Back in January 2017, Blizzard decided to celebrate Diablo 3's 20th anniversary in a delightfully retro fashion by recreating the entirety of the first game in the series as a dungeon for the third installment, calling it Darkening of Tristram. Now, the publisher and developer has brought the event back once more this year, complete with all of the bosses and iconic locations that made the original so appealing to the property's legions of fans.

Diablo 3's Darkening of Tristram went partially live recently, and it operates similarly to its debut in 2017. For instance, special cultists began appearing in-game in Adventure mode during the days leading up to the event, but the full update itself is where all of the best goodies are, and it will be live today starting at 4:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM ET. At that point, slaying the cultists can open a portal that transports players to a 16-level dungeon where they will encounter bosses and other elements from the first Diablo.

Perhaps most interesting is how the dungeon for Diablo 3's Darkening of Tristram event looks so much different than the rest of the game. Naturally, the core gameplay style from Diablo 3 remains intact, but as indicated in the image above, the graphics and sound effects have been given a makeover so as to make it look and feel like the original title. In fact, the game's UI has even been overhauled, with the developer also locking movement to eight directions like in Diablo.

Those who wish to experience Diablo 3's Darkening of Tristram can play it with a new or existing character, so that means fans' Necromancer builds are good to go. However, Blizzard recommends creating a fresh character in order to experience the full potential of the anniversary event. Regardless of whether players use an established character or make a new one, those who take part will be able to earn unique portraits, acquire pets, pick up transmogrification skins, unlock Achievements tied to the event, and more.

It's well worth noting that Darkening of Tristram ends on January 30, 2018, but there's no telling when or if it will return next year. With this being the case, Diablo 3 fans will need to jump into action as soon as possible to reap the benefits of the event. So, taking all of this into account, with Blizzard continually providing such unique post-launch materials for the dungeon crawler, it's no wonder why many consider Diablo 3 to be among some of the biggest video game comebacks ever.

Diablo 3 is available now for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: Battle.net