Diablo IV

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 6 June 2023
Price: $69.99 USD – Available Here $109.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

I firmly believe that the more you wait for a video game, there’s more chance for it to be complete junk. I’ve seen that happen with Duke Nukem Forever, Star Citizen, and who knows what will happen with Beyond Good and Evil 2 – assuming it ever releases. Sometimes I just give up on hyping myself up, stop following the news, and be pleasantly surprised once I remember that something from “development hell” is finally out. Now, Diablo IV was far from ever being in development hell but we have been drip-fed over the years in the form of short trailers, artwork, and vague updates. And just like that, it’s finally out!

Story

Diablo IV takes place fifty years after the events of Diablo III. You play as The Wanderer, a little nobody caught in the war between Heaven and Hell. After being drugged by villagers corrupted by Lilith and fed petals of her blood, The Wanderer forms an unlikely connection with Lilith. But way before taking her on, we have to delve deeper into the dungeons all over Sanctuary and discover hidden areas with plenty of optional content. As we try to grapple with the power vacuum left after the defeat of antagonists from the previous game, we’re also caught in the fierce war between Lilith and Inarius, a fallen angel.

Gameplay

Despite the complexity that shows its face later in the game, Diablo IV is surprisingly easy to get into. At least combat-wise. The story might give you a slight headache if you haven’t been playing the previous entries in the series, but good old hack n slash is something you can always rely on.

As expected, at the start of the game you are considerably limited in how you dispatch the creatures of Hell. I played as a sorceress so in the first hour I had a measly staff in my inventory and some basic armor. As you level up, more and more skills are introduced but at the same time, the world of Diablo IV is carefully balanced as you go through the story and complete side quests. There is always a slight challenge as you play reminding you that you’re merely a cog in the machine, helplessly caught between the war of Heaven and Hell.

Visuals

Compared to the previous entry (and the fact that more than a decade has passed in between) the graphics received a significant upgrade. You won’t see much of it at the start, though. The game has a strange habit of hanging too much around the initial area of Kyovashad, where all the colors seem washed out and monochromatic. I get it, it’s supposed to portray the hopelessness of its denizens and the absolute despair of the Sanctuary but it ended up being a real slog to push through. However, past Act 2 you’ll see what the game engine of Diablo IV can really achieve. It is at the same time that you’ll be able to get your hands on better-looking armor sets and make your reputation out of little nobody to a Wanderer that brings fear into the (nonexistent) hearts of mobs.

Audio

I’m rarely a person that will hype myself up, even for some games that I’ve been waiting for quite some time. However, when it came to the soundtrack and sound design, I knew that Blizzard cannot disappoint. It is a mere joy exploring the outskirts of Kyovashad and around Yelesna as gloomy gothic notes follow you wherever you go. Some of the boss fights have such memorable themes that I was seriously considering dying once or twice to Astaroth just so I could hear his theme again. I died more than a dozen times though, but that was merely due to my incompetence.

Overall

If there was one game that could be described as “worth the wait”, it’s definitely this one. As expected from today’s gaming climate, the game also comes with a shop and microtransactions but none of it is aggressively thrown in your face. You can have enough armor sets, weapons, and whatnot to experiment with – without spending a dime on visual gimmicks. What I didn’t like is how the story of Act 3 seems really drawn out and artificially prolonged, like a season of some Netflix show that has enough content for 6 episodes, yet they somehow watered it down to 12. It is a game where you won’t find yourself saying “Just one more hour and I’m done” but more like “Just one more day and I’ll consider a break to finally eat something”.

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