Top 20 Diablo Clone PC games

[swlovinist]

I am by far an expert on PC titles, but I was wondering if there is a list of the best Diablo knock off games for the PC? I know that there is not a true "Diablo Killer" but I am looking for a list of some great action/RPG item hunts that are like Diablo. I have a 1.7 Athlon with about 700 megs of ram with a 256 meg graphics card. Games like Titan Quest wont work, I am looking for games a year back and before. As for the list does anyone want to give it a shot?

[Damaniel]

Two that I liked are Space Hack and Fate. Both should run pretty well on older systems (especially Fate). I don't know if I can name 18 more, but that should start your list... ;)

Links:

Space Hack: http://spacehack.rebelmind.com/en/main
Fate: http://www.playfate.com

[roushimsx]

I know that there is not a true "Diablo Killer"

Nox (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/nox) would like to have a word with you, good sir. I found the singleplayer to be more enjoyable than either Diablo 1 and 2 while the multiplayer was just flat out awesome. There was even a free expansion for it. Sacred (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/sacred) and Divine Divinity (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/divine-divinity) would also like your attention, as both are excellent action RPGs. Divine Divinity spawned a sequel, "Beyond Divinity (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/beyond-divinity)", that I haven't yet played but have heard strongly negative things about.

Beyond that, you might want to take a look at Darkstone (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/darkstone) (available on GameTap now, actually!). Dink Smallwood (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dink-smallwood) (completely free now!) is more of an action/adventure like Legend of Zelda or Twinsen's Adventure, but is still a title you should check out.

Dungeon Lords (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dungeon-lords) looked interesting but I never gave it a play. Soul Bringer (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/soulbringer) and Throne of Darkness (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/throne-of-darkness) aren't terribly bad, but you really should be playing Nox, Sacred, or Divine Divinity right now. Seriously.

[dlopez9069]

Sacred is truly the greatest! I love it more than Diablo. more freedom, quest, items, characters, pretty much Diablo but better. I found a copy of it at Wal-mart for cheap but if you want to know more just message me.

[PSXferrari]

Top 20?? Somebody better start programming games so we can finish this list.

[swlovinist]

I know that there are more out there and this list gives me a start. Any more?

[theshizzle3000]

I will second Darkstone especially since it can be found for cheap.

[GillianSeed]

There's Space Hack (http://spacehack.rebelmind.com/en/main). (oops, already mentioned)

[roushimsx]

Well, Dungeon Siege (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dungeon-siege) and Dungeon Seige II (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dungeon-siege-ii) are options, though I honestly didn't care for the first enough to play the second. In fact, I bought the first game because of Lazarus (http://lazarus.planetdungeonsiege.gamespy.com/).

[cyberfluxor]

Top 20?? Somebody better start programming games so we can finish this list.
Quite actually it can easily hit 20, the real question is who knows of 20 off the top of their head? I own a lot of Diablo-like games, most of which are older and a few newer that are obvious knock-offs.

Dungeon Siege is created by Gas Powered games, which personally I feel are one of the next big powers in the PC gaming world. They have some of the old Blizzard programmers over there and idealists from the Total Annihilation days. I'm sure they'll at some point begin cracking at a MMORPG to compete with WoW, EQ2 and some of those others.

The Boulders Gate series is a great one. It's worth a pick-up for either console or PC and has many spells, detailed colors, dynamic character featuristics including clothes and decent story lines. Controls are fluid and comparable to Diablo and packages of the games can be bought new for $20-30 at retail and game stores.

I'd suggest to stay clear of Dungeon Lords though. I downloaded their demo a few months after their launch and it was sloppy and poor quality. It was just a little while afterwards I found the game for under $10 used but still $60 new at Game Stop. You can actually go on eBay and people aren't even bidding on it for pennies and dollars for shipping. It really says a lot.

For a larger list though, check out this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Computer_Role-Playing_Games

[FantasiaWHT]

Dungeon Siege is ok. I didn't like it much because the process was SO streamlined that it seemed all you were doing was steering your characters. I know a lot of people liked it though.

