After more than two decades, the legacy of the Dark Wanderer and the demonic burden he bears is making a resurgence in the realms of humanity. Blizzard Entertainment’s resurrection of the acclaimed action role-playing game that defined a genre is nearly here! For the first time, console players who pre-order Diablo II: Resurrected will be able to experience first-hand the remastered epic of Diablo II with Early Access to the Open Beta, now live on PS5 and PS4.
Diablo II’s legacy will continue on new platforms over 20 years after its original release on PC in 2000. New players and veterans will be able to experience this iconic chapter of the Eternal Conflict through the extraordinary capabilities of the PlayStation consoles and DualShock 4 controller on PS4 and DualSense wireless controller on PS5.
Bringing the classic keyboard-and-mouse gameplay to a controller was a unique challenge. To illustrate the Diablo II: Resurrected team’s approach to adapting the feel and controls to PlayStation controllers, we invited Design Director Robert Gallerani to share his insights.
When we set out designing the controller control scheme, we broke down the work into a handful of categories. Each of these were core considerations we wanted to be mindful of as we brought Diablo II: Resurrected to console players.
With a keyboard and mouse, the player acts as an “eye in the sky” telling their character what to do and where to go by clicking somewhere. Do you perform a ranged ability on a monster? Do you walk over to a chest and open it? Perhaps you open a door? With the mouse, the players’ primary input is a click that conveys aiming or a specific ability or action. The game then guides the character to the place where it can perform the action, finding a path for you.
On a controller, however, the player is more directly acting as their avatar. This starts to have serious ramifications at many levels—but to our players, it all just needs “to work.”
Watch the iconic intro cinematic, remastered in Diablo II: Resurrected
Last week, we asked you step out into the rain of your favorite games, and share moments soaking in a summer shower using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
Ratchet stands at attention in the pouring rain of Nefarious City in this Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart share by Photoingame.
CyborgPlaya’s Demon’s Souls character kneels and cheers in victory.
Aloy leaps through the rain to fire off an arrow in this Horizon Zero Dawn share by Yuric83.
Eivor’s raven from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla cries through a sun shower in this share by KeenEyeVP.
A storm approached in this Ghost of Tsushima share by risa26_y.
yusei2222 shares Sam trudging through the mud and rain in Death Stranding.
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Reflections
SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on August 18
Next week, we’re looking in the mirror. Capture a reflection in the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Hello! The top download charts for July are here, and FIFA 21 has earned top honors on PS5 in both the US/Canada and EU regions. PS4 saw a split between regions, with FIFA leading the charge in the EU and GTA V surging to the top on the US side. Meanwhile, portal-based shooter Splitgate shot to the top of the Free-to-Play chart, thanks to its wildly popular beta.
Hit the full charts below, then hit the comments with your predictions for August. ‘Til then!
PS5 Games
| US/Canada | EU |
| 1 | FIFA 21 | FIFA 21 |
| 2 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | F1 2021 |
| 3 | NBA 2K21 Next Generation | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| 4 | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War |
| 5 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | Metro Exodus |
| 6 | Tribes of Midgard | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart |
| 7 | F1 2021 | Tribes of Midgard |
| 8 | STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order | It Takes Two |
| 9 | Demon’s Souls | NBA 2K21 Next Generation |
| 10 | MLB The Show 21 | STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order |
| 11 | It Takes Two | Demon’s Souls |
| 12 | Returnal | Assassin’s Creed Valhalla |
| 13 | Mortal Kombat 11 | HITMAN 3 |
| 14 | Metro Exodus |
Greetings Adventurers! The bustling city of Neverwinter is preparing to welcome new and veteran players to the upcoming module, Jewel of the North, launching August 24! In preparation for this, we’ve put together some tips for making your way through Neverwinter.
- Explore Protector’s Enclave – Once you’ve completed the initial quests, you will arrive at Protector’s Enclave (PE) where adventures can find various locations for all their needs.
- Know your Non-Player Character (NPC) contact locations – NPCs are integral in getting you started on your adventures. With the release of Jewel of the North, some NPCs have moved from their prior location. Sgt. Knox can now be found within the Adventurer’s Guild.
- Take Advantage of the New Training Room – A special demiplane has been created for adventurers to practice techniques and test their mettle! Access to this unique area is found within the Adventurer’s Guild.
- Make Contact With Your Events Contacts – Heralds for most events can be found in the large event dais on the ground level of Protector’s Enclave. These NPCs will provide adventurers with introductory quests and showcase the event rewards!
- Special Vendors and Traders – Certain merchants for special events such as Neverember’s Recruitment have stationed themselves in the Seven Suns Coster Market. Unique currencies can be used to trade with these vendors.
- Control the Bard, Don’t Let the Bard Control You – The new Bard class has special and unique mechanics: Perform and Free Perform. Notes C, D, E, and F are activated via the Cross, Circle, Triangle, and Square buttons. Notes G, A, B, C are activated via the directional buttons. Make more music with quickslots and octaves with the controller’s R1, R2, L1, and L2 buttons.
- A Rewarding Entrance – Make sure to stop by the Reward Claims Agent on launch day for some free goodies! The launch of Jewel of the North will also kickstart 20 weeks of different weekly gifts.
- Max Level Change – Feeling…younger? No, this is not your imagination! With the leveling changes introduced in this new module, the max level has been adjusted to 20. Characters who were level 80 will be set to level 20 and offered a free gear pack.
- Whistle While You Work – While Masterwork Professions will appear at a later date post-module launch, the profession and artisan levels have been adjusted to align with the new max level. For new adventurers, the quest “A Workshop Opportunity” will become available at Level 8.
One button covered three key attacks: a powerful strike at the battle’s start, a set of continuous attacks during, and a gorgeous Execution at its end. The functions and visual effects worked as one, giving the sensation of an arcade experience. We were very satisfied with it.
We spent more than two months producing a demo based on this system. Feedback from players who tried the demo at expos was positive, which convinced us that we are heading in the right direction.
The contradiction between streamlined combat and rich stages
Then, we started formal development. We defined F.I.S.T. as an easy-to-operate action game with more than 10 hours of main story playtime, an expansive and seamless map, and a large number of exploration elements. However, after completing the first stage, with more and more content and a longer overall playtime added in, the original combat system began to show some disadvantages.
The original three-stage combat experience involves charge, attacks, and Execution. Charge attacks take time to prepare, which is difficult when combat encounters happen suddenly. Execution is essentially a performance with little input beyond the initial activation. As a result, players have to press the same button again and again for combo attacks most of the time during the battle.
Such a combat system is a reasonable design for a 15-minute demo, but not quite as suitable for a game that lasts a few hours. It became boring.
Considerations while designing combo attacks
After rethinking the player experience when performing combo attacks, we decided to add one button into the combat system. The two attack buttons are to perform light attack and heavy attacks. Players will need to memorize combos, such as L(ight)L(Light)H(eavy), LHL, HLH to perform different skills.
But we don’t want to give up our original intention of developing an arcade-styled action game. If it’s necessary to memorize combos, how could we simplify it as much as possible? After several brainstorms, we developed th
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