Play Diablo (Proto) Online

I stumbled across a prototype build of Diablo for the original Game Boy, a version that was never officially released. It was developed by Blizzard, though it feels more like a rough sketch than a finished game. In an era dominated by platformers and puzzle games on the handheld, this attempt to bring a complex dungeon crawler to the small screen was ambitious, if not entirely successful.

You control a lone hero navigating a series of dark, interconnected dungeons one screen at a time. The main goal is to fight monsters, gather gold and equipment, and descend deeper into the labyrinth. Combat is simple, relying on basic sword attacks, and you manage a small inventory through cramped menus. The pacing is slow, and the controls can feel unresponsive, making even basic navigation a test of patience. Playing it feels like uncovering a forgotten blueprint, interesting more for what it attempted than for what it actually delivers.