At Blizzard Entertainment’s ongoing BlizzCon in California, the company announced that it would be releasing a remake of Diablo I inside Diablo III to celebrate the original game’s 20th anniversary. It will be available as a downloadable patch called The Darkening of Tristam. It will go live on Blizzard’s Public Test Realm next week before being launched properly thereafter.
Staying true to the spirit of the much acclaimed RPG’s roots, the original soundtrack will be playing in the background and a special ‘retro vision’ filter has been applied to lend the atmosphere a gloomy, grainy look. There will be a sort of stutter in the imagery since a lesser number of frames have been utilized on purpose. Players will also find their character movements locked in eight directions in a throwback to the 90’s game.
The Darkening of Tristam will take gamers back to the cathedral, down 16 levels of dungeons terrorized by monsters and the four main bosses. Players can look forward to some exclusive loot including pets, sigils and banners among other things. Even the interface has a retro feel to it. In other related news, two zones dubbed Shrouded Moors and Temple of the First Born are heading towards Diablo 3 via the Adventure mode.
Lastly, a Necromancer class will be introduced to the game as part of a (paid) pack titled Rise of the Necromancer. Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls owners on PS4, XBox One or PC will be able to avail of The Darkening of Tristam as a free download.