A mix of MMORPG and Hack ‘n Slay? Could Devilian be the game that heralds the next evolutionary stage of Diablo? Our test of the online game will reveal the answer to this question and how much the innovative concept impacts gameplay.
I have spent what feels like years with the Diablo series, battling through randomly generated landscapes and dungeons – alone or side by side with good friends. We fought hordes of monsters, collected tons of items and had a lot of fun. Yet there was always a little wish unfulfilled. Wouldn’t it be cool to transfer the concept of Diablo into an MMORPG? Exactly that was promised by Devilian from Trion Worlds, which is why I eagerly dove into the battles.
Diablo as MMORPG?
Devilian takes place in a dark fantasy world threatened by chaos. Sinister creatures spread fear and terror. You play as a so-called Devilian, half-human and half-demon, who can switch between these two forms to confront the encroaching darkness.
As is customary for an MMORPG, you first create a hero. The classes available are Berserker, Gunner, Summoner, and Shadow Hunter. As you can see, the classes are gender-bound. Each class has different abilities. While the Berserker is more of a tank, the Summoner represents a damage dealer. This is useful for effective group composition.
Gameplay is from a Diablo-like isometric perspective, guiding your hero across vast landscapes. Here is the first difference to other Hack ‘n Slays. The hero is typically controlled as in an MMORPG using WASD keys. The mouse is used for aiming. Those used to Diablo will need to adjust, which happens quite quickly. Alternatively, you can enable a click-to-move control, but this makes aiming somewhat harder.
Even in the first minutes, the similarity to Diablo becomes apparent. As you journey through wondrous places, you fight your way through hordes, almost legions of monsters, loot items, and level up, allowing you to enhance your hero across three different skill trees.
The Hero as Devil
The individual skills dictate the direction in which the hero should develop. A Berserker can, for example, focus on fast attacks, fire damage, or leap attacks. It is possible to specialize in one direction or spread skill points to create an all-rounder. A respec, or redistribution of points, is also possible, allowing you to try out different builds in safe locations. New skills lead to ever-new attack types that will benefit you in the many fights. Each hero also has a demonic form where you become particularly powerful for a short period. To unlock this form, you collect demon souls in the game. Once you’ve collected enough, you can transform and cause even more destruction.
Throughout the game world, there are villages and other safe places where you can meet up with other players and form groups, or where you can buy and sell equipment. Equipment is just as important as improving skills – just like you know from Diablo.
At the safe locations, you also receive numerous quests that take you across the game world to dark forests, ancient ruins, and other mysterious places, where many challenges await you. Among other things, in the form of massive boss opponents that you can best defeat as a group.
However, a significant disadvantage compared to Diablo quickly becomes apparent. The world is not randomly generated. While all dungeons and locations are lovingly crafted by hand and make a great impression, one of the appeals of Diablo is being able to explore new places with every game. This provides variety, surprise, and an increased replay value. This is missing in Devilian. Also, the vast amounts of loot in Diablo are sought in vain here. While there is plenty of loot in Devilian too, Diablo simply offers more.
PvP and Maps
PvP in Devilian takes place in predefined locations. For example, control points need to be captured and held in an area, leading to large battles with other players. On some maps, 20 players fight against 20 opponents, while on others it’s only three against three. There is no open PvP in the game world. Here, cooperative PvE is required to take on the hordes of monsters and the dangerous boss opponents. Of course, it is also possible to form guilds and participate in guild wars. Daily repeatable quests also contribute to the feeling of playing an MMORPG.
A small peculiarity is brought into play by the maps or talismans. These cards provide a boost for certain abilities and can also be combined. Talismans exist in various qualities and can also be upgraded. You can either craft the cards yourself or find them in special chests. The talisman system adds a little feeling of a collectible card game, as you are always on the hunt for even better cards to further enhance your hero.
Visually, Devilian can certainly convince – as long as you’re okay with the anime style. The game shows its origin from Asia. If you zoom in closer to your hero, you can see – at least the female characters – are depicted quite revealingly.
The landscapes appear gloomy, the monsters threatening, and the effects like fire spells are quite convincing. The atmosphere is right. If you notice a similarity to the MMORPG TERA, you are indeed correct. Devilian also comes from Blue Hole, and the developers even used some assets from the well-known online RPG – for example, from the Elin race.
Andreas says:
Devilian is not quite what I had hoped for. And that is mainly because the gameplay quickly wears thin. You might say the same about Diablo, however, Blizzard’s Hack ‘n Slay has a decisive advantage that becomes glaringly apparent in direct comparison with Devilian: The randomness. In Devilian, I stomp through the same areas and dungeons, while in Diablo each gaming session is different.
Even in terms of loot, I somehow wished for a bit more. However, the battles, the many tasks, and the possibilities to improve my hero are convincing. Also, the fact that I can transform into a kind of demon is cool. And yet: After a while, the excitement fades. There’s a lack of variety, the unexpected, the motivation that makes me want to play longer and keeps me glued to the monitor. However, this doesn’t make Devilian a bad game, because I still enjoy smashing hordes of monsters every now and then.
