Diablo II: Resurrected is currently suffering from ongoing server issues, preventing anyone from playing the game.
Blizzard Entertainment recently apologized to both US and European fans experiencing server issues. The Diablo series subreddit also has plenty of fans angry and mocking the server issues [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. While the game does not need a permanent online connection, it does have repeated online check-ins with Battle.net.
Some begged for the check-ins to be dropped for purely solo offline play, while others hope for the return of LAN multiplayer. Some have even theorized players are intentionally crashing servers to duplicate items.
Principal Designer Rob Gallerani had previously confirmed that the remake would not be replacing the original game. Gallerani compared the original Diablo II as a puppet-master, while Resurrected was the puppet.
This meant characters would still be moving in a grid based world, but presented with 3D graphics. Players could even toggle between 3D and the original 2D sprites. They could even transfer their classic save files to Resurrected.
However, issue arose even in the alpha test; as fans discovered and were outraged over the censorship of the Amazon, along with other characters and pre-release footage. Things have not been smooth post launch either.
Players have complained about crashes, missing characters (especially online ones) [1, 2, 3], and being locked out of selecting their characters [1, 2]. These bugs seem to continue to this time of writing [1, 2]. While the game has an average Metascore of 80 out of 100 across all platforms at this time of writing, it also has the average user score of 4.5 out of 10 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The reaction is sure to bring flashbacks to Warcraft III: Reforged. The game’s launch was nothing short of a disaster, with complaints arising within 24 hours of the game’s launch. Those problems included, poor graphics, the promise of cinematic cut-scenes being broken (despite being shown in earlier gameplay footage), and an update to the original Warcraft 3 stripping away many online elements.
In addition, a new EULA (also applying to the original game) effectively banned many custom maps and game modes- along with making said game modes property of Blizzard. For those unfamiliar, Defense of the Ancients was a custom game mode of Warcraft 3. It eventually lead to its sequel, better known as DOTA 2, and currently owned by Valve.
This led to Warcraft III: Reforged becoming the lowest user-rated game on Metacritic for a time, later surpassed by Madden NFL 21 and others. It may be for this reason Blizzard emphasized that Diablo II: Resurrected would not replace the original.
It should be noted that while Metacritic has now implemented a 36 hour delay in user reviews from a game’s launch, there is still no way to verify if a user has reviewed the game they have played (nor watched or listened to film, tv, or music they review).
Some reviews may also come from fans outraged at what has been occurring at parent company Activision Blizzard. They are currently being sued for sexual harassment and discrimination. You can find our latest coverage here.
Diablo II: Resurrected is available for Windows PC (via Battle.net), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S.
