Diablo IV Review – Heaven-sent

Diablo 4 successfully tempts to sinful indulgence at all times. My insatiable hunger for power is fed by a thrilling quest for rare loot. There is little room for regret after you have killed thousands of opponents, be they supernatural or other. It doesn’t matter if you play with your friends or alone, the massive action-RPG will keep me playing for hours.

Diablo 4 is an incredibly satisfying experience that rewards multiple aspects of the game. Its well-paced development and its pipeline of system reward players for a variety of different skills. A focus on the player’s maneuverability, coupled with a variety of opponents that reward skillful gameplay, creates a series of entertaining, thought-provoking, and chaotic battle scenarios. Titanic, lengthy boss encounters skirt the line of feeling manageable and won by the skin of my teeth, offering the best examples of the game’s good difficulty balance.

The fact that my ability to play and maximize my strengths is more important than grinding for a higher level. I have adjusted my loadouts accordingly to achieve this. It is encouraged that I regularly respec my skill points in order to try out new powers and benefits. This gives me a great feeling of control and allows me to enjoy how the character develops. The increased flexibility comes from a robust, but simple to understand skill tree. It gives way after level 50 to the revamped Paragon Board that allows for even more fun and intricate self-improvement. 

The quest to customize gear is an obsession. I can change unwanted traits of armor with better ones, use useless loot as materials for improving favored equipment or even add sockets that boost stats. Even if I don’t get powerful equipment often, even a bad piece of gear can be transformed into a weapon that is worth its weight in gold. As strange as it sounds, I’m also glad I’m not finding amazing loot too often, letting me customize and grow attached to equipped gear without the fear or hassle of constantly ditching stuff for the shiny new toy.

Although exploring Sancutary’s five massive regions is sometimes a chore due to how long it takes to get a mount and the near-constant mugging from enemies, it’s a blast to uncover. It’s worth it to complete over 100 sidequests that tell multi-part tales. Finding dozens of Altars for Lilith and exploring tons randomized dungeons. The system rewards players who complete routine tasks such as finding new areas, unlocking quests and completing waypoints. Players are rewarded with additional skill points, but most importantly, they get more potions. Renown also incentivized me to run dungeons that don’t offer Aspects, powerful item perks, specific to my class, or to clean up parts of the map I might have overlooked otherwise. My favorite activity is to explore Strongholds. These areas are filled with enemies and have objectives. The steep, unique challenges were a great way to test my abilities and gain rewards like new settlements and missions. 

Diablo IV’s centerpiece feature, its always-online shared open world, is largely unobtrusive during moment-to-moment gameplay. The multiple pre-release technical tests have seemingly paid off, as I’ve yet to experience any major connection hiccups. The presence of other players did not hinder my experience. I prefer solo play but the moments I encountered another avatar were a nice addition to the story. The deus ex-machina style frost bolts of an intervening wizard player were a welcome scripted relief when I was nearly ripped to shreds by hordes or goatmen during one of many challenging, varied live events. While I’m happy to bid a friendly wave to such helpers before moving on, forming groups with strangers is easy, as is assembling friend parties to raid dungeons as a squad. 

Diablo IV’s reliance on an internet connection is still irksome on a conceptual level due to the reality of server issues preventing log-ins. The cosmetics-only store in the game is priced high, especially for an expensive release. ($8 for small accessory packs?), but the abundance of great-looking discoverable gear doesn’t leave me wanting to throw cash at cool threads. 

It’s not hard to sell me on a fun dungeon-crawling action RPG, but Diablo IV’s strong narrative is a treat. Lilith’s hostile takeover of Sanctuary and the disturbing events that follow gripped me thanks to the improved cinematography, something you don’t often see in top-down dungeon crawlers. Cutscenes in the game do justice to strong performances and characterisations. As much as I enjoyed dungeon-crawling, I wanted to learn more about the characters and see what was next in their story. Copious references and surprise cameos will likely delight Diablo veterans, but even newcomers can absorb and enjoy the tale since it doesn’t rely heavily on existing knowledge of the previous entries. Tack on an infectious reverence for Diablo’s history, and the plot, especially its ending, has me itching to see where the cast goes next.

Sanctuary’s endgame is a great way to turn a powerful character into an almost godlike force. Whispers of the Dead, which offer exclusive rewards for completion within time limits, is another way to test my prowess. Helltides are recurring zones that contain tougher-than-nails versions of current threats. This is another way to measure my skill. Nightmare Dungeons, PvP Battles and other exciting features fueled me to keep going. 

Diablo 4 continues to seduce me with its promise of wealth and power. It delivers. I’ve had a tough time putting it down even after starting fresh numerous times, and I get excited thinking about how I’ll be foiling Lilith’s plans in the months ahead as seasonal updates begin rolling out. Until then, I’m happy to continue relieving Sanctuary of its treasures – and demons of their lives –  in this devilishly impressive epic.