There was a time when action-RPG fans had the perfect video game to play over and over again, and that game was Diablo 2. Back when it launched, Diablo 2 quickly became one of the most beloved ARPG titles ever, and its character-building options were ahead of its time. 2021 will be the year when the legend of Diablo 2 is born again in the form of a remastered version called Diablo 2: Resurrected.

Diablo 2 was the spark that ignited the flame of many other games similar to it, including titles of the caliber of Path of Exile, Grim Dawn, Torchlight 2, Wolcen, and the most recent addition to the lot, Hades. Thanks to its complexity in terms of the potential to build unique characters and thanks to the details and peculiar interactions of its gameplay, Diablo 2 was considered one of the most niche-breaking titles within its genre. Diablo 2 was not a simple, forgiving game, and that stuck. Despite all the big projects that Blizzard is working on, including Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2, Diablo 2: Resurrected is the one title that is likely to entertain many players for years to come.

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The original was a game with lots of replayability thanks to all Diablo 2's classes and builds to try, and it somehow managed to feel like a breath of fresh air during each playthrough. Its remastered version, Diablo 2: Resurrected, is set to be a faithful remake of the original. As such, it is very plausible that the two will look a lot like one another, if not for the fact that Diablo 2: Resurrected will be a much smoother experience, with better graphics. Considering how the remastered Diablo 2 is probably one of the most anticipated games of the year, the hype for its release is huge.

Everything bodes well for Diablo 2: Resurrected's launch, and it will be more than a valid alternative to other ARPGs that may have started to feel stagnant over time for dedicated players. According to polls and hard data, Diablo 2 took anywhere from 20 to 60 hours to finish, and that's just the main story. Completionists are likely looking at a title they can easily play for over 200 hours for the base game, and another 100 hours or more for its Lord of Destruction expansion. Diablo 2: Resurrected is going to be a game that will have quite a long life.

As it stands, Diablo 2: Resurrected offers great value to all players interested in it, be it long-time Diablo 2 fans returning for a blaze of glory, players coming from titles like Diablo 3 and Path of Exile, or new players altogether. Diablo 2: Resurrected is an important stepping stone for the gaming community, and the game could remain alive in the future, especially if Blizzard retains the possibility of adding mods. An example of this is Skyrim, which came out a decade ago, give or take, and it managed to remain one of the most played games each year thanks to the fantastic support from its modding community. Not that Diablo 2: Resurrected necessarily needs something of the sort or sophisticated modding technology for it to be one of the biggest hits of the year, but it wouldn't hurt to have built-in support for content creators and modders.

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With this in mind, it is easy to see how Diablo 2: Resurrected is going to be a game with plenty of content to chew away while other prominent IPs come out over both 2021 and 2022, at the very least. This is not something all games successfully achieve, as it is hard to find a title where progression is not only remarkable but also rewarding, and that's one of the reasons why Diablo 2 was so great. Simply put, Diablo 2 is one of those classics that never age, or, if they do, they age like fine wine.

Even with the so-called new era of ARPGs on the horizon, with games like Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 being in the works, Diablo 2: Resurrected is much more than a filler for them. On the contrary, Diablo 2: Resurrected is not a brand-new game that has to eventually build upon its own foundations in time, but it is fully fleshed out and it is remastered to look much more like a modern game despite its years. Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 are games that are built on the successes and failures of their predecessors, and as such, they are something else entirely.

Blizzard has recently confirmed that neither Overwatch 2 nor Diablo 4 will actually be part of its financial activities for 2021. This means that fans are likely looking at waiting times that may end up exceeding one year or two from now, unfortunately. Especially Overwatch 2 feels like forever in the making because of how scarce details on it are, and to complicate things further, Jeff Kaplan unexpectedly left Blizzard Entertainment after 19 years. Some fans think that this is not favorable for Overwatch 2, but Kaplan reassured that the team is in good and capable hands, and he even asked players to support the developers hard at work to make this project come true.

Blizzard's Diablo 4 shares a similar fate to that of Overwatch 2 in terms of how little is currently known about the game. Some footage was shown, some classes confirmed, and still, Diablo 4 seems light-years away from launching. It's not unlikely that this next-gen action RPG will launch in a time window that is near to Path of Exile 2's own release date, as the games will likely be each other's fiercest competitor. While this may be an overstatement, it remains a believable possibility that Diablo 2: Resurrected will still be played even long after all these games launch, and that's because of the immense amount of content the game has to offer combined with how loved the original was. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen, but here's hoping that Diablo 2: Resurrected celebrates and surpasses its predecessor's fame.

Diablo 2: Resurrected launches 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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