I'll toss Titan Quest into the ring. Recent and very well done, quite enjoyable!

[lurpak]

I'm not sure Im happy about the term "diablo knock off", being old school to hear diablo being infered as the orginator of this gendre of games makes me feel like my age group have been insulted :p

I dont think I could say which was the original, but names like..

Exodus Ultima, Gauntlet, Phantasy spring to mind... diablo knockoff indeed hmph!!

[64Bits]

I will second......or third, or whatever it is, Sacred. The game is fun, looks great, and plays great. It also has plenty of character classes to keep you occupied.

[cyberfluxor]

I'm not sure Im happy about the term "diablo knock off", being old school to hear diablo being infered as the orginator of this gendre of games makes me feel like my age group have been insulted :p

I dont think I could say which was the original, but names like..

Exodus Ultima, Gauntlet, Phantasy spring to mind... diablo knockoff indeed hmph!!
When I use the term knock off it refers to newer games that look, play and inherit the style of an older. Of course I can see where you're comming from but when you read some of the publishers websites they advertise the game as being "like" Diablo, because it's something most generic gamers will identify. Dungeon Siege in particular was supposed to be the "Diablo Killer" but that didn't appear to be as such, although it did a decent job. I personally wasn't impressed but it is a better game than a lot of others floating around in the genre.

[spunibard]

i recommend nethack if you are cool with turn-based and don't mind 2d, tile-based gfx. and the insane challenge level. i think it holds the title for greatest number of different ways to die.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NetHack_for_Windows_Screenshot.png

[PSXferrari]

Quite actually it can easily hit 20, the real question is who knows of 20 off the top of their head? I own a lot of Diablo-like games, most of which are older and a few newer that are obvious knock-offs.

Right, but how many would belong in a Top 20? The Diablo games are great, and they have a few good clones. But they also have a bunch of bad ones. So while you can recommend several games, if you made a "Top 20" you'd start listing some awful games towards the end.

[evildead2099]

Try VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE - REDEMPTION (PC). It's a hack-n-slash RPG in the same vein as Diablo, but better in many ways: it features gorgeous polygonal graphics, a 3D camera system (you can even switch to first person view!), and a very immersive story, complete with great voice acting.

I've heard that the sequel (Bloodlines) is good as well, but have yet to try it.

[Nirvana]

Ooooh, I gotta check these games out. I love Diablo.

[Trebuken]

Revanant, Kohan I + II, and maybe SOulbringer.

Darkstone was fun, forgot about that one...

[cyberfluxor]

You should try Lion Heart. It's a really decent game and has a little mixed feeling between Diablo and D&D. You learn spells and level up like usual but the enemies are more difficult, so you can't just go charging in and take on enemies one after another meaning you have to rest a bit from time to time (unless you stock up on health pots). You get a nice selection of weapons and armor plus you can summon and tame animals. Always a plus. I played it for several hours then it kept crashing at my saved position, which I believe was attributed to running it under Windows 2k. None are on eBay or elsewhere ATM but if you're interested in checking it out I may be able to help.

[calthaer]

Note: Although cyberfluxor cites "Boulder's" Gate as a Diablo clone, it's only the console games that are really Diablo clones.

The Baldur's Gate that came out on the PC is a straight-up RPG - the first in the Black Isle series...was released ~ 1998. From what I hear, the Icewind Dale games that were based on the same engine were a bit more action-oriented, but still not Diablo-style in true form. It's completely different from the other one for the consoles that had the three characters you could choose, and the bartender lady at that singing ghost tavern or whatever.

And I'm not exactly certain that Diablo really spawned this genre of games - but they certainly did do it best and most memorably (like just about everything that Blizzard does, to be honest). I mean, even an ancient game like the old Bard's Tale could be seen as a "dungeon hack."

Oh yeah - and the new Bard's Tale was actually released on both PC and consoles, so that would count as a "Diablo-clone."

[cyberfluxor]

Naw, Diablo just brought more people to the genre. Really, if it weren't for Diablo II I don't believe WoW would be nearly as popular as it is today.

