After spending most of November 2021 playing Diablo Immortal on Closed Beta, I think I’m ready to talk about my thoughts and feelings for this game.
TLDR. I’ve never been this excited for a mobile title before, but I’m sure I’ll probably get this game once it comes out. HAHAHA!
FAIR WARNING, may be spoiler-y, so proceed with caution!
Diablo Immortal (Closed Beta) – Story
As someone who only started playing Diablo during the D3 era, I thought it would be a challenge for me to place Diablo Immortal’s time and setting. Fortunately, a lot of places and people were quite recognizable, even for a noob like me, HAHA!
The mobile game is set before the happenings of Diablo 3, right before the Fell Star crashed down onto Mad King Leoric’s tomb. Long story short, you are sent to investigate the pieces of the Worldstone that are being used and abused by several evil people.
This leads you around familiar areas in Sanctuary. Wortham, before it was completely burnt to the ground, up to Westmarch, before the Undead ravaged it until all is left is the final stronghold in Diablo 3.
Instead of you being the Nephalem, you’re just a simple fighter tasked by the superiors of your player class to keep the peace in what is already a chaotic world. Of course this means that you have to battle monsters, demonic bosses, and the like. Also, there are cameos! I won’t spoil anything but seeing familiar characters really, really made me happy! XD
I particularly liked a certain part in the main story quest line, where you had to fight against a gorgeous giant lady noble obsessed with youth and beauty. HEHE. XD ANYWAY, it was really haunting, and quite a foreshadowing of how top-notch the storytelling is for a mobile game.
Overall, the plot, though broken down into bite-sized pieces, was compelling enough for me to want to keep grinding to get to the level-locked quests. I think the fact that quests were not so dragging really helped the grind! 🙂
Mobile Gameplay
I think most people would be concerned about playing an action-adventure title such as Diablo on mobile. Won’t it be too action-packed? How will the controls work on such a small screen? I was a bit apprehensive, too, you know, knowing just how fast my fingers can work when going through Rifts on Diablo 3 on PC or the Switch, HAHAHAHA!
BUT! I was also pleasantly surprised by the gameplay! It’s pretty much just like D3, except on a mobile platform. I’m glad the devs really took the time to optimize most of the controls. Most of the menus and the Armory have been streamlined to make info easier to digest on a smaller screen.
My one complaint is that the UI can look really cluttered with all of the elements there, so I do hope they find a way to further optimize the main playing screen before the actual launch, HAHA! XD
Button prompts are easily seen on the screen, with customization available when placing your character’s skills near the attack button. Ranged attacks can also be directed, much like how mobile MOBAs allow players to shift the direction of their attacks.
If you’re having a hard time with the small screen, the Closed Beta introduced some controller support, which I haven’t tried yet, because I actually like playing on my mobile device, HAHAHA!
Rifts and Bounties are also back! They are briefer, thankfully, AND OMG, CAN I JUST SAY THEY HAVE AUTO NAVIGATION NOW? This means I don’t have to spend more than 20 freakin’ minutes finding a location for a flippin’ Bounty, HAHAHAHAHA. *dies in always getting lost in video games*
Diablo Immortal also adds a lot of other features for the multiplayer aspect. This includes going through dungeons and fighting bosses like Mad King Leoric! Large multiplayer Raids have also been added, where players have to form a massive group just to be able to access the dungeon. LOL! What’s more, PVP Battlegrounds were made available in the Closed Beta, though it opens on a shifting schedule, making it a bit challenging to participate.
I think the biggest multiplayer aspect that really made an impression on me would be the Cycle of Strife. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it’s basically faction wars in every Diablo Immortal server. You’re either a Shadow or an Immortal, and both factions have a series of quests that they need to complete before they get to the final showdown.
The final showdown involves the best “guild” of Shadows fighting against the current set of Immortals. If the Shadows win, they become the next set of Immortals. If the Immortals win, they retain their power. So it makes sense why it’s called the Cycle of Strife! It’s also a biatch to participate when you’re more of a solo player like me, and have high levels of STRANGER DANGER! LOL. XD
Overall, I mostly have nothing to complain about when it gets to the gameplay. Leveling is fast, especially since they are generous with EXP due to a Battle Pass. A variety of small in-game events happen in each area, like side quests, etc. so there’s no end to the EXP supply, too, haha!
My biggest gripe would be the endgame, though. When you reach the higher Paragon levels, dungeons are accessible only to 4-man parties. Raids need so many people to complete that I’ve never actually successfully done one. HUHUHU. HELP. PLUS, the Cycle of Strife needs you to be part of a guild so you can actually be in the running to represent the Shadows in the final showdown. Ugh. So sad.
Other than the multiplayer aspect, though, I loved every minute I played Diablo Immortal. Though I kinda dropped it at the start of December, I go back to it every few days just to sate the hack-and-slash needs of the gamer in me, HAHAHAHA.
Diablo Immortal – Visuals & Audio
Boy, Diablo Immortal is every bit a Diablo game on mobile. It doesn’t feel like they cut corners ANYWHERE. Beyond the actual gameplay being super smooth (I play on an OPPO Reno6 Z 5G btw. LOL), the graphics are amaaaaaziiiiingggg!
It’s so hard to believe that they were able to fit all these beautiful details onto a mobile device. Thinking about it is actually making me a bit teary-eyed. I love, love, love everything about it! From the iconic Diablo sketches to depict the story, to all the visual effects of each specific attack, it’s really just a sight to behold. I think I might get a high-end gaming phone just to play this game on ultimate graphics settings. HUHU.
The voice acting is superb, too! Most of the Closed Beta is actually fully voiced, but the latter part of the story didn’t have voice acting anymore. That’s okay for me though, I’m sure they’ll completely voice everything once the game fully launches! XD
There were some issues with the audio not syncing or disappearing, especially when fighting bosses. So I can’t really recall if I particularly liked any BGM. I’ll have to listen closely again once the game is released, HAHA!
Experience & Impressions
So, you can obviously tell that I’ve been raving about this mobile game for the entirety of this feature. I was infatuated the moment I created my character, and fell so deeply in love once I really got into the game.
The story is so good that I look forward to how they’ll expand it further. The gameplay is impressively optimized for an action-adventure mobile title, plus the visuals and audio are nothing to laugh about.
Despite my personal issues with the multiplayer aspect, which I think many will enjoy, no doubt, this game will be on my pre-order list once details come out. HAHA! I’d just recommend finding a solid group of players so you can dominate on your server. (AKA HELLO FRIENDS IF YOU’RE GONNA PLAY PLEASE ADOPT ME!)
Diablo Immortal is every bit a Diablo game, albeit being on mobile. If you want a Diablo title that you can whip out of your pocket anytime (HAHA, LOL), you might want to check this game out once it’s available! XD
P.S. Thank you One More Game for helping me get access. I owe you the world. <3
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