It’s not just because it’s exploitative that Diablo Immortal doesn’t work
polygon.comA month after it launched, Diablo Immortal has among the lowest Metacritic user review scores of all time: 0.4 on iOS and 0.3 on PC. “Disgustingly designed,” reads one typical comment.
On Apple’s App Store, however, DiabloImmortal has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. “Finally, a mobile game done right!” comments one user.
In their way, both these ratings are right.
Diablo Immortal is not just a new entry in Blizzard’s storied action role-playing game series, it frames Diablo in a new context. Several new contexts, actually: It’s designed primarily for mobile devices with touchscreen controls. It’s a massively multiplayer online game with a shared world, where you see other players running around. It is co-developed with a Chinese company, NetEase, and, more than any Blizzard game before it, it has been made with an eye on Asian markets. It is free to play. These are all huge sea changes for Diablo.
On the other hand, for any Diablo player — particularly any Diablo 3 player — Diablo Immortal will feel comfortingly familiar. The series’ trademark isometric perspective, frantic combat with swarms of monsters, and fountains of loot are all present. Beyond that, Immortal has clearly been built on the Diablo 3 engine and uses that game’s assets, retaining the feel and atmosphere of Blizzard’s 2012 game. Immortal’s artwork has the same richly colored, golden glow, the combat is the same intoxicating firework display, and the clang and splatter of the sound effects offer the same deep, Pavlovian satisfaction.
It’s because Immortal is the same game in a new context that the opinions of different constituencies of its audience can vary so widely. Existing Diablo fans hate the way their favorite game has been monetized in its new
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