About the Boulders Gate comment, I do only have the GC game and have been wanting to grab the PC ones for awhile but I wasn't sure what differences there were. I've only heard positive things but it's been creeping out of stores and becomming a difficult game to find.

[roushimsx]

About the Boulders Gate comment, I do only have the GC game and have been wanting to grab the PC ones for awhile but I wasn't sure what differences there were.

Baldur's Gate isn't too shabby, but Baldur's Gate II is pure sex. They're completely different from the console versions, like calthaer said. You could TRY to play them like Diablo, but you will die within the first fight or two. I remember when I first played it I was expecting something akin to Diablo and didn't realize that you could pause the action to issue orders and such, so I was getting clobbered, heh.

You can play both of 'em on GameTap, but you won't be able to transfer your character from the first game to the second :( The Baldur's Gate II pack on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Baldurs-Gate-2-Ultimate-Collection/dp/B00009ECGG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4201467-6886532?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1174616257&sr=8-1) is cheap, though the first game w/ tales of the sword coast is going to set you back a bit more (there's an "Original Saga" box set that has the game + expansion on three CDs instead of six, I believe).

...but yea, rape/kill/murder/steal/beg/suck dick behind a dumpster/do whatever you have to do to get 'em, because you need to play 'em. Don't do it for me, do it for Minsc and Boo.

[Daria]

I'm sure if you dug arround a bit they wouldn't be too hard to find online. Popular games usually aren't. But yeah, definately play Baulder's Gate II and then follow it up with Fallout. Just... just because. Glorious age of PC gaming.

[cyberfluxor]

Thanks for the Amazon link, I'll order it next time I get paid. It was selling for $20+ around here new and was a turn-off since I was always looking at other things to buy. And one of my friends is a huge Fallout follower but I only have the "sequal" on the PS2. It's another one of those games I'll keep an eye open for.

[Daria]

Thanks for the Amazon link, I'll order it next time I get paid. It was selling for $20+ around here new and was a turn-off since I was always looking at other things to buy. And one of my friends is a huge Fallout follower but I only have the "sequal" on the PS2. It's another one of those games I'll keep an eye open for.

I never understood the mentality behind those sequals. They took two very popular PC franchises and decided to scrap everything that made them popular and release gauntlet clones. Yeah... that shit makes sense.

They may be fun dungeon hacks, but... they're nothing like the originals.

[FantasiaWHT]

I never understood the mentality behind those sequals. They took two very popular PC franchises and decided to scrap everything that made them popular and release gauntlet clones. Yeah... that shit makes sense.

They may be fun dungeon hacks, but... they're nothing like the originals.

By that logic, they never should have made Final Fantasy Tactics!

Spin-offs into new genres are just fine, ESPECIALLY when they are done well (which, admittedly, is rarely). BG on the consoles are very fun, tho

[Daria]

By that logic, they never should have made Final Fantasy Tactics!

Spin-offs into new genres are just fine, ESPECIALLY when they are done well (which, admittedly, is rarely). BG on the consoles are very fun, tho


True, except they didn't quit making standard Final Fantasy games when Tactics came out. It was truley a spin-off.

The situation's more akin to the Shining Force series. Sega has apparently abandoned the tactical play mechanics in favor of action RPGs that generate mediocre reviews.

I personally wouldn't mind Baulder's Gate the Gauntlet clone if there had been a Baulder's Gate III to continue the series. It's not a spin-off so much as a new direction in gameplay. See my point?

[roushimsx]

And one of my friends is a huge Fallout follower but I only have the "sequal" on the PS2. It's another one of those games I'll keep an eye open for.

Yea, I never much cared for the console Brotherhood of Steel game. The difficulty was all over the place (when it wasn't too hard it was just too tedious) and the writing was just really weak. The three Fallout games on PC are quite a bit different (with the third one, "Brotherhood of Steel" being different from the first two) and generally quite a bit better.

[FantasiaWHT]

True, except they didn't quit making standard Final Fantasy games when Tactics came out. It was truley a spin-off.

