So if you’re like me, you probably CANNOT WAIT for Diablo 2: Resurrected to finally drop on September 23rd! Maybe the original Diablo 2 is just too dated and hard to look at now that you’ve been spoiled with modern graphics. Maybe the online community just isn’t what it used to be. In any case, if you’re looking to hit that Diablo 2 fix, try out some of these great games I’ve listed below!

*Games aren’t listed in any particular order

Chronicon:

Chronicon is a game that captured me instantly and provided me with several hours of enjoyment. The amount of theory-crafting and build testing to be done in this game is nearly endless. There are 4 classes to pick from: Templar, Berserker, Warden, and Warlock. Each class has many ways to be played, making each class and build feel vastly different. The game starts fairly slow-paced until you begin leveling and finding better and better gear. It quickly becomes much faster-paced once you begin piecing together sets or legendary items. If you enjoy games with nearly limitless build combinations, give this one a try! The only downside is that it doesn’t have online multiplayer though it does support local co-op and Steam’s Remote Play Together feature. Chronicon is available on Steam for $13.99 and for that price, I can’t recommend it enough!

Hero Siege:

Hero Siege is a game that’s taken a LOT of inspiration from Diablo and has MANY Diablo references and Easter Eggs. It’s a pixel art game that has some awesome style and artwork. The game is a lot like Diablo 2 in the fact that it can be very grindy and slow to find top tier-items but when you get them, they can make a big difference. It’s fully online or single-player and offers a great community and lots of trades and farming to be had! It also has a slight rogue-lite element in its Relic system which are buffs you can find that can do interesting things like giving you the ability to fly for avoiding traps and pits or increasing your stats or even make you cause elemental damage. These are amazing and can make or break characters but if you die, all of your relics are lost and you’ll need to find them again. Hero Siege is available on Steam for $6.99 and has a TON of DLC characters for if you enjoy the game. There is also a mobile version of the game which shares progression but because they don’t share purchases, you’ll need to purchase characters and DLC again.

Last Epoch:

Last Epoch is probably one of my favorite games on this list even though it’s still in Early Access. The game has a LOT of content in it and is very well polished at the stage it’s in. The crafting system in this game is what really stands out to me and is something I think most ARPG games should implement in a similar fashion. It allows you to take a normal item and essentially craft it into the exact stat rolls you want but with a chance to fail meaning you’ll need to try again with a fresh item. You can break down items to get shards for the affixes on that item which you then use to roll onto a new item. This allows gearing on a whole different level than other ARPG games as you’re not ONLY hunting for legendary or set items in the end game. You can “Master” up to 5 skills on a character which gives you pretty much an entire passive tree for each of those skills to level through which can drastically change how certain skills work. This is a game that you should NOT overlook if you’re a fan of ARPG games. My only drawback on this one is that they do not have any multiplayer in the game yet but they do have plans to implement it in the near future. Last Epoch is available in Early Access on Steam for $34.99.

Mini Healer:

Mini Healer is a bit of an outlier on this list because it’s not exactly an ARPG but it does feature a lot of good theory-crafting and builds you can make on your own based on the items you get and how you build your skill tree. This is a very interesting game where you play as a party of a Tank, Berserker, Ranger, and a Healer. You are essentially playing as the healer and trying to keep your party alive while they auto-attack the enemy you’re facing. Each enemy has its own attacks with different mechanics to learn which creates unique and interesting challenges to overcome. There are different skill trees to fit your playstyle as well as gear drops that drastically alter your build and how your party fights. This game is very unique and should be checked out! It’s still in Early Access but is mostly complete and offers regular updates and bug fixes. It’s available on Steam for $7.99 which is an excellent price for such a fun game.

