Diablo 1 is by far the darkest and most adult of the storylines. Diablo 2, comes a reasonable second but with much less claustrophobia. Diablo 1's genius was it's fixation on Tristram and the inescapable dread that emanated from the Cathedral, something the village NPC's were more than happy to testament to. As soon as the Diablo series became more geographically broad, it also watered down the atmosphere clearly present in Tristram. That village was cursed, and no other place in the lore ever came close.
for my part the more obvious Christian imagery combined with the feeling of stumbling upon some dark horrible secret really sold the atmosphere of the first game.
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>meanwhile in clvl 12
>As soon as the Diablo series became more geographically broad, it also watered down the atmosphere clearly present in Tristram.
That applies to a ton of franchises I think. Once they get a higher budget they become globetrotting adventures with weaker atmosphere.
the dilemma being how to expand upon the premise of a game without broadening it and losing the atmosphere?