The original Diablo 2 action-RPG was released on PC on June 29 in the year 2000, over 21 years ago. At the time, it was considered one of the most visually impressive games of its time, particularly due to Blizzard's incredible cinematic videos. Diablo 2's opening sequence, in which the vagrant Marius describes his first encounter with the Wanderer, is oft-cited as an iconic sequence in gaming history. Now Blizzard is ready to share the updated version of that cinematic made for Diablo 2: Resurrected.
When the Diablo 2: Resurrected remake was first announced, Vicarious Visions went into detail about how it planned to authentically recreate the game with modern visuals. At its base level, it would be the same game but updated with modern technology. That included not just Diablo 2's in-game assets, but also the game's many cinematics. In a newly released video shared through PlayStation, Blizzard is revealing just what Diablo 2: Resurrected's cinematics will look like.
The key aspect of the cinematic, which is Diablo 2: Resurrected's opening video, worth taking note of is that it's incredibly authentic to the original cinematic. It's a near one-to-one recreation of that video, using what sounds like the exact same audio. Perhaps the audio has been remastered, as well. The product is something Diablo 2 players from the past twenty-one years will find immediately nostalgic. It's almost eerie how close of a reproduction the cinematic is.
Of course, perhaps the bigger test is whether the cinematic looks excellent in terms of modern production. The answer to that is less clear. Blizzard's cinematic team is well known as one of the best in the industry, but putting together a recreation of an old video is also very limiting. Viewers will understand after watching, but the impressive technological improvements aren't any major changes to the material. Rather, they're in small details like Marius' face, the fire and shadows in the tavern, and the more horrific elements of the Wanderer's loss of control.
Suffice to say, there will be some divided opinions on Diablo 2: Resurrected's updated cinematic. Some may believe it wasn't necessary to update the classic Diablo 2 cinematics. Some may believe that more liberties should have been taken with the new cinematic. Others may simply want nothing to do with Blizzard in general right now.
For those who just want another opportunity to experience Diablo 2 for the first time all over again, this new Diablo 2: Resurrected cinematic stands as evidence of Vicarious Vision's promise coming to fruition. It's authentic but new. All that's left is to deliver the full game so players can experience the rest of Vicarious Visions' work for themselves.
Diablo 2: Resurrected releases September 23 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.