Since its debut in 1996, Blizzard’sDiablofranchise has served as the golden standard for ARPG titles, spawning countless clones and leaving a lasting impression on the gaming landscape as a whole. To invoke a tired meme, the formula “just works” — the straightforward gameplay loop of click, kill, and loot has proven endlessly satisfying for multiple generations of gamers, but there’s more to it than that.
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8Children Of Morta
Diablofans should find a lot to love withChildren of Morta— it’s an isometric dungeon crawler at its heart, so we’re in familiar territory from the outset. But the roguelike elements, retro-pixel art style, and nuanced gameplay mechanics offer charms all their own. Players will rotate throughthe members of the Bergson family as the playable characters, all replete with their own unique abilities and playstyles, as they quest and endeavor to root out the corruption plaguing the nearby Mount Morta.
7Darksiders Genesis
ThoughDarksiders Genesistakes an alternate gameplay route that diverges from the mainline games in the series, it maintained that same sense of fun found throughout the other entries. This is by no means aDiablodungeon-crawling rip-off.
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Exploration and combat are key as Strife and War navigate the Void. The dialogue between these two characters is hilarious to listen to, and it makes controlling two of the Four Horsemen a more relaxing and engaging experience than might be suggested by the apocalyptic circumstances.
6Minecraft Dungeons
If the hack-and-slash nature ofDiablowere to be parsed down into a digestible, kid-friendly experience, thenMinecraft Dungeonsis the end result. Players must save an endless supply of Villagers from the evil machinations of the Arch-Illager. Up to four players can dungeon-crawl through the familiar environments ofMinecraft’sworld. While it features the mechanics of an ARPG,Minecraft Dungeonskeeps things straightforward, making it an easy game to introduce someone to the elements seen in more involved titles.
5Dante’s Inferno
Dante’s Infernocertainly has a lot more in common withDevil May Crythan it does withDiablo, but the thematic similarities and meaty hack n’ slash gameplay should be more than satisfying for any fan of Blizzard’s ARPG flagship. Taking a few very, very loose pages from the titular section of literary classicThe Divine Comedy, players find themselves in the shoes of crusading knight Dante, who returns home to find his wife murdered. Defying even the personification of Death, Dante braves hell itself to save her soul. It’s certainly much more action than it is RPG, but it’s one hell of a good time nonetheless.
4Enter the Gungeon
Enter the Gungeonplaces the zaniness of a bullet hell onto a roguelike adventure. The Gungeon is an appropriately themed place where enemies, items, and locations revolve around firearms, making humorous gun puns more common than revolvers at a gun convention.
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The game has a steep learning curve, and it is clearly more oriented toward ranged attacks than melee. But it’s gameplay loop is as binge-worthy as anything produced by theDiablofranchise.
3Ori And The Will of The Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wispsis clearly a platformer that is more in line with a Metroidvania game than aDiabloclone. However, certain hack-and-slash elements alongside action RPG mechanics inspire a similar feeling as classicDiablogameplay. Precise platforming controls aside, the style of combat introduced inWill of the Wispswould feel right at home in any dungeon crawler. In addition to that,Ori and the Will of the Wispsis gorgeous, providing a feast of vibrant visuals and delightful setpieces that will prove perennially memorable.
2Warhammer: Vermintide 2
If you’ve ever wanted to playDiablofrom a first-person perspective,Vermintide 2is likely the closest one can get, short of playingBorderlands. Set in the illustriousWarhammer Fantasyuniverse, players choose one of four heroes (with several class or “career” options for each) to stand against the encroaching hordes of Skaven rat-men and Norscan barbarians as they threaten to overrun the Empire. The gameplay finds a lot of direct analogues withLeft 4 Dead, but the equipment systems and light RPG progression are sure to help it strike a chord with anyDiablofan.
1Torchlight 3
If one lovesDiablo, then it’s difficult to go wrong with a good old-fashionedDiabloclone.Torchlight 3is a solid ARPG offering that checks all the boxes — several unique character classes, hordes of enemies to mow down, and a full rainbow of rarity tiers ascribed to items that litter the ground after every battle, just waiting for players to scoop them up and pore over their statistics. That said, it’s not a clone in every sense of the word — it carves out its own identity, with class and progression mechanics in particular, offeringDiablofans more than enough fresh nuance to explore in order to keep their interest kindled.
