Diablo reached its 20th anniversary back in December. Its initial US release was the last day of December 1996. The Diablo III team has announced The Darkening of Tristram, a special anniversary event, the spotlight of which is a new dungeon which features all 16 levels of the original Diablo.
The dungeon is presented in what’s termed “glorious retrovision”- meaning the camera more closely mimics Diablo‘s original perspective, there’s a pixel filter on everything , sounds are tinnier and repeat more, players can’t run, everything is locked to just eight degrees of rotation, and old school animations and UI make a comeback. The idea is to make Diablo III really feel like the original experience.
“An ancient evil stirs in the ruins of Old Tristram, and a mysterious portal has appeared that leads to the halls of an all-too familiar cathedral. Deep beneath the catacombs, the Dark Lord awaits any intrepid adventurer who dares to challenge him,” Blizzard wrote in a Battle.net blog post.
This arrives alongside Diablo III patch 2.4.3, which is coming soon and also brings some quality of life changes, item updates, and changes to Greater Rifts. Once the update drops, all through January players will encounter cultists all over Sanctuary. Slay them and loot their massives, which leads to a portal to the new dungeon.