Chapter 192: Obvious Advantages
The difficulty of this game had been adjusted by Chen Mo; it wouldn’t let players breeze through everything like the previous life’s “Diablo 3” did.
Although this was a monster with no challenge at all, Zou Zhuo still felt a flicker of panic when it lunged at him with claws bared.
Following the road forward, the demon hunter arrived at New Tristram. After eliminating the undead monsters attacking the town, the demon hunter entered the settlement and began his quest line.
The game’s guidance was well done. The minimap in the upper right corner of the screen indicated the next destination, while the quest list on the right constantly reminded the player of what to do next.
Zou Zhuo started following the quest prompts, experiencing the entire storyline of “Diablo.”
Soon, Zou Zhuo noticed some obvious advantages of this game.
In terms of game quality, the movements were smooth, the controls comfortable, and both the visuals and sound effects were undeniably top-notch. As a third-person perspective RPG, it even surpassed some first-person RPGs in certain aspects.
Clearly, Chen Mo hadn’t chosen the third-person perspective to “cover up flaws.” It wasn’t that his technical or artistic skills couldn’t meet the demands of a first-person perspective; rather, he had settled on the third-person view for some specific reason.
As for the art style, the gothic aesthetic of “Diablo” truly amazed Zou Zhuo. Chen Mo had strived to recreate the feel of “Diablo 2,” so the overall art was very sinister, dark, and oppressive.
When Zou Zhuo controlled the demon hunter into the corpse-filled cave, he felt as though the entire scene was oozing with sticky, dripping blood.
In some quiet maps, the crackling of torches and the distinct sound of the character’s footsteps were very prominent. Suddenly appearing monsters could startle you, and there was always a sense that this path would never end.
Combined with this art style and the complex, ever-changing random maps, the feeling of “adventure” was greatly enhanced.
Moreover, Chen Mo had retained the shadow and field-of-view design from “Diablo 2.” When walking through caves, the visible area was restricted to a very small radius. Most of the screen was pitch black, with only vague outlines of the terrain visible. You had no idea what monsters lurked in those dark regions.
In “Diablo 3,” because players could see all the monsters on the screen without any pressure, this sense of the unknown was greatly diminished, turning it into a game you could “see through at a glance.”
After Chen Mo brought back the shadows and field-of-view restrictions, combined with the visuals, sound effects, and level design, Zou Zhuo felt a mix of anxiety and tension throughout the gameplay. Yet this feeling drove him to keep playing; he never wanted to quit the game because of the oppressive atmosphere.
Instead, he felt that this game was completely different from the greasy, flashy RPGs on the market. There were no amusement-park-like beautiful scenes, no knights with spotless armor—only rotting corpses, skeletons, pustules, and endless despair.
Walking through the Tristram Cathedral, the demon hunter was utterly alone, with only the taciturn mercenary fighting by your side.
(In this regard, Chen Mo also followed the design of “Diablo 2,” cutting out most of the chatterbox mercenary’s dialogue, allowing players to better immerse themselves in the terrifying atmosphere.)
In terms of gameplay, Zou Zhuo also discovered many points that delighted him.
The equipment system was very rich. During his adventures, Zou Zhuo had found some gear that looked decent, and each piece had different affixes—no two items were the same.
The skill combinations were diverse, and the combat system was rich. As the character’s level increased, various skills unlocked. Combined with talents and skill runes, figuring out the most suitable skill build through experimentation was a fun process for Zou Zhuo.
And most importantly, the thrill! This was also the biggest difference between “Diablo” and other RPGs.
In other games, especially online games, the player felt very insignificant in the world. Not to mention the bosses that required many people to defeat, or the leader-level NPCs of various factions, even among players themselves, there was no crushing power disparity. Many ordinary players in MMORPGs could clearly feel that they were just average people.
But “Diablo” was different. In this game, you were the sole god, the savior. From the beginning as an adventurer in the small town of New Tristram, to the warrior who defeated the Lord of Lies, Belial, to save Caldeum, to the hero who defended the Bastion’s Keep and turned the tide, and finally, in the High Heavens, directly defeating the Prime Evil Diablo, the fusion of all seven Great Evils—the name Nephalem resounded through Hell and the High Heavens.
When facing the tide of hellish demons, the player controlled their character to sweep through them like cutting through melons and vegetables, leaving only a field of corpses and a shower of loot.
Of course, you might die, lose some gold, and have to run back to your corpse to retrieve your equipment (this followed the design of “Diablo 2”).
This was a world full of danger, a world of despair. The only one you could rely on was yourself.
But precisely because of this, once players were immersed in the game, they could more clearly experience this thrill. In a world of despair, with only endless monsters and demons in your sight, you didn’t need any hesitation or pity. You just needed to cut and slash your way through, letting all the hellish demons be destroyed in your fury.
Zou Zhuo was completely absorbed in the game. He maneuvered the demon hunter through dark caves, the limited field of view only showing a small area around him.
Suddenly, a large group of monsters appeared ahead. They spotted him and charged forward with claws bared!
Among them was a rare monster glowing with a golden light, standing under a special aura, mixed in with the crowd.
The onlookers were startled: “Holy crap, watch out, dodge!”
The demon hunter’s health began to drop rapidly. Zou Zhuo was also startled, but he quickly calmed down. He controlled the demon hunter to roll away, creating distance, then threw various traps on the ground while dual-wielding crossbows, unleashing a storm of arrows at the monster horde!
Under the hail of arrows, large swaths of monsters let out wails. The fragile small fry began to fall, but the huge rare monster still had a thick health bar and kept charging at the demon hunter.
Zou Zhuo skillfully kited while shooting, releasing various abilities with precision.
After all, he was considered a skilled player in “Warcraft,” so handling this kind of situation was very calm, without any panic.
Genius remembers this site’s address in one second: