Why Every ARPG Is Still Chasing Diablo 2

durantes: Even Blizzard can't recapture what made Diablo 2 phenomenal.
zedrico8577: There was just something about diablo 2 vibe that I can't explain.... atmosphere, tone, sound track, voice acting, hub zones, classes... it was just amazing
ThatGuyInVegas: They're still chasing Diablo 1 as well! That mood of fear going down into the dungeon for the first time — no other game has captured that. Even Diablo 2, while still an incredible game, didn't quite capture it.
Aldra_E: D2 is just the GOAT
scottfriemann8673: "Aspiration is stronger than progression" was an amazing statement. I never thought about life that way, but I think it applies universally.

Whether it's family life, sports, politics, career planning, or education, aspiration always trumps progression. Sure, you can enjoy the process of achieving your goal, but it's the idea of getting to that goal that makes life interesting.

The fact that Duablo 2 gave millions of people something more than just progression is worth recognizing.
stakeandburn: You don't check the Superior Monarch in 14:53 ... shame xD
tamirleibovich: I wonder how much we need to emphasize the fact that back then we had zero internet info, and you had to discover EVERYTHING yourself
hermannvonsalza9189: Let me tell you what it does right: I log in after six months, go to the Darkwood and kill the first porcupine and Shako drops, with a probability of 1 in 600,000. You only get experiences like that in Diablo 2!
Jtrane06: One bit of friction that is a good thing is the loot "tetris" where items actually feel real, I like seeing the item artwork in it's full glory and size. I despise all items being the same size in inventory and being tiny little icons, it gives no weight and i can't appreciate the artwork and they do not feel "real". The first time finding something like Griswalds heart in D2 1.09 as a kid was pretty epic when seeing the artwork and details and how it was a big upgrade stat wise at the time.
Azervice: Good video and true statements. I remember several moments from d2 years later while modern games are just small dopamine hits but no memories.
joeball2126: Nice thoughts and video. For me, it is the diversity and especially the slot machine: every moment (in Nightmare and on :)) the slot machine could give you something amazing. It will take forever but when it drops ...
bergeremit2530: My opinion: They try to repeat what is seen as sucess not the game and the true reason for it. What makes Diablo 2 so good is the chase but in a sense that you look at the peak of a mountain you wish to reach and can reach - it has an end, a peak. That chase, not the loop they envision with minimal investment and maximum profit, is what feels good and is fun. Stories with interesting characters that feel like people with an story to tell not a metric how long can you bind a player to the game or how much quest per hour to make the player addicted. D2 has a simple appeals: has an end to story and gear chase and makes the hunt fun. A loop can not achieve this and the gaming industry does not understand that because most of the decision making people are "Sales-man" and "Yes-man". A good game if a form of art and there is no fixed recipe for that and that is something the industry hates and fights tooth and nails. Bad game devs and fools will chase D2 to all eternity , good game devs will make something of their own. Be inspired but never chained down, create and invent but never just to make something diffrent. Make a game of youre own not just a sequel of something you dont understand---- Overwatch 2.... sorry but Blizzard has lost the plot so hard with this one.
piramide_cabanes: d2r is the best game
Marc-andreCournoyer: Sacred 1, donjons siege 1 are gem not enough poeple talking about
smoke1215: I'm still playing D2 Legacy and D2R to this day.
kristopherleslie8343: A incomplete game still keeps our heart going
1ButtonDash: great video... I'm listenin to it while playin D2 s15
digitalermitanyo8937: Because of it’s “simplicity”. We don’t need to complicate things
BigBill04: The itemization Free Market trade in D2 is perfect.
washoywa: Shoutouts to sacred 2 on xbox 360. Not quite up there, but hella fun for what we had for the console at that time.
alantremonti1381: Cool video Rhykker. I tend to aggree with a lot of your opinions about design, so when ya gonna throw yer hat into the arena?
Death_Networks: Tbh I spent most of my time in D2 farming runes... I wanted to collect 1 of every rune... because I could.... Then trade those runes away for better gear to farm more... then the loop continued until I got body popped... Then I haven't played D2 since >.>
stakeandburn: D2 is one of the best games ever created, inspired millions of lives, my was deeply touched by this game. ¡Long live the king! please Blizzard we want more content for D2R ROTW! Thank you!
GroovyL33: For me it’s the pacing of character development.
rednalewC: I really disagree with D4 being simple.
Might be that I play on console but there's always a bunch of text in D4 skills, but no explanation of what the text means.

"Chance to overpower" ok cool, the heck is overpower?.. doesn't say.
DarkWanderer666: 26 years later...D2 is still the daddy...
sometimes...icomment7456: Similar to the end of what rhykker said...its about making memories. I dont think the gameplay or mechanics is the reason people think D2 is superior. Sure there are those that prefer it, but to gain the top spot in peoples minds, i think they need to have the whole package that D2 provided when it first came out.

I do think the horror and story elements played a lot into the nostalgia people developed for it. I think there was a little more of a relation to christianity with the horror also. The backstory might have been developed about the nephalem, lilith, inarius, etc, but i wasnt even a relgious person and it felt very much like biblical horrrors with the demons and possessions and the evil side of stuff in the game. There were a lot of "just monsters" in the game still, but i feel even the demons now are basically just some type of beast. One monster of note that i d2 was the ones that eat the dead and spit them at you. They dont look the scariest, but just the fact they did that left an impression.

One mechanic that i think is affecting the horror/story element is the movement speed. D2 stamina bar during the first play through kind of makes you stop or slow down and take in the environment.

For me, D4 had two memorable moments. When it started raining blood. Really made it feel like something evil was present. And a random quest of that dude that was a masochist and flayed himself and was like... totally into it...was very disturbing like something from the Hellraiser movies.

So, to sum it up, i do think its more about making memorable moments but i think these moments should be focused on in the story rather than purely gameplay/mechanics. Make me want to play the story again like watching a favorite movie.