Diablo 3's Special Diablo 1-Style Mode Debuts With Today's Update

The retro-style dungeon for Diablo III that seeks to recreate aspects of the original Diablo is now available for a limited time.

Today sees the release of update 2.4.3 on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. Its chief addition is the special dungeon announced back at Blizzcon as a 20-year-anniversary celebration. By tracking down a group of cultists in Adventure mode, you'll be able to access a special portal that takes players to a 16-level dungeon filled with bosses and other elements from the original Diablo.

As seen in the video above, this goes beyond the simple addition of a dungeon to Diablo III. It features retro-style graphics and sound effects, an old-school UI, and movement that is locked to eight directions. While it isn't required, Blizzard recommends making a new character to play through the dungeon.

This special event is only available for the month of January. It'll return in future years to mark the franchise's anniversary, and Blizzard says it'll ordinarily feature a "pre-cursor event" from January 1-3.

Elsewhere in this patch, a number of new items have been added, including a seventh piece of the Crusader's Armor of Akkhan set. Existing items have also been changed, with a number of class-specific Legendaries receive new Legendary powers. If you already have one of these items, it won't be changed--you'll need to track down a new one to enjoy the changed effects.

Other adjustments affect Greater Rifts and Season Journeys, along with a number of other things. You can see the full list of changes here and get an explanation for some of them here. Console patch notes can be seen here; they include the addition of 4k output support for PS4 Pro owners.

Many of Blizzard's other games are marking Diablo's anniversary in their own ways. World of Warcraft's celebration is now underway and involves a secret cow level.