A long time has passed since the rumors and alleged leaks began to appear on the internet, where they mentioned that the great Blizzard would release one of its most iconic sagas on mobile devices, such as Diablo. The months passed like this until we had the first official confirmation from the company, Diablo Immortal would make its debut on smartphones just like another of its sagas, Warcraft. After all the waiting, the day has come and I have had the opportunity to try the Early Access of Diablo Immortal for iOS, and let me tell you, I was surprised.
When the game was presented at that 2018 Blizzcon, there was a great disappointment on the part of all the fans of the genre and the franchise, since it was presented exclusively for mobile devices. The vast majority of Diablo players are on PC, so hearing that this new title would only be available on mobile caused quite a stir. Much time has passed since that time, and today with a more polished development, I must say that it is an excellent and complete mobile game, although it is not for everyone. I invite you to delve into the cursed lands and read my review of Diablo Immortal for iOS.
Index hideDiablo Immortal will not arrive in some countries to include loot boxes
Evil returns again, but now on smartphones
First of all, I must say that this analysis is focused on the experience of Diablo for mobile, rather than analyzing the title as a fundamental pillar of the saga.
If something has characterized the Diablo saga during all its years of life, It is the story and the game mode that it has, which catches you from the first moment. Of course there have been stories better told than others, but the essence has never been lost, tremendously valued by fans.
In this first Blizzard experiment to integrate smartphones into its ecosystem, I must say that the story told in this Devil Immortal it’s engaging and exciting enough to win over gamers who enjoy RPGs. Without giving any spoilers of course, the story unfolds quite well, having really epic moments throughout it. Without being the best story of Diablo, it managed to get me to continue playing and discover what was hidden behind everything, and that is something very significant, especially considering that we are playing on mobile.
The story and aspects of it are presented and developed like any other game in the series, without much innovation in this regard. The time point of the game It sits between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3, so I can assure you that it will feel almost too familiar to the other games, something that from the point of view of a fan is very good, but that at the level of innovation falls short. Despite this, he manages to connect well with what he wants to express, becoming an attractive game, where you want to take your cell phone and enjoy a few hours playing, especially if we mix it with the online section, which adds an extra touch of fun when playing with friends.
The darkness reborn strongly towards the surface
When we talk about gameplay in Diablo Immortal, especially considering that it is on a smartphone, many things come to mind, perhaps negative, but I must tell you that it is quite the opposite. It is a new experience, perhaps something difficult to get used to at the beginning, but as the hours go by, becomes a quite pleasant and friendly feeling, since the game is built from its DNA to be fully compatible with touch screens.
Although we can connect a controller and play as if it were a portable console (which of course is more comfortable), it is also fully enjoyed in a mobile way, where we almost do not feel that we are playing Diablo on the cell phone.
As for the actions themselves, we have everything very similar to how it would be played on a console, the virtual analog, the buttons for spells or powers, the map, inventory, character characteristics, etc. Everything is so well defined and pronounced that we will have no problems at all. The game behaves well, feels comfortable, fluid and accessible to all, where it does not matter if we are veterans in the franchise or rookies, the learning curve is easily adaptable, especially guided by history.
Basically what Blizzard did was to have put a great RPG on a smaller screen, since everything feels very complete, with great depth. We have our character with all his abilities and characteristics, the in-game store, the group search engine, the dungeons, etc. Everything feels very fine, the experience is really very satisfying, as if it were a console Devil. In addition, we can create up to 5 characters, being able to enjoy the adventure with different professions, a great success at this point.
Evil, looking real good
On the technical side, I have nothing to say about Diablo Immortal. The game behaves very well in all scenarios, playing alone or with many enemies on the screen, which added to the sound, offers us a really high experience.
For this review, I used my personal phone, which is an iPhone 11. I must say that everything looks really good. The graphics are top notch, where the details and animations are well cared for and well worked, showing everything in harmony. The above, of course speaking from the point of view of a mobile game. The resolution is another detail that surprised me, where we can choose between 4 options, the most recommended of course being the ultra.
Diablo Immortal Minimum and Recommended Requirements Revealed
The fps remains stable at 60 at all times, even on those occasions where there are many minions on the screen, which is a visual delight without a doubt. Although I had a couple of graphical bugs, they were so minimal that the experience was satisfactory. I imagine playing on an iPhone 13 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S22 for example, another level.
The sound is another of the strong sections of this game, which, without standing out as much as the visual, provides great value that helps create the definitive experience of Diablo, one that is very enjoyable. Due to the clear limitations of developing a game for a smaller space, certain details are perceived that are not as high quality as console or PC games, for example, due to the fact that they have higher compression. Nevertheless, I think it works well and correctly, where everything makes sense, no saturation or anything like that. All in perspective.
Diablo Immortal Analysis – Conclusions
The new Diablo Immortal is a risky bet by the company, where diehard fans of the franchise have decided to give it a try only because Blizzard changed its plans and included PC in the final guidelines. But, leaving the above aside, a good job has been done with the title (talking about the iOS version), since it includes all the essential features of the saga, brought to a portable device.
This game is not for everyone, but yes is an excellent option for RPG lovers, who will have hours of fun and vice anywhere, anywhere. All that’s left is to make the effort and take on the hero who will seek to defeat the evil that plagues the earth, since if we forget for a second that it is a smartphone, the experience is really rewarding.