Diablo 3: Eternal Collection on the Nintendo Switch is a great game for old and new fans alike. Having the full Diablo 3 experience on the go is so very enticing, and is now my new preferred way to play the game. It’s not the best looking Switch game out there; but with gameplay as satisfying as Diablo 3’s, visuals be damned.
When Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch way back in 2016, my very first thought was exactly, “Diablo 3 needs to come to the Switch and I will lose my life to it.” Here we are in 2018, Diablo 3 is on the Switch, and I have almost lost my life to it. Unlike many other ports that have come to the Switch, Diablo 3: Eternal Collection is a game that almost feels as if it was developed for the Switch initially. The inherent gameplay that makes Diablo 3 click is still as satisfying as ever and feels right at home on Nintendo’s console. Dare I say it’s my preferred way to play Blizzard’s dungeon-crawler.
This review won’t rehash what makes Diablo 3 work, because by and large the game is the same. Instead, I’ll just focus on what makes Diablo 3 worth replaying on the Switch over its other console counterparts.
Visuals
Diablo 3 was a very pretty game in 2012, a decently pretty game in 2014 when it re-released on PS4/Xbox One, and now is quite dated in 2018 on the Switch’s hardware. Yes, the pre-rendered cinematics are still glorious and epic as they were in the games initial release; but the moment-to-moment gameplay has taken a dramatic hit so the game can run at a consistent 60 fps* on the Switch. Sometimes character models look so fuzzy that it’s difficult to distinguish how many are on the screen or even what type of enemy it is, yet not so difficult that it made the game impossible to play. This is a classic example of a developer choosing frame rate over visual quality, and I’m certainly glad they made the decision.
*I never experienced any frame drops or hitches, even when gameplay got hectic and enemies were filling the screen. I played 90% of my new playthrough in handheld, and the rest while the Switch was docked.
Gameplay
It’s so difficult to review ported games on the Switch. Am I reviewing the quality of the gameplay or my experience playing it on a unique piece of hardware? Since the gameplay hasn’t changed since the Rise of the Necromancer DLC pack that released, I’m not going to look deeply at how the game plays. Instead, go take a look at Steve McGehee’s review to get a great insight into how the game plays.
That being said, the inherent portable nature of the Nintendo Switch enhances the experience I got with Diablo 3 the way I expected. The ability to quickly pull out the Switch, run through a dungeon in quick 15-20 minute increments, put the system in standby and come back it later is the sort of new experience I’ve been looking for in a game I’ve played a hundred times over. It’s so fascinating that Blizzard has created a game for PC that relies heavily on grinding and farming dungeons for new gear that so easily translates to a handheld console.
It’s Diablo 3, but portable. What more could you ask for?
Overall
In the end, Diablo 3 is an excellent game in its own right. It’s fun, addicting to play and rewarding for the players that want to grind out the best gear. Throw in the accessibility factor of the Nintendo Switch, and its safe to say that it’s my preferred play to play. No, it doesn’t look as good. But for a game that came out in 2012, you can’t expect the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous game out there. As far as non-1st party games are concerned, Diablo 3: Eternal Collection is a must-play on the Nintendo Switch.
