Diablo III: Eternal Collection Switch Review

by Vincent Lai | October 31, 2018 9:00 am

Developed by Blizzard Entertainment
Published by Blizzard Entertainment
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch (also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One)

 

Diablo III: Eternal Collection brings the ultimate action role-playing game to the Nintendo Switch. Consisting of Diablo III, Reaper of Souls, and the Rise of the Necromancer expansion, Eternal Collection provides endless replayability with plenty of character classes, challenges, and story to enjoy. The Switch version is also marvelously optimized as it seamlessly delivers Diablo III’s well-tailored console experience. Its additional amusing cosmetic extras and Switch-specific functionality also further create a robust product. Whether players are brand new to the Diablo franchise or have conquered demons for hours, the Switch version of Diablo III: Eternal Collection is an excellent way to play the game.

Players enter the human world of Sanctuary, which has been beset by conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells. While Diablo and the other Prime Evils have strove to corrupt Sanctuary for their own gain, humanity has successfully managed to ward off demonic forces and keep their world safe. While Sanctuary has been free of the Prime Evils’ influence for years, the forces of the Burning Hells linger and aspire to bend humanity to their will. Investigating a fallen star soon becomes a journey to defeat malicious demons and restore balance to the world of Sanctuary once again.

Diablo III is a robust dungeon crawler that provides plenty of replayability. It revolves around trouncing hordes of demons as they pursue objectives throughout each of the five acts’ vast landscapes. Players utilize an empowering array of skills that includes projectiles, traps, summons, and even transformations. Completing objectives and defeating enemies results in plenty of gear drops for bolstering characters’ power. Tinkering with skills and equipment never gets old, and the character progression always feels meaningful.

Eternal Collection allows players to experience Diablo III’s extensive content right off the get-go. Since it includes every expansion, all of the seven character classes are available. These classes span a wide range of melee and ranged attack playstyles. The game gives players the option to play Adventure Mode on any of the five acts even before clearing Story Mode. Adventure Mode involves clearing bounties across each act’s world, which is a more freeform way to boost characters. Characters can optionally enter Hardcore, Seasonal, or Seasonal Hardcore mode, which provides unique rewards and challenges. As with other console versions, players can flick the right stick to dodge-roll and take advantage of a streamlined inventory system.

Even though the game showcases action-packed sequences and screen-filling combat, the Switch version consistently runs incredibly well. Whether players choose docked or portable mode, the game maintains a constant 60 frames per second. Even when the screen becomes loaded with enemies and player firepower, the game handles smoothly. Our Necromancer summoning an army of skeletons and skeleton mages hardly affected the game’s performance. Although it is a tad blurrier compared to its console counterparts due to a slightly lower resolution, the game is perfectly readable regardless of how players decide to play.

Multiplayer has always been an integral part of the Diablo experience, and Eternal Collection on the Switch functions incredibly well. Just as with any other console version of Diablo III, players can play in parties of up to four. Inviting online friends to your party is a snap, and it is easy to see which of your friends is also playing. Our online experience was fantastic as we experienced no lag between players hundreds of miles apart. The online felt so stable that we actually felt as if we were playing locally. Another touch is that the game includes multiple leaderboards for comparing performance versus the world or against friends. The only notable omission is the absence of ingame voice chat, so players will have to rely on services such as Discord to communicate. 

Local play runs spectacularly as well, and being able to play four players locally on a single Switch unit in portable mode is a blast. Furthermore, the game supports local wireless play between four Switch units. Another striking feature is being able to play the game with a single Joy-Con. Some commands require pressing the analog stick and a button while dodge-rolling involves shaking the Joy-Con, but overall the implementation works quite well.

The Switch release’s decorative elements and Amiibo use are fun additions to the Diablo experience. Players can pick between multiple portrait frames, pets, and wings, and some of these items draw inspiration from the Legend of Zelda. The Triforce frame and Cucco look fantastic and suit the game’s visual style well. One of the most notable features is being able to Transmogrify legendary armor to look like Ganondorf’s armor, which is a wonderful touch that can sometimes look comedic. Another exclusive element is the Amiibo portal, which can spawn an elite enemy once an Amiibo figurine is tapped onto the controller. The resulting encounter provides some loot and an amusing bit of surprise.

Diablo III: Eternal Collection is an excellent way for both newcomers and veterans to enter the world of Sanctuary. The game runs quite fluidly in both docked and portable modes, and it runs well in both online and local play. With plenty of available content and options, the game can entertain players for hours on end. Anyone seeking some demon slaying loot-focused action on the go or at home would be well served by this release of Diablo III.

 

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