Diablo 3 from Blizzard Entertainment has been hacking and slashing its way across our screens for the good part six and a half years. After its initial error 37 launch fiasco, the Loot 2.0 revamp and 15 seasons later, its safe to say that those who have stuck with the title have experienced most everything Diablo has to offer.
As a long time player of the game and series in general it has been exciting to see the title make its way to the Xbox 360 and PS3 and then eventually to the PS4 and Xbox One. These console ports have opened up the world of Diablo to countless people and has set a new gold standard for what isometric ARPG’s can accomplish on console.
Its latest feat, however, may possibly be one of its greatest; at least from this writer's perspective. The world and gameplay of Diablo 3 has been ported to a handheld device without sacrificing any of the things that make it such a great title. So let's jump in and see just how well the game holds up on the Nintendo Switch. As always grab that coffee, kick back and enjoy our review of Diablo 3 The Eternal Collection for Nintendo Switch.
)
For this review, the focus is going to be on how the game handles on Nintendo’s latest console more so than on the game itself. For a full review of the title be sure to check out our original review over at MMORPG.com. With that out of the way let's jump into the fray.
Diablo 3 The Eternal Collection for Nintendo Switch comes with all the bells and whistles of its Console and PC brothers. The Collection includes the base game, the Reapers of Souls Expansion and the Necromancer DLC. Not to be outdone but previous releases, the Switch version comes equipped with a special pet in the form of a Legend of Zelda chicken, a Ganondorf transmog set, special Triforce inspired Portrait and an amiibo portal that allows for compatibility with various amiibos. The game also offers seasonal play, inline with the other releases of the title.
The price tag for the bundle comes in at your standard triple AAA title fee which some people, myself included were a bit put off by when things were originally announced. However seeing as players of the original PC version had to pay for each of these separately, its nice that we can now make one purchase to receive it all in a bundle. Whether or not players feel it is worth putting out the money again is a debate for another time but suficit to say that when it comes to dollar value, the Eternal Collection does have a lot to offer.
)
The game looks and feels just like its PC and console brothers. The game holds strong to the promise of 60 fps in both 730p (handheld) and 960p (docked). I chose a necromancer with a heavy pet build to really put the game through its paces. After pushing my character to 70, grinding 100 plus paragon levels and running my set dungeon I can attest to the performance!
There was no real frame drops or lag during my play time and even load times where comparable to my PS4. To test this I actually timed the load screen when moving from act to act on both PS4 and Switch and overall only noticed a consistent difference of a few seconds on average. This is quite impressive when you consider the horsepower of both systems.
Playing in handheld mode is a joy for players who enjoy gaming on the go. As someone who is always looking for more invested gaming experiences but is generally on the go, being able to invest time on a Diablo character while using transit or during a lunch break has been incredible. The pick up and put down nature of the Switch lends itself well to the title allowing you to essentially start and pause Grift runs while playing in a single player setting.
The game does support full offline play with the exception of Seasonal play. As you simply need to be connected to the Blizzard Servers for progress saves, I found it easy to simply hotspot to my phone while traveling allowing for uninterrupted play for my seasonal character.
)
The controls work well with the Switch Joycons mimicking the basic layout of the PS4 and Xbox one controllers. Like these controllers, the Switch feels responsive with no noticeable lag between button press and execution of skills. For a game that thrives on speed it was nice to know that this ported so well to the Switch.
Battery life held out pretty well overall during my playthrough. I found that I averaged about 3.5 to 4 hours of play before needing a charge while playing in handheld. To be fair I did do a lot of pick up and put down so some battery life was expended in standby mode. If your looking for those 12 hour grind fests in handheld mode I would recommend a battery pack or sitting near an outlet as you will definitely need an external power source for long runs.
Due to the timing of the review I didn’t get to spend any real time in multiplayer settings but from my testing with the local couch co op the game has no problem keeping up with multiple players on screen. Even having the people running around with Joycons is doable Although I did find it much more enjoyable running in docked mode vs handheld when more than one player was playing.
)
Overall Diablo 3 The Eternal Collection for Nintendo Switch is a solid offering for the console. It's great to see Nintendo allowing more mature titles into its library and I appreciate the care and effort that Blizzard put into making sure the game feels and plays like it does on other consoles. If you’ve never played Diablo 3 and own a Switch this is definitely a title worth picking up. If you have been a long time player of the title but are looking for a fun new way to feed that loot grind addiction I would recommend the title on Switch. It plays as well on here as on other consoles and offers the benefit of portability for those times when you can’t bring your PC along.
Score: 9/10
Pros
- Runs exceptionally well with no performance issues
- Great Nintendo exclusives
- Diablo on the Go - what’s not to love
Cons
- The price point might be a turn off to some
- If you already own it then there’s not really anything ‘new’ here
