The random dungeon generation was, for me, absolutely the top killer feature of the game and was the main thing that kept me coming back through so many replays.
For some reason, not a single other similar game I've played has had the same effect on me. Maybe there's bias going on (obviously I was younger then), but I've played a huge number of games since, and not a single one quite scratched the same itch. I will be saving this article.
They really didn't. I can't fully pinpoint why, but it had something to do with the combination of the level and all its contents being randomized a certain way, which from what I experienced of the sequels wasn't replicated enough for me.
I enjoyed the descent of Diablo 1 a bit more. First play through you’re descending into this place that seems to get darker and more dire the deeper you go. Diablo 2 was probably the best adventure of all of them, but Diablo 1 made up for a meh story with the dungeon design.
Funny but as a kid I devoured and adored D2. I played it many many times through. Later I decided to try D1 and I couldn’t get past how slow it felt, and in some ways primitive.
Diablo 2 was a bit more on the rails to me: if I play a specific amount of time, I can acquire the specific pieces of gear that I want for a specific build. Diablo 1 it felt like you were chasing pieces, but grand scheme of things, you just wanted the best in slot more often than not. Story was more there too and the quests appreciable. They didn’t phone in the sequel and really delivered a great game.
Diablo 1, however, I enjoyed stacking Intelligence as much as possible so that I could have pretty substantial levels of casting skills from books (since you had to have x amount of points in it for the next level book to work). In that way, it felt like you could have a God Character in a way that D2’s 20 max assignable (more could be gained as mods on gear) didn’t. You had to also work at that, which felt rewarding.
For some reason, not a single other similar game I've played has had the same effect on me. Maybe there's bias going on (obviously I was younger then), but I've played a huge number of games since, and not a single one quite scratched the same itch. I will be saving this article.