10 Best Fantasy RPGs Of All Time
8. Diablo II
While there’s an argument to be made that Diablo II may have been overtaken by Diablo IV in its own series or Path of Exile if we’re talking the action RPG genre, Diablo II is a landmark RPG that has inspired too many games for us to ignore it.
Dominating the gothic hack-and-slash realm of classic RPGs, Diablo II came out swinging in June of 2000. Following Blizzard’s 1997 original, it improved upon its predecessor in basically every single way, particularly in its RPG character building mechanics and story. There’s not a lot of dark fantasy games that hold a candle to this one. Offering up a suite of classes who all play so differently that the game has built in replayability, Diablo II and its expansion Lord of Destruction let you choose from seven classes in total which you then spec as per your preferred playstyle. Diablo II also stepped it up with its multiplayer integration, enabling you to play with others online, most popularly letting you complete the entire campaign with up to eight players.
Of course, Diablo II launched when LAN parties were all the rage so if you wanted to pick up Deckard Cain and journey to Hell on the same network, you could do that too.
The battle against the prime evils and their endless hordes of darkness set to a stunning soundtrack has always been a drawcard for Diablo fans. While your preferred entry will probably come down to how you like your ARPG gameplay mechanics served up, Diablo II has left an indelible mark on the genre.