The situation's more akin to the Shining Force series. Sega has apparently abandoned the tactical play mechanics in favor of action RPGs that generate mediocre reviews.

I personally wouldn't mind Baulder's Gate the Gauntlet clone if there had been a Baulder's Gate III to continue the series. It's not a spin-off so much as a new direction in gameplay. See my point?

Ahhh that is a good distinction! Has there been any word ever of a PC continuation of Baldur's Gate? Been awhile since the last BG-style PC game, that I can think of...

[calthaer]

I'm pretty sure that the makers of Baldur's Gate moved from that series to Icewind Dale I & II & Planescape: Torment, and then moved on to Neverwinter Nights, where they're currently parked.

[Daria]

I'm pretty sure that the makers of Baldur's Gate moved from that series to Icewind Dale I & II & Planescape: Torment, and then moved on to Neverwinter Nights, where they're currently parked.

And don't forget the original Kinghts of the Old Republic. (:

I know that they still make good games. I'm just disapointed that the BG series had to end with the console versions. It's hardly the climax I would have liked to have seen.

[roushimsx]

I'm pretty sure that the makers of Baldur's Gate moved from that series to Icewind Dale I & II & Planescape: Torment, and then moved on to Neverwinter Nights, where they're currently parked.

Icewind Dale I, II, and Planescape Torment were from different developers than Baldur's Gate I and II, though Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II for Xbox/PS2 was from the same guys that did Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (Xbox/PS2), who were comprised of people that had previously worked on IWD and Planescape Torment. Black Isle did co-produce the first Baldur's Gate with Bioware, IIRC...but I'm not sure what the extent was of their involvement. A bunch of those Black Isle guys wound up at Obsidian working on Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights II, as well.

It's a shame we didn't get a full on trilogy, but I think they did a pretty good job wrapping up the storyline in 2 games + 2 expansions. I sure as fuck wouldn't complain if they ever made a new one, though.

Not to even further tangent the fuck out of this thread, but has anyone played Jade Empire? How does it compare to Knights of the Old Republic in terms of length, difficulty, and quality? As much as I completely LOVED KotOR, it was pretty darn short (when all was said and done, only about 15%-20% the amount of time I put into my first run of Baldur's Gate II) :(

[Daria]

Jade Empire's good, but if length is an issue I'm afraid it's very short aswell.

[Poofta!]

i wanna bring this topic back from teh dead to ask a little different question: what good diablo clones are there today. i loved titan quest and looking for something modern like it.

also, i played everything else mentioned here. and i love the console BG games (as well as the PC ones, but they are like mentioned, very different)

[Iron Draggon]

Crusader: No Remorse & Crusader: No Regret

[shivers]

Mythos beta was amazing. too bad flagship f*cked up.

[Trebuken]

Space Siege was just released and Sacred 2 is coming soon...

[dao2]

Arcaniums pretty good too.

[Nikademus1969]

Another vote for Throne Of Darkness. If you're on an older machine, it'll work fine. It ran with no problems on my old 1.7 ghz celeron PC, running XP.

[carlcarlson]

Sacred 2 is coming soon...

Yeah but it looks horrible. The first one is pretty good (though it's missing that something) so I was pretty pumped about the second. The last trailer I saw pretty much killed all the excitement I had. It looks generic and truely mediocre.

[FantasiaWHT]

Yeah but it looks horrible. The first one is pretty good (though it's missing that something) so I was pretty pumped about the second. The last trailer I saw pretty much killed all the excitement I had. It looks generic and truely mediocre.

How didn't you get that same vibe from the first one? I bought a cheap jewel case copy of it at some point and couldn't find a single thing exciting in it.

[DoRiARD]

Well, I'm new here, and was looking for "Diablo Clones" as called on internet, because I've been playing a really good clone already.

I might say i liked it better than diablo II, except the fact that the items are not random-created and the atmosphere is lighter...

ARCANUM: OF STEAMWORK AND MAGICK OBSCURA

I simply love the game, is free to explore, even letting you avoid totally the mission, choose between magick and technology (which i would example as: do you want to launch a fireball :devilish: or a cannon?:rockets:), in fact, the game is set in a time where trains and guns are common, but also are magick (magic) and elves, dwarves, orcs and so.

