It should come as no surprise I love me some Diablo. I played a hefty amount of Diablo III, both on the PC and the PS4. I did somehow miss the PS3 version though… But when Blizzard announced the remaster of Diablo II I had to have it. While the game certainly needed some work to ever live up to the impressive heights of the original. with some care and updates it’s in a better place than it once was. And then there’s the original Diablo on PC (and sure, let’s throw in that PS1 version, too). I don’t think I’ve written about it here, but when I bought the game on a whim back in like, 2000 at our local Toys ‘R Us, I was completely shocked by what the game offered. I can safely say it laid the foundation for my lifelong love of action RPGs.
Oh, and then there’s also the non-video game Diablo stuff. I’m talking the canonical books, which are actually referenced in the games themselves. We’ve also got the Diablo II inspired Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting and rules, which I sought out intently at any local gaming conventions in college. I found it, and thankfully for a decent price, and have it sitting happily in the tabletop area next to D&D books proper. Diablo III actually had with it a trio of supplemental art and lore books, each with a high attention to detail and production values. The Book of Cain in particular stands out, detailing the history of the Prime Evils from the perspective of eponymous Deckard Cain. All of these supplemental sources of goodness, along with some I haven’t even mentioned, helped shape my love of the series, and placed it firmly in my favorite series’ of all time.
Which brings me to Diablo IV. Releasing in the Summer of 2023, the fourth entry in the series promises to bring the action of Diablo III and the strategy of Diablo II to a whole new audience. Blizzard has their work cut out for them, as the previous game in the series, Diablo Immortal, was a mobile-only cash grab that gamers thought was a solid game but hindered by typical mobile game monetization methods. Immortal was the first new game in the series since Diablo III, releasing 10 years afterward. It also came out at a very low time for Blizzard: their scandal was heated, and they were also receiving negative press for their other games not offering that much content **cough**cough**OVERWATCH**cough**
Because of all that, I was skeptical about Diablo IV. An elegant and intriguing trailer made me yearn for more, but what we got first was the not-so-great Diablo II Resurrected. And then we got Immortal. So last weekend when the public beta released, I was debating even taking the time to download it. My curiosity got the best of me, so I downloaded while making my lunch. Sandwich in hand, I logged in only to find a 30+ minute wait… which immediately timed out after 30 minutes and requeued me. Annoyed, I turned off the game and played something else. I added the inconvenience to the bucket of negativity I associated with Blizzard.
Thankfully my luck was better the following day. Queue times were down to less than a minute, and I hopped into the game. I decided to try out the Druid, as we haven’t seen that class since D2, and before long I was Werebear’ing and slashing baddies with the best of them. Laura hopped on too, and we were able to play co-op together in no time, like any Diablo game should be enjoyed. My immediate reactions were, “This is fun,” and, “This is definitely a Diablo game.” Both of those feelings remained true the entire time we played through all of Act I. Everything felt fresh and familiar at the same time: combat and the skill tree was like D3 and the mood, setting, and overall feel felt a bit more like D2. It wasn’t really an option to just run in and wail on the enemy, as they could legit one-shot you if you weren’t paying attention. Overall, it felt good.
But “Good” isn’t good enough. Not for Diablo. This is the series that literally defined the action RPG. It’s the one that all others are compared too. They’re called “Diablo Clones” and not “Baldur’s Gate Clones”. So what can else did Diablo IV deliver to make it noteworthy?
It’s story is certainly something I’m interested in. After the events of Reaper of Souls, I didn’t really know where they would take the game plot-wise. Logically it makes sense Diablo IV would revolve around something new, as the Prime Evils and Lesser Evils are all banished. The history between once-lovers Inarius and Lilith led to the creation of the land of Sanctuary as well as Humanity as we know it, including the Nephalim. D4’s setting takes place after the events of D3, and tells the story of a battled and bitter Inarius and Lilith. Their ideals on whether Humanity should survive has torn them apart, and it seems the savoir of the human race may be the Mother Lilith. We’ll have to wait until the full game releases to see the story unfold, but so far the intriguing bits of the Beta have me guessing what it all means. I’m here for it, and I really do look forward to seeing what the game can offer up storywise.
Worth noting has to be the game’s open world approach. Instead of being a solo affair, or with a few buddies at most, Diablo IV instead has an open hub in the form of Kyovashad, the main city. Here you’ll find dozens of other players, each in their own unique part of their quest. I likely won’t be doing this, but I presume you could in theory team up here if you want before setting out on your quest. Questing is actually another neat approach, as you’re no longer on a single track to complete the game, but have some option on how you’d like to approach. I think the Beta showed a glimpse of this offering a couple options on what to do next, meaning subsequent playthroughs you could experience something new instead of treading the same ground again. But while you are going to see some of the same things time and again (this is a Diablo game afterall), the inclusion of randomized World Events and Dungeons keep things somewhat fresh. Seeing unique dungeon completion awards, such as Class bonuses, incentivizes playing through these zones to see what you might pull.
Lastly, I have to bring up how much fun the game was to play. It felt fun from start to finish. After the Beta was over, I found myself wanting to jump right back in, grind a few more zones, see the next area, discover where the story was leading. At that moment I knew the game got me. I was hooked, just like I was hooked with the first three games. I wanted to level up and find more gear, I needed to see what the next enemies would bring, I already wished I were at the max level so I could start getting Paragon levels, and so much more. The Diablo-ness of it all made me want to play again and again. Assuming the game delivers that caliber of content come full release, I’ll likely be there. Maybe not day one, but I’ll be there.
I cannot believe it’s been over 20 years and I’m still getting to enjoy the Diablo series. The storylines, the characters, the gameplay, the memories… they all came flooding back playing that Beta. And isn’t that what a Beta for an established franchise is supposed to do? Here’s hoping Diablo IV is the next huge hit for action RPG fans. I’ll be there for it, with anticipation and excitement.
Laters,
Jsick
