Diablo IV comes a decade after the much maligned third entry…one that marked the beginning of a lot of ill-will toward Blizzard Entertainment that continues to this day. This new entry hopes to course correct and gives fans more of what they love about the top-down dungeon crawler, offering up hoards of enemies, gouts of blood, Bosch-esque landscapes and a satisfying story without as much of the live-service content that made gamers turn their back on the previous entry.
Getting the easy targets out of the way – Diablo IV still includes a store where you can buy cosmetics and boosts to aid in gameplay. Easing the minds of gamers, this is not a pay-to-win system and you can easily play the full game without ever spending an extra dime.
Now that the elephant in the room has been addressed, let’s talk about why Diablo IV is so good.
From the first cutscene Diablo sucks you into its world with gorgeous graphics, a great story, and an ever-increasing sense of scope. Just when you think the game world can’t get any bigger, it does, and offers a dozen more dungeons to explore. Diablo IV is a feast of content, hundreds of hours’ worth of exploration and adventure to be had for those who allow themselves to get sucked in. While the main quest is a top priority, there is a cavalcade of side content never too far away to keep you distracted from saving the world.
Diablo, as an RPG, is all about leveling up and getting the best gear and build for your playstyle and character class. The problem is that with so much side content you can easily make my mistake and max our your character’s level by the second act of five. Being a completionist doesn’t pay – as doing every piece of content rather than focus on the main story means having half the game spent with all enemies the same level and no real room for growth. New players won’t know this – making the game a little frustrating. Why have so much content but no incentive to complete it all aside from items?
Gameplay=wise, you choose a class of character based on your preferred playstyle and are instantly thrown into an icy wasteland where large armies of enemies run at you relentlessly, you hold down attack and watch them explode or keel over, and occasionally you down a healing potion that magically makes your pincushioned body return to a hundred percent. It’s a gameplay cycle that fans of dungeon crawlers will be familiar with but one I found a little dry after twenty hours or so. There are constant challenges and new ways to build the characters that add some variety but ultimately you’ll find the game lose some of that early charm the further you go.
But that’s not to say Diablo IV isn’t a good time, especially with friends. The game has infinite replay value due to its randomly generated dungeons and the character creation offering something new for each playthrough. This is a vast, content-rich game that should appeal to fans of the series and RPG’s as a whole.
3/4 Stars
Blizzard provided a review copy
Played on PS5
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Sean Newgent has been with KGUN9 since January of 2020 and is Good Morning Tucson's executive producer. He graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He is a critic and cultural commentator. Share your story ideas and important issues with Sean by emailing sean.newgent@kgun9.com.
