Diablo 2: Resurrected Will Use PS5 Haptic Feedback

Of the many announcements during BlizzCon, Diablo 2: Resurrected was arguably Blizzard's biggest announcement to come from its online-only game showcase held in February. Diablo 2: Resurrected's presentation answered many questions from concerned players, promising the core Diablo 2 gameplay that fans enjoyed would remain intact if only improved upon. When rumors surfaced that a Diablo 2 remake was being developed last year, some Diablo fans were reasonably wary of the news.

Part of the reason was due to the poorly-received launch of Warcraft 3: Reforged being a result of several controversial changes to the core game. Realizing Blizzard's mistakes in the past, Rod Fergusson, the current head of the Diablo franchise, promised that the core Diablo 2 game would not be tampered with but merely built upon. Of the features that will be added to Diablo 2: Resurrected, some that are exclusive to game consoles are currently in development. One such feature is the usage of the PS5's Sony DualSense and its integration to the console port of Resurrected.

During BlizzCon, Diablo 2: Resurrected developers Robert Gallerani and Maxine Virtue discussed the development process of remaking Diablo 2, a 20 year old PC game, with console gameplay in mind. Some of the challenges involved translating the PC-based menus and gameplay into consoles, which aren't based around a keyboard and mouse. An example brought up is the Sorceress's teleport, which can be aimed by pointing and clicking at the desired location. Without a mouse to point and click to, the devs opt to have the teleport move a default distance instead. When mentioning the DualSense's haptic feedback, the devs were intrigued at the potential range they could implement immersion through the controller, yet it is a feature they are "still working on."

The Sony DualSense differs from the legacy DualShock series in many ways. The major difference between the two peripherals is the way vibrations are handled. Historically, the DualShock relied on rumble technology within the controller to provide vibrations to the player, yet the rumble support was linear. With DualSense, haptic feedback offers a dynamic range of vibration, increasing immersion for players. One of the earlier instances of haptic feedback in games was the Nintendo Switch's HD Rumble, which would later serve as the basis for DualSense.

The integration between a game originally built with PC gaming in mind and its console port has been a challenge developers have faced in the past with varying results. Final Fantasy 14 is one such title, initially releasing for the PS3 and PC, yet offering gameplay that gave players the option to use a traditional keyboard and mouse or the compact controller. As development for Diablo 2 Resurrected continues, the development team wants to blur the line between the PC experience and the console experience with the promise that both experiences are as similar to each other as possible.

Diablo 4, the fourth title in Blizzard's long-running action-RPG series, doesn't currently have a release window. However, since the game's announcement in 2019, Blizzard has released a steady stream of information on its new features. Diablo 4 will launch with five playable classes, three of which were announced during the game's first reveal.

The fourth class, the Rogue, was recently revealed during BlizzCon 2021. The Rogue is a returning class from the very first game in the Diablo series, which launched way back in 1996. Just like her predecessor, Diablo 4's Rogue is a dexterity-based class able to utilize ranged or melee weapons. She's also taken influence from similar Diablo classes like the Assassin and Demon Hunter, as well as having some brand new tricks of her own.