Diablo IV

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Saying it’s been quite the season for stellar game releases might be the understatement of the century. We’ve got a spicy new Zelda, a spicy new Street Fighter, so much spice you might think we’re at Chipotle. Better grab some milk, though, because the spiciness isn’t letting up anytime soon because we’re headed back to Hell. I hear it’s pretty spicy there, too.

After a decade+ of waiting Diablo IV is finally here, returning Blizzard’s action-RPG sensation back to its roots just enough to please veterans while remaining accessible to bring it newcomers to the party.

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I’d say the world of Sanctuary is in danger but that’s pretty much always the case, so it’s nothing new. This time around, the demon Lilith has returned to the land she’s said to have created. She’s tearing things up, summoning the hordes of Hell and basically making a mess of things. Meanwhile, the angel Inarius, who’s meant to be dealing with the situation, hasn’t really been on task lately. Guess it’s up to you and any number of other adventurers to take the situation into your own hands.

You can choose from one of five classes – the Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue and Sorcerer – and customize them to your liking, though there’s a certain degree of body-shape uniformity to each class. To many players’ dismay, you can’t possibly be a Druid that’s not built like a truck, and to my dismay, these classes all return from previous Diablo titles. A new class would have been nice, so let’s hope DLC delivers. Bring back the Monk, at least?

In any case, everyone on this greatest-hits class roster benefits from a variety of changes to their skills and playstyles, including a number of different build options for each class. A Sorcerer focusing on Fire magic might be big on stacking up burning damage, while a Lightning caster might run around grabbing static orbs to zap enemies around them. What’s more, at high levels you unlock a Paragon tree that offers even more bang for your buck.

Diablo IV’s gameplay? Well, you probably know already, it’s only part of the most popular action-RPG franchises since whenever. Run around, kill monsters with your skills, collect loot to upgrade your stats and enable more killing, repeat until your dopamine receptors are soaked. IV feels like a mix between some of the best parts of Diablo II (the loot, the darker tone overall) and III (the more action-focused take on the genre) so it’s probably going to appeal to a broad audience of fans.

New quirks include Guild Wars 2-style world events, mounts to get you around the massive open world more easily and a big focus on dodging template attacks a la modern MMORPGs. All of this is welcome, though dodging might take a little getting used to if you’re accustomed to just eating hits to the face. The shift to a more open-world setup might be considered a new quirk as well, though it’s more an excuse to get distracted and check out dungeons rather than a huge change to the overall gameplay loop.

We try not to go overly in-depth in our reviews since, well, there’s a lot of games to check out and only so much time to get to them, so we won’t get into the nitty-gritty of loot, skills and endgame here. Rest assured, though, that everything about Diablo IV feels satisfying, polished and very much accurate to the Diablo franchise in a way that III might have lacked a bit at first. There’s a staggering amount of content, both in the main story and endgame, so you won’t run out of loot-laundering action anytime soon. Progression allows you to increase the game’s World Tier, unlocking more difficult foes and shinier prizes, so there’s incentive to keep improving.

There’s rarely been any issues with Diablo games on the aesthetic or performance front, though some might beg to differ regarding the colorful nature of III. That’s another tradition IV continues, as the game looks great, plays great, sounds great and is blessed with some of the best aesthetics the series has ever seen. The cutscenes in particular are top-notch and it’s worth taking your time to check them out the first time around. It’s also worth mentioning that network issues, while not nonexistent, tend to be rare and only last for a couple hours maximum, which is fantastic for the launch of a popular new online-only game.

While it would have been nice to see Blizzard take a few more risks with the formula, Diablo IV is still fantastic on a fundamental level, offering fans a superb adventure right out of the gate. It’s also nice to see that, by and large, both the gaming press and game fans agree, so there’s room to take those risks with future updates. As for the game as it stands now, there’s no need to think twice – if action-RPGs with plenty of gear to grab, demons to demolish and builds to build are your thing, Diablo IV is going to be your huckleberry.