Ein a universe where heaven and hell are forever doomed to fight each other. And a world for people that is crushed in between. This is Sanctuary, the game world of the “Diablo series. And with the latest installment, Diablo 4, things are only going to get a little worse.
At the beginning of the game, the demon Lilith is resurrected. She is the daughter of hatred, at the same time co-creator of the human world. And it seduces people into giving themselves unreservedly to sin. It doesn’t take long for this to cause problems.
“Diablo 4” has again become much darker than the comparatively colorful predecessor. The game makes much more use of elements like horror or gore. One of the first things you see in the game after the grand opening sequence is a dead horse with its guts falling out.
Many small side missions tell dark stories – such as that of a husband who had his skin peeled off by a demon in order to exist between pain and pleasure. Small and large obscenities intended to show the machinations of hell.
Behind the “Diablo” series is a gigantic wealth of background stories, also called lore in English. They spawn dozens of hours of video footage on YouTube.
The current part wants to deal with this a little more intensively than the predecessor. And makes it better too. The story itself is not necessarily award-worthy. But Lilith, for example, is a complex villain who brings clear motivations to her actions.
What Diablo 4 is actually about
But to be honest, Diablo 4 isn’t really about that at all. It’s all about slaying monsters and demons and getting better and better with your chosen hero.
At the beginning there are five character classes to choose from: Barbarian, Necromancer, Sorcerer, Hunter and Druid – each in male and female form. All bring their own talent trees, are open certain weapons specialized and play very differently.
For example, while the barbarian throws himself into the fray and lashes out, a necromancer creates a small army of skeletons to fight for her. But with the talent trees, a lot can be adapted to your own playing style. For example, there is also a combination of talents for the slayer that enables her to stand in the middle of the demon hordes and dish out properly.
Fog of Darkness: In “Diablo 4” things are dark as usual
Source: dpa-tmn/—
On the one hand, the characters get better and better through experience points that they get for completing tasks and monsters. On the other hand, it is mainly about the so-called loot, i.e. weapons, equipment and objects that fall out of killed monsters and boxes.
Loot always has more or less random properties that can be better or worse. So every item that appears is a potential upgrade for your character. Every monster slaying and crate opening becomes a little squeeze on the slot machines.
And because the (unattainable) goal is actually to get the perfect hero, the main story is where things really get going. Then it goes on with a higher level of difficulty and you are introduced to the endgame.
In comparison to the predecessors, there are events that are quite open: For example, the flood of hell, in which you fight strong opponents, collect things with which you then get boxes. Or the huge world bosses that only appear at certain times, are difficult and best defeated in a team.
Or nightmare dungeons that are filled with lots of strong monsters and good loot. Or the direct fight against other players.
“Diablo 4” got more elements from big online games (MMO). In the overworld, especially in cities, you meet other players with whom you can kill monsters or complete events together.
However, the game is not primarily intended as an MMO, said Joe Shely, “Diablo” game director at publisher Blizzard, the German Press Agency (dpa). “There are many who play ‘Diablo’ alone or with just a small group.”
A Class of Their Own: Necromancers in Diablo 4
Source: dpa-tmn/—
The world was designed according to the type of content you play: Story and dungeons are reserved for individual players or fixed groups, while random players also appear on the server for overworld events such as world bosses.
“Part of the world is also a certain desolation,” Shely continued. “If you’re exploring the world and there are ten other people walking around, it’s not going to capture the Diablo feel well.”
A big topic in the “Diablo