console. Sure, Diablo III: Eternal Edition isn't exactly a brand new product as even the most recent DLC pack came out over a year ago on other platforms, but Nintendo-only players won't mind as they dive into this addictive, time-sucking action-RPG.
 
With over twenty years of games/background lore behind it, new players might feel a little intimidated jumping into the series with Diablo III, but the core story here is easy enough to understand: the long-running war between heaven and hell is once again reignited when a falling star crashes into the cathedral where Deckard Cain and his adopted niece Leah are investigating an ominous prophecy. Your character arrives in the nearby town to help investigate and fight off the hordes of evil, leading to a series of battles that culminates with Diablo himself. The story's strength isn't so much on the character journeys as it is on worldbuilding. Diablo is classic dark fantasy that's fun to immerse yourself in as you play—the actual dialogue isn't terribly inspired, but at least you can quickly skip through it to get straight to the action.
 
And oh what endless action Diablo III provides. Diablo is one of those games that relies upon a very simple core gameplay structure, but one that is potentially endlessly replayable with enough variety to keep it interesting hour after hour. You fight monsters, level up, find better equipment than the stuff you currently have on, then march out there to do it all again. A basic premise, and one that ends up being awfully addictive once you get into the swing of things, because every time you find better loot you get that little nudge to keep going. After all, you've got to try out this new equipment, and maybe if you play just a little further you'll get something even better. Diablo can be almost obsessively cyclical, but that's what keeps it engaging every time you load up the game.
 
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An important part of keeping a game like this interesting is in offering the player choices to customize the experience. First off, this edition of Diablo III includes all DLC so it has a total of seven character classes, each of which has a unique playstyle (melee fighters, magicians, etc.). Each class also has a variety of different abilities—for example, while I was playing a Demon Hunter character I favored rapid fire arrows and deployable turrets, but I could just have easily have focused on setting traps and using slower, more powerful attacks. The game is open enough that any strategy can work, so you never feel pigeon-holed into one path and are free to experiment as you please. And the combat feels engaging in just about every battle. Sure, fights aren't always difficult per se, especially once you've got some powerful equipment and abilities, but it's always satisfying to demolish groups of demons. The only downside here is that the game might trust players a little too much to figure things out on their own, and as a new player you might get a little lost on some details, but with time anyone will adapt to the nitty gritty aspects of the game.
 
Diablo III also feels like a natural fit for the Switch since it's perfect for quick play sessions. It's so easy to load up the game, destroy demons for half an hour, then put the game back down, and being able to do it on the go is even more convenient. This Switch version also adds a few fun Nintendo references, including Ganondorf's armor set and a new amiibo, and while these aren't major additions to the game they're still fun to see.
 
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Of course, while fighting the lords of hell it's dangerous to go alone, so Diablo III lets up to four players team up locally or online. Fighting as a team can be a lot more fun than tediously defeating monster after monster yourself, and definitely helps break up some of the monotony of the game. And the multiplayer system works pretty well too—assuming you can find other players online it's easy to jump right into their game with no noticeable connection or network issues. The frustrating thing about playing with random players online though is the lack of communication options. With a game like Diablo sometimes you need to pause to adjust your equipment, pop back to town to drop off loot, or even just take a quick bathroom break. Diablo III on Switch doesn't give you any ability to tell other players what you're thinking/planning though, so outside of using a third-party communication like Discord you're kind of playing in a vacuum, even when there are three other players on screen. Nintendo's always been a little clunky with this kind of feature but it's particularly annoying here.
 
The visuals in Diablo III aren't exactly all that impressive, but to be fair the game features a lot of things on screen at once when dozens of enemies are attacking, and the good news is that loading screens are short, sometimes nonexistent, with no performance dips or lag at all. And there's something to be said for the game's dark fantasy look which makes for cool, fantastical set pieces. So even if character models aren't incredibly detailed and high rez, the overall style of the game is still fun to see. The sound design is in the same boat: the background music isn't much to write home about, but it still captures that classic Western RPG vibe really well.
 
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One playthrough of Diablo III, even with the Reaper of Souls expansion, won't take too long to power through, maybe twelve to fifteen hours. However, this is a game built upon replay value, and nowhere is that more evident than the difficulty options menu which shows dozens of levels you can tackle once you've got solid gear and know the game well. Add in the different character classes, multiplayer, side modes and seasonal online events—if the cyclical nature of Diablo III clicks with you, you can easily spend hundreds of hours on this game.
 
Diablo III: Eternal Collection is a surprising but welcome addition to the Switch's library. With nigh endless replay value and a satisfying loop of fighting monsters, collecting loot, and then doing it all again, there's a wealth of gameplay to enjoy here for anyone that hasn't gotten their fill of it on a different platform. Granted, the cycle of collecting gear after gear isn't going to click for everyone, but if it does you may end up playing Diablo III for an eternity.
 
Rating: 8 out of 10 Demons
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On 2/23/2019 at 8:19 AM, Dancing Mog said:

I grabbed the game recently on sale cause a friend has his own Switch and he wants to get it soon. Totally forgot about the amiibo exclusives, not even sure which ones are compatible.

 

I think just about all amiibo are compatible, but they simply spawn random monsters—good for earning a little extra loot. The Loot Goblin amiibo though opens a portal to the treasure vault. The vault is still accessible if you don't have the amiibo—it's just a shortcut if you do. The Ganondorf armor can be crafted anytime (it's actually a transmog, so it's a visual effect that can be applied to any armor) though it's a little expensive to do.

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