LovecraftCountry
I played Diablo I long ago (at release) but missed the sequel over the years. The TL;DR here is that DII: Resurrected is a faithful take on a well loved classic and at a discounted price, it's worth the the nostalgia-trip.
More specifically, the game's most winning quality is its charm. The gameplay is loop is rewardingly grindy and it can be taken as seriously as the player wants. You can bounce through on Normal and just enjoy it for what it is and you can also strategize, and min-max, and consult a million guides to get just the right build for Nightmare difficulty. But it is a kind of game that isn't made anymore, and you can take that as good or bad. For my part, the game is rewarding to play and the inspiration for decades of games that came later (eg. if "Back4Blood" was isometric it would feel VERY much like Diablo II).
You gear up, go fight demons, collect their loot, sell the loot in town, upgrade yourself and your gear, and repeat. The story is very much in the passenger seat which allows gameplay and atmosphere to take the wheel.
Charming games that are not afraid to be themselves still exist, and there is certainly a lot to be said for the improvements we have made in games in the last two decades. BUT anyone wanting to take a trip back in time will find the experience an enjoyable one.
Just don't expect it to be something that it's not :)
More specifically, the game's most winning quality is its charm. The gameplay is loop is rewardingly grindy and it can be taken as seriously as the player wants. You can bounce through on Normal and just enjoy it for what it is and you can also strategize, and min-max, and consult a million guides to get just the right build for Nightmare difficulty. But it is a kind of game that isn't made anymore, and you can take that as good or bad. For my part, the game is rewarding to play and the inspiration for decades of games that came later (eg. if "Back4Blood" was isometric it would feel VERY much like Diablo II).
You gear up, go fight demons, collect their loot, sell the loot in town, upgrade yourself and your gear, and repeat. The story is very much in the passenger seat which allows gameplay and atmosphere to take the wheel.
Charming games that are not afraid to be themselves still exist, and there is certainly a lot to be said for the improvements we have made in games in the last two decades. BUT anyone wanting to take a trip back in time will find the experience an enjoyable one.
Just don't expect it to be something that it's not :)
1998
Caesar III was part of a thriving family of city-building games from SimCity to Pharaoh (distinct from RTS games like Age of Empires and turn-based games like Civilization) that were PC mainstays in the 1990s. I always found Caesar III to be the crowning glory of the genre with its blend of history and strategy and easy interface. To this day, this game still inspires players to tackle each new city as a puzzle. The system of walkers that wander the city on behalf of their buildings was innovative at the time and remains to most just as baffling to figure out as the day it was released. It scratches such a satisfying itch for me and no other city-building game is as rewarding.