Diablo IV (2023)
Many years after the destruction of the Black Soulstone, an ancient evil is once again on the move. Diablo IV is an action role-playing game that returns players to the world of Sanctuary, featured in a new, open-world format.
First released
Jun 1, 2023
Aliases
Diablo 4, D4
Franchises
Diablo
Developed by
Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard Albany
Published by
Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms
Mac, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Genres
Role-Playing, Action-Adventure
Themes
Horror, Fantasy
Community reviews
*Warning: spoilers* Such a great start, but then corporate greed kicked in.
I do not get hyped that much anymore for new games, but there are some exceptions, and the Diablo series is one of them.
When Diablo IV was announced, and I watched the trailers, I shat my pants. It looked glorious and it would appear that Blizzard finally listened to their fans. It was delayed multiple times, but after a few months and a few scandals later, it hit the market.
The launch was (as could be expected in the Diablo series) horrible. Long queues, server outages, vague error codes and immediately, I got a slap to the past were I saw SimCity floating before my eyes. Only this time, it talked to me and it said: “sorry bro, we have technical issues so no game session for you on your only day off haha”. Eventually it worked fine, but this kind of bullsh!t has to be mentioned and cannot be ignored.
Anyway, In Diablo IV, you do not fight Diablo but Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. She plans to dominate the world of Sanctuary, which she created with her Loverboy Inarius, by releasing the lesser evils, to unite them against the prime evils. You, the wanderer, start in a village full of cultist lunatics who worship Lilith and are rescued by the last Horadrim Lorath. After this, your plan to stop Lilith takes shape and through different regions, quests and boss fights, you eventually reach her, kick her ass and save the day. This is the short version anyway.
The graphics are great in Diablo IV. Not because of the stunning detail or perfect animations or something, but because the dark, grim graphics and art style from Diablo II are back. No more cartoony, jolly skeletons and zombies like Diablo III, but realistic, gory details in the background, less lighting in dark environments and a overall more grim look, the way it should be.
Soundwise, the game is also a big improvement over the previous installment. Hits and attacks sound a lot better and overall, I got nothing to complain here.
The introduction of a horse in this game is a God gift, now that the maps and regions are so huge. Speaking of this, the new mechanics on the world map, in which you can complete many, many side quests, find collectibles and conquer different dungeons, is a really big improvement and gave a really good RPG vibe. It was relieving to see this new style of playing and my first time completing everything, finding everything and earning my first-time rewards, was a good experience.
The game was/is relatively new, so maybe this point is not completely fair, but I encountered a lot of broken quests in Diablo IV. No game is perfect, but despite being reported to Blizzard a hundred times, some quests are still not playable. Another annoyance are the millions and millions of stats on items that do not make any sense. It messed with my head and I still don’t know what is the correct stat for my build.
Immediately after finishing the campaign, all its quests, its collectibles and dungeons, the boredom kicked in. I understand that this is the main problem for almost any player, but nevertheless, I suffered from it too. Yes, you can play further, grind your way into oblivion and eventually reach level 100, but what is the point? You did everything, collected everything, and unlocked everything level-specific.
Well, Blizzard’s solution is of course, Seasons. But, like with Diablo III eventually, this does not make any difference. You create a new, level 1 character, and do the same sh!t over and over and over again. To top it off, Blizzard does not want you to progress too fast, so they freaking nerf your damage, XP and almost any other stat. Well done Blizzard.
So far, I could excuse a lot of things. Diablo IV is, in way, a fresh new experience with improved mechanics, a far better progression system and a new open world to explore and complete. But then, corporate greed kicked in.
It is as I feared. After the predatory behavior of the vile filth that is Diablo Immortal, Blizzard introduced it’s “genius” marketing in Diablo IV. Spend hard earned cash on “deals and packs” of in game currency, that makes sure that you are always 100 short for the item that you want to buy. For now, the only thing you can buy are cosmetics, but I am sure that this marks the start of “legendary gems”, and “power orbs”. To keep the cash flowing, I am sure that you can buy your way to level 100 in no time, somewhere in the near future.