Well, is nice game to play, and not so heavy, i play it on an almost dead PC and is still running smoothly except a lag moment when there are too much monsters (and my party is of 6 including me, my summoned permanent familiar, which is a tiny dragon, my DOG - yes, you can have a dog - a dwarf, a magick-practicer dwarf -which is weird 'coz they hate magick, a half-orc and my character, who is a half-elf)

In actual computers it might run lightspeed like XD

Anyway. NOX is a great game also, i played it...

Dungeon Siege, I love the big scenario... it doesn't go to wait-screen even if you go down into a dungeon (something that both Diablo and Arcanum do)

That's all I have to share n.n and is weird that not a single one mentioned Arcanum, which has the same grid inventory, 2D isometric interface, similar sprites, EXACTLY same way of hack-slashing monsters...

But enough, right now I'm an Arcanum fan more than i was of Diablo II, and I'm also expecting Diablo III...

[carlcarlson]

How didn't you get that same vibe from the first one? I bought a cheap jewel case copy of it at some point and couldn't find a single thing exciting in it.

Yeah, I know what you mean. When I first played the original I only had the demo, so the areas I could access were restricted. I think that really helped me get excited about the game because I explored every nook and cranny and squeezed all I could out of the demo. Then I got the full game (and the expansion) and it's just too big. You kind of feel like you're lost in this huge land and nothing you do really matters. I still enjoy playing it from time to time because it IS so much like Diablo, but it is missing some addicting quality.

[FantasiaWHT]

Well, I'm new here, and was looking for "Diablo Clones" as called on internet, because I've been playing a really good clone already.

I might say i liked it better than diablo II, except the fact that the items are not random-created and the atmosphere is lighter...

ARCANUM: OF STEAMWORK AND MAGICK OBSCURA
...


Welcome! Very very good game. Probably closer to Baldur's Gate and its ilk than Diablo, but still excellent. I had an absolute blast with it - I intentionally made the stupidest character I possibly could. My conversation options were hilarious. He was also very frustrated with life and usually started killing everything in sight when he got upset. Needless to say, he wiped out quite a few small towns completely, heh, which is an interesting possibility.

I particularly liked all the "backgrounds" you could choose from that gave you both positive and negative traits.

[NickyT]

I was playing an open source Diablo-type game a while back, FreeDroid (http://freedroid.sourceforge.net/), in which you are Tux the Penguin and are on a quest to save the world from a Microsoft type company, lol. It was entertaining and seemed like a fun game.

[lament]

well if your looking for somthing realy similar to diablo my advice is this

Blade and Sword

i advise this to people who loved Throne of darkness too since this is like a D2 and ToD in 1.
heres a link to a review

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/bladeandsword/review.html

[lament]

heres more titles

Prince of Qin
Seal of Evil
Gorasul
Valhalla Chronichles

this 1 i think is online

loki

[lament]

Blade and Soul is a 3D mmo the online 3d version of Blade and sword
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtA1jSreK84&feature=related

i watched the trailer and its pretty cool

[ScourDX]

Siege of Avalon
Revenant

[Ed Oscuro]

Siege of Avalon
Revenant
Hmm. Maybe I'll crack open my copy of Avalon sometime (jewel case + sleeve compilation of all games in the series)

[ablang]

Great thread guys!

I counted over 41 games mentioned.

What I'd like to know is, how many of these games can play on a Win XP $300 netbook?

And does anyone know of any Diablo clones that can be played online in a browser?

[Johnny_Boy]

I'm not sure it's such a good idea to resurrect an old thread (necroposting) but to answer your second question, the best sort-of browser-based rogue-like would probably be TRIGLAV http://www.smokymonkeys.com/triglav/ (must use Internet Explorer, unfortunately.)

[AWinterFuneral]

I will second Darkstone especially since it can be found for cheap.


I've found Darkstone for PS1 all over the area down here in Virginia. I've seen AT LEAST 20 of them, all for 5$ or less. I got my copy ;).