Greetings, Nephalem!
You may have heard of this one dungeon crawler game called Diablo III from Blizzard. It's the third game in the Diablo franchise, and it's all about creating your hero, a Nephalem (offspring of angel and demon), and then slaying hordes of demonic creatures as you restore light to Sanctuary.
It may sound silly since Diablo III is a 6-year-old game, but I'm incredibly excited for its arrival on my Nintendo Switch. I've poured hundreds of hours into both the Mac and PS4 versions of the game, and I can't wait to be able to do that once again on my Nintendo Switch.
Let me explain why I'm looking forward to this port so much.
- History
- You can play on the go
- Best enjoyed on a console anyways
- You can multitask
- It's a great starting point for newer players
History
Originally, Diablo III came out on Windows and Mac in 2012, then the PlayStation 3 in 2013, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2014. Soon, Diablo III will arrive on the Nintendo Switch, making it the first time that you can play the game portably without any extra effort.
I'll admit that when Diablo III first launched, it wasn't the best that it could have been. The game received plenty of criticism for failing to meet the expectations of long-time Diablo fans, and the real-money Auction House made it feel like it was pay-to-win. Luckily, over the years, Blizzard got rid of the Auction House and continued to make improvements to the game, bringing it up to most of our expectations.
The 2013 Reaper of Souls expansion added a new chapter to the story mode, which meant new areas and enemies. It also added the Crusader class, Adventure Mode, new NPCs, raised the level cap to 70, and brought a ton of new skills for every class.
In 2017, the Rise of the Necromancer DLC pack added the highly-anticipated Necromancer class to Diablo 3, and it revitalized the game for many. I mean, who can resist raising the dead to fight for them?
I've been playing Diablo III since the very beginning, so I was there when it sucked, and I watched it grow and evolve into the kind of Diablo game I grew up with.
Honestly, since the Nintendo Switch is getting Diablo III: The Eternal Collection, which includes Reaper of Souls and The Rise of the Necromancer all together, there's never been a better time to play than now.
You can play on the go
Again, I have invested hundreds of hours in both the Mac and PS4 versions of Diablo III, but this meant being tied down to a chair and desk, or at home on the couch with the TV in front of me. There's no freedom in that, and I often had to leave and spend hours not playing Diablo III. We can't have that now, can we?
Having the game on a Nintendo Switch is pretty much my dream come true. This means I can take Diablo III with me anywhere. If I have any spare time, I can squeeze in a Greater Rift Run to grind for the perfect gear for my character.
I've always thought dungeon crawler-type games are perfect for playing on-the-go since runs can be completed in a few minutes if you're good enough, but I've never quite found another game that's as good as Diablo. I'm talking about even the Dungeon Hunter games on iOS, and other Switch titles like Seven Parchments — these games try to be Diablo, but it's never the same.
With Diablo on the Switch, I'll never be leaving my console home again.
Best enjoyed on a console anyways
I've played Diablo III on both a computer and a console. I was one of those people who wasn't sure why anyone would want to play this game on a console, that is until I tried it myself.
There's a little bit of history with me here on this matter. My ex, who introduced me to the Diablo games (started with Diablo II), was a PC gamer, so I played Diablo III with him on my computer (to the best of my MacBook Pro's ability).
Well, he ended up being history and then I met my fiancé, who's purely a console gamer, so I ended up picking up a copy of Diablo III for PS4 so we can play together. This meant losing all of my progress on the Mac version and starting over from scratch.
However, as I played Diablo III with my fiancé, I realized that everything felt much more fluid and streamlined. It definitely took time to get used to it after using a mouse-and-keyboard, but it works exceptionally well.
After some time, the circular menu for equipping gear just made more sense. Plus, mapping out controller buttons for skills and abilities felt much better than a keyboard, especially after extended play sessions.
If the Nintendo Switch version of Diablo III has similar controls to the PS4 (and I'd imagine it's the same or similar for all consoles), then I have the best controls possible and I can play both on a large 4K TV or while I'm out-and-about. That's a win-win, right?
You can multitask
When I mean multitask, I'm not talking about playing Diablo III on your Switch while you're in the bathroom (although that is entirely possible, depending on your tolerance for germs).
No, when I mention multitasking, I mean that you're able to play Diablo III while having something else up on your computer or TV screen. Since I spend most of my time during the end-game doing Greater Rifts for loot anyways, it's much more of a grind, so I don't need to pay attention to every little thing.
Having Diablo III on the Nintendo Switch means I can put on a movie or television show on the TV for background noise, which would be impossible with the PS4 version unless you had another television in the room.
I'm not kidding when I say that a game like Diablo was always meant to be played portably! That makes it perfect for grinding whenever you have a chance.
It's a great starting point for newer players
I bought the original Diablo III Collector's Edition when the game first came out in 2012 for Mac and PC. When Reaper of Souls came out, I bought that at full price as well. I managed to find a PS4 copy of Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition for about $30 at a GameStop that still had it, and I picked up Rise of the Necromancer DLC on PlayStation Store for regular price.
As you can see, I've spent quite a bit of money already on a single game. However, I'll still be picking up Diablo 3: The Eternal Collection for my Nintendo Switch the moment it's available because it includes everything, along with some cool Nintendo exclusives.
I mean, how can I resist transmogrifying my armor to look like Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda? And I can have a Cucco companion pet?
It's a great purchase for Diablo fans, but it's a great time for anyone who hasn't played yet to jump into the fray since it comes with the base game, all the DLC, and all the updates. Since Diablo III has always been a fantastic game to play with friends, I'm eager to play with all of my Switch friends who have expressed interest in playing. It opens up the game to a whole new audience!
Let's save Sanctuary once again
Until Diablo IV gets announced, I'm probably still going to go crazy over anything Diablo III related, so please bear with me here. Diablo games make me happy, and they're just one of my favorite ways to pass the time.
I've played through the story numerous times, put in hundreds of hours for just pure loot grinding, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. In fact, a portable Diablo III just means infinite happiness from me, and I assume other fans like me who don't get bored of it.
Are you looking forward to having Diablo III on your Nintendo Switch? Sound off in the comments!