It disgusts me to the core, and although you can call it speculation, false worries, or call me pessimistic, Diablo Immortal proved that greed and “innovative marketing” has no limit and is not unthinkable. They did it once, they will do it again.
Diablo IV started strong, but slipped to corporate, “EA” standards, in no time. For this reason, I cannot recommend this game.
Such a terrible shame.
When Diablo IV was announced, and I watched the trailers, I shat my pants. It looked glorious and it would appear that Blizzard finally listened to their fans. It was delayed multiple times, but after a few months and a few scandals later, it hit the market.
The launch was (as could be expected in the Diablo series) horrible. Long queues, server outages, vague error codes and immediately, I got a slap to the past were I saw SimCity floating before my eyes. Only this time, it talked to me and it said: “sorry bro, we have technical issues so no game session for you on your only day off haha”. Eventually it worked fine, but this kind of bullsh!t has to be mentioned and cannot be ignored.
Anyway, In Diablo IV, you do not fight Diablo but Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. She plans to dominate the world of Sanctuary, which she created with her Loverboy Inarius, by releasing the lesser evils, to unite them against the prime evils. You, the wanderer, start in a village full of cultist lunatics who worship Lilith and are rescued by the last Horadrim Lorath. After this, your plan to stop Lilith takes shape and through different regions, quests and boss fights, you eventually reach her, kick her ass and save the day. This is the short version anyway.
The graphics are great in Diablo IV. Not because of the stunning detail or perfect animations or something, but because the dark, grim graphics and art style from Diablo II are back. No more cartoony, jolly skeletons and zombies like Diablo III, but realistic, gory details in the background, less lighting in dark environments and a overall more grim look, the way it should be.
Soundwise, the game is also a big improvement over the previous installment. Hits and attacks sound a lot better and overall, I got nothing to complain here.
The introduction of a horse in this game is a God gift, now that the maps and regions are so huge. Speaking of this, the new mechanics on the world map, in which you can complete many, many side quests, find collectibles and conquer different dungeons, is a really big improvement and gave a really good RPG vibe. It was relieving to see this new style of playing and my first time completing everything, finding everything and earning my first-time rewards, was a good experience.
The game was/is relatively new, so maybe this point is not completely fair, but I encountered a lot of broken quests in Diablo IV. No game is perfect, but despite being reported to Blizzard a hundred times, some quests are still not playable. Another annoyance are the millions and millions of stats on items that do not make any sense. It messed with my head and I still don’t know what is the correct stat for my build.
Immediately after finishing the campaign, all its quests, its collectibles and dungeons, the boredom kicked in. I understand that this is the main problem for almost any player, but nevertheless, I suffered from it too. Yes, you can play further, grind your way into oblivion and eventually reach level 100, but what is the point? You did everything, collected everything, and unlocked everything level-specific.
Well, Blizzard’s solution is of course, Seasons. But, like with Diablo III eventually, this does not make any difference. You create a new, level 1 character, and do the same sh!t over and over and over again. To top it off, Blizzard does not want you to progress too fast, so they freaking nerf your damage, XP and almost any other stat. Well done Blizzard.
So far, I could excuse a lot of things. Diablo IV is, in way, a fresh new experience with improved mechanics, a far better progression system and a new open world to explore and complete. But then, corporate greed kicked in.
It is as I feared. After the predatory behavior of the vile filth that is Diablo Immortal, Blizzard introduced it’s “genius” marketing in Diablo IV. Spend hard earned cash on “deals and packs” of in game currency, that makes sure that you are always 100 short for the item that you want to buy. For now, the only thing you can buy are cosmetics, but I am sure that this marks the start of “legendary gems”, and “power orbs”. To keep the cash flowing, I am sure that you can buy your way to level 100 in no time, somewhere in the near future.
It disgusts me to the core, and although you can call it speculation, false worries, or call me pessimistic, Diablo Immortal proved that greed and “innovative marketing” has no limit and is not unthinkable. They did it once, they will do it again.
Diablo IV started strong, but slipped to corporate, “EA” standards, in no time. For this reason, I cannot recommend this game.
Such a terrible shame.