A new trailer for Diablo: Immortal shows that the game’s graphics and character models are improving. Diablo: Immortal is a mobile hack-and-slash game that serves as a spinoff of Blizzard’s famous Diablo series. Despite being announced two years ago, the game has no set release date.
It’s hard to deny that the initial reveal of Diablo: Immortal was a calamity. The game was announced during BlizzCon in 2018 to disappointment and outrage from almost every fan of the franchise. The game’s mobile-only status worried players who were waiting for the announcement of a proper Diablo sequel that never claimed. Many feared that Diablo: Immortal indicated a more permanent shift to the mobile game space, which is infamous for generally low quality, high ad content, and an abundance of microtransactions. Following the announcement of Diablo IV at BlizzCon 2019, tempers cooled a bit, but enthusiasm for the mobile tie-in is still fairly low.
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Blizzard might just turn that around with a new gameplay trailer shown at ChinaJoy 2020. The trailer showcases character models and graphics which look surprisingly good for a mobile game. The gameplay looks familiar and approachable for Diablo fans as well, with all the powerful spells and brutal hack-and-slash combat players have come to expect from the series. The character classes all come from Diablo III, and the full roster is available with the notable exception of the Witch Doctor, who was not shown in the lineup. The full trailer can be viewed below.
The graphical quality on display is still inferior to Diablo III, let alone what’s been seen so far from Diablo IV, but for a mobile game, it’s quite impressive. Blizzard seems to be putting a lot of effort into making this game the best mobile spinoff it can be, and that shows in the level of polish on the game. That being said, while no microtransactions were shown in the trailer, Blizzard has yet to elaborate on whether or not they’ll be present in the game. If Immortal is anything like similar titles that exist in the mobile space, microtransactions are very, very likely to be incorporated.
The reveal of Diablo: Immortal was a perfect example of how not to reveal a game, and the severity of the backlash Blizzard received for the title isn’t very surprising. But when all is said and done, the game doesn’t look bad. Mobile games are almost never as successful or beloved as their counterparts on console or PC, but there are still some gems available for the smartphone. Diablo: Immortal has a tall task ahead of it if it’s going to overcome the negativity surrounding its announcement, but if this trailer is any indication, it has a good chance. And if it fails, there’s always Diablo IV right around the corner.
Source: Edward GNN
