I seen this many many times people giving praise to Diablo 1 atmosphere and seem to dismiss Diablo 2 atmosphere.
They say Diablo 1 had a type of "horror" atmosphere that was lost in 2 but i say NO that's not correct.
Another complaint i heard is in Diablo 2 you feel like "superman" or a "commando" and again NO
First Diablo 2 takes you across the world of sanctuary while Diablo 1 happens in tristram in westmarch which is also where act 1 of Diablo 2 takes place and more or less act 1 carries the same atmosphere of Diablo 1 go into a cave or visit the rouge monastery and you will get the same clusterphobic vibes especially the catacombs.
Each act has a different type of atmosphere that is very well done , act 2 has this mysterious vibe where you are constantly battling overwhelming numbers of undead and going into ancient tombs.
Act 3 has this dangerous and toxic jungle vibe also inspired by the Aztecs.
Act 4 has this hopeless feeling to it things look so different from previous acts even jars that you break in other acts are replaced by "trapped souls".
Act 5 is well chaotic , destruction and battle remains are spread everywhere layer of fortifications after layer instilled with that sense of pride you get from harrogath music.
Each act offers a different type of "horror" while act 1 is similar to Diablo 1 , act 2 offers these tall slender mummies that raise undead Idk about you but these mfs look nasty and play nasty they hit hard both from range and up close they can poison your butt and constantly raise undead that offer no XP after killed 1st time , act 3 is this dangerous and vicious jungle with corruption running rampant it's a scary place to be in alone and unarmed there is massive spiders , small demons armed with knives as large as they are , act 4 is well corpse eaters are enough horror , act 5 shows horrific imagery of what demons did to barbarian people it serves as a constant reminder that you can never feel bad for murdering demons in whatever way or shape.
Now to the "you feel like a commando" thing what this means usually is in Diablo 2 you can fight entire groups of enemies while in Diablo 1 you needed to be quite clever and careful not to fight too many enemies at the same time.
Well they are correct....only for act 1 though as act 1 serves as the game introductory act it should provide monsters that aren't difficult to kill allowing players to level up pretty well and get themselves up and running preparing them for more difficult acts , starting from act 2 and on basic enemies can't be killed by 1 hit or they can but they also don't run away like the fallen who despite being in large numbers very often get easily destroyed by their unique fear mechanic which forces them to run away when one of their kind is killed , from act 2 and on you can't get to the center of a large horde of demons and expect to make it , you will need to pick fights carefully enemies with magic attacks become more common depending on your resistance you may or may not be able to withstand fighting let's say many burning archers if your fire resistance is bad.
Enemies get progressively tougher and so you do but most enemies don't go over 3-5 hits each , enemies in Diablo are designed to deal high damage but are quick to kill so its a matter of not fighting too many of them and being able to parry or evade pretty well.
Some people are just too attached by nostalgia , i heard the same shit "uhh i opened the door and ahh fresh meat which was the scariest thing I've ever witnessed when i was 6" like shut up man you kept saying this until they made the worst ever reappearance of a gruesome enemy that was the butcher in Diablo 3.
While Diablo 1 is quite atmospheric and it's unique in that regard i find people dismissing Diablo 2 amazing atmosphere for "muh Diablo 1 had it more dArK and hOrRiFiC" shoves Diablo 2 visual and sound design under the rug which is unfair.