Titan Quest Anniversary Edition:

Titan Quest is a game that most Diablo 2 fans are probably already well acquainted with but it still deserves its spot on this list. This game is probably the closest to Diablo 2 itself as far as gearing and pacing goes. It does differ in many areas as well to make a unique and fun game to play through. The Anniversary Edition of the game combines Titan Quest and Titan Quest Immortal Throne into one and adds a plethora of changes and fixes to make the game even better than it originally was. One thing that was added that was a VERY welcomed change for me was the game speed option. The pacing of the game was always very slow for me but changing the game to the Very Fast option changed it up and made it a much better experience. There is a LOT of content in this game, with many character builds and classes to be played, and a TON of fun to be had. The game also has two DLC’s that can be purchased if you’re interested. Titan Quest Anniversary Edition is available on Steam for $19.99, the Ragnarok DLC is available for $19.99 and the Atlantis DLC is available for $14.99.

Wolcen:

Wolcen is a game that didn’t have the greatest reception at launch because of rampant server issues and bad balancing. The game has made fairly large improvements since launch and is working on rebalancing things where they need to be. It is still a fun game to play through and to try out all the different builds you can come up with. Since you can mix range, melee, and magic you can come up with some awesome hybrid builds. There are a million different ways to build your character whether you want to be a heavy armor-wielding warrior who can summon minions or a pistol-wielding spellcaster. Wolcen is available on Steam for $39.99.

Path Of Exile:

Path of Exile is one that most of you have probably already known about and played for a long time. It’s a game that was said to be the spiritual successor to Diablo 2. It’s a game that I personally enjoyed for a bit of time but quickly lost interest in the endgame. The game starts out slower-paced. Different enemies felt unique and items could make or break a character. The endgame feels much closer to Diablo 3 in that you essentially run through spamming skills and full clearing your entire screen. I’m not a fan of that style of gameplay. The game IS amazing though so don’t let my opinion of the endgame sway you from trying it. The passive tree in this game is MASSIVE. It will probably be very scary to newer players and dissuade you but don’t let that happen. Just watch some videos or check out some build guides and it will help you tackle the terrifyingly huge passive tree! Path of Exile is a great game to play and invest some time in with its ever-changing leagues. Path of Exile is available on Steam and it’s FREE TO PLAY!

Grim Dawn:

Grim Dawn is a game that I would say is a bit more similar to Titan Quest seeing as how that’s where a lot of its inspiration and systems came from. It was actually initially being developed by former Titan Quest developers and is even using the same game engine. It’s a bit more polished than Titan Quest with many more modern features. I personally prefer Grim Dawn over Titan Quest but that’s a huge debate between players of both games. Both are similar in aspects and great in their own way. If you’ve had enough Titan Quest and want something similar but newer, give Grim Dawn a try! Grim Dawn is available on Steam for $24.99 or you can buy the Definitive Edition which comes with all the DLC as well for $55.21 which is a 15% savings!

Path Of Diablo:

Path of Diablo isn’t really its own game, it’s a mod for Diablo 2. It’s a mod that tries to keep all of the core gameplay the same with a few balancing changes and some QOL features. It’s aptly named Path of Diablo because it’s essentially Diablo 2 with some Path of Exile features mixed in such as the Orb of Corruption which allows you to corrupt an item to add additional affixes with a chance to break your item similar to the Vaal Orb in Path of Exile. If you’re looking to play Diablo 2 as if it had been updated regularly from release to today, then this is the mod to check out! It’s free as long as you have your own valid copy of Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction installed. Check out PathOfDiablo.com if you want to give this one a try!

Project Diablo 2:

Project Diablo 2 is another mod for Diablo 2 that takes things a step further from Path of Diablo. They are very similar mods with a lot of the same features but SenpaiSomething(creator of Project Diablo 2) implemented some more features and changes. There are skill reworks, new skills, item reworks, runeword changes, and a whole ton of other things! While similar, Path of Diablo and Project Diablo 2 have their own set of changes and features that you may find better suited for your preference. I personally love them both. I played a few seasons of Path of Diablo and am now playing my first season of Project Diablo 2. I’m loving every second of it and the community is amazing. If you want to check out Project Diablo 2, go to ProjectDiablo2.com. This mod also requires your own valid copy of Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction installed to play

Hopefully, this list gave you a game to try that you haven’t before or maybe it reminded you to play a game you used to love! Either way, enjoy these games, keep that fire burning, and I’ll see you in Hell on September 23rd when Diablo 2: Resurrected drops!