One of the most loved franchises in the gaming world makes a legendary return with its latest addition Diablo IV, and in our review, we will cover this world of dark enchantments and diabolical creatures. It has been one of the most anticipated titles this year and has not disappointed us at all.
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It has so far garnered overwhelmingly positive ratings, essentially undoing the damage done by its predecessor Diablo Immortal. The developers at Blizzard wanted to show the seriousness of their ARPG, and they did so spectacularly.
The game has brought back its endless dungeon, demon killing, and horrific bosses with a perfect set of new mechanics and breathtaking visuals. There are a few occasional problems with the tile, but we will go over them soon.
Story And Setting
Story.
Diablo has evolved from the generic good vs. evil style of its previous titles and brings an entirely new experience for players to enjoy. While the threat of Diablo and its Prime Evils still holds a tight grip over the narrative, the villains have been represented with a more sympathetic nature. Not only does that make it hard to guess events, but also portrays blood-sucking demons in a more devilishly delightful way.
The main antagonist of the story is Lilith, who is quite a powerful demon in the lore. And Diablo IV portrays itself as a complex version of Romeo and Juliet, with star-crossed lovers fighting to be together. The best part is that you don’t need to play prior titles to get up to speed with the story. However, there is plenty of fan service for seasoned Diablo enthusiasts.
While the threat of Diablo and its Prime Evils still holds a tight grip over the narrative, the villains have been represented with a more sympathetic nature.
The world itself, however, is quite a depressing one. The style is kept in tune with the older titles; Dark and Morbid with a lot of gore. The plot starts about 50 years after the Reaper of Souls storyline as humanity tries to rebuild what it lost. And as Lilith senses a power vacuum in the battle between heaven and hell, she tries to seize power for herself.
So you must now team up with the retired Horadrim Lorath Nah and some other scrappy adventurers to try and stop her in good old Diablo fashion.
Gameplay
Gameplay.
If you’re a fan of open-world games then you are going to love Diablo IV. You can immediately explore almost all of Sanctuary pretty early on, and you get a horse about two-thirds of the way through the game after completing Act 3. But you do have access to fast travel immediately, so that will get rid of some of the backtracking fatigue.
There are well over a 100 dungeons in the game for you to discover, and while some of these are tied to the story, most of them are open to explore at any stage of the game. When you have completed the main quests, you will also gain access to Nightmare Dungeons which are hybrid dungeons with stronger enemies and unique aspects.
When it comes to classes, there are about 5 you can choose from. They are Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Necromancer, and Druid. Each of them offers its own unique set of classes which will aid you depending on your playstyle.
If you’re a fan of open-world games then you are going to love Diablo IV.
The Barbarian class is the default brute class that allows for exciting melee combat. It involves screaming, leaping, and just general bloody fun while using a wide assortment of weapons that serve different roles. You can cycle through slashing, bludgeoning, two-handed, and many more types of weapons in combat according to what suits you best.
Rogue.
Rogues are hyper-dexterity-based characters that rely on movement and quick attacks to do well in combat. They offer both melee and ranged-type attacks, making them quite versatile. Additionally, you also have access to special mechanics like applying poison, cold, or shadow damage with each attack.
The Sorcerer class is quite self-explanatory as the spell-casting class. You can smite your enemies with thunder, freeze them with ice, or even burn them to a crisp by harnessing the power of fire. Furthermore, you also gain a unique enchantment mechanic that allows you to apply passives to active skills.
Necromancers are a fan-favorite class because of their background lore in the earlier games. Even if that wasn’t the case, you can raise an army of the dead or summon minions to fight for you which is pretty cool. You can also make corpses explode, which is too incredible of a skill to pass up on.
Druid.
The Druid is a hybrid class that allows for good spellcasting abilities as well as having a good command of controlling the elements. They also have a very cool unique skill called shapeshifting, which can turn you into ferocious beasts and annihilate any foe that comes a little too close.
There is one controversial aspect of the game that needs mentioning, and that is the in-game store, and it allows players to spend real money on in-game items. However, unlike its predecessor, Diablo IV does not have a pay-to-win aspect to it, instead the store is strictly for game cosmetics and character drip. That still doesn’t mean that it’s any more welcome though. it’s still a very expensive cash shop in a fully priced $70 game.
Visuals And Performance
Visuals.
2023 has not been the best year for games so far because of a slew of unoptimized games with horrible performance issues. Diablo IV doesn’t fall in that category because it runs like butter on its intended platforms and recommended settings. But PC users may still want to keep an eye out for the ultra system requirements because they are quite steep.
In our experience, the game does crash under very specific situations so it’s not perfect, but generally, performance is still extremely good. Other than that, there have been some bugs discovered by users and Blizzard that will be fixed in upcoming updates.
Diablo IV does an excellent job of portraying the true essence of its dark and brutal world.
When it comes to visuals, these are some of the best graphics in the entire ARPG genre. The mood at every stage of the game is perfectly reflected by its aesthetic, and that is very important for games like Diablo to immerse the players in their story deeply, which it does perfectly through its locations and ambiance.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the game we experienced was the combat visuals. In games like Diablo or Mortal Kombat which thrive on gore, it’s really important to capture it all and present it in the best way possible. And Diablo IV does an excellent job of portraying the true essence of its dark and brutal world.
Verdict
Verdict.
Diablo IV is a breath of fresh air among all the poorly performing AAA titles we have been seeing lately. The gameplay is phenomenal, the classes and build diversity is incredible, and the ambiance is some of the best I have ever seen. This is Blizzard at the peak of its game.
The game is also quite demanding in terms of resources, but the experience is well worth it and does not disappoint at all. Consoles are no slouch either, but PC is truly the way to go if you want the best experience. But you also need a beast of a PC to be able to run it on the highest settings.
It’s also worth noting that the inclusion of an in-game cash shop in a $70 title is absolutely disgusting, and that has no place in the AAA space. And as far as we are concerned, that costs the game points in our review.
This has been our Diablo IV Review. While you’re here, consider checking out some of our other articles.
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom Review
Redfall Review
Valorant Review
Honkai: Star Rail Review
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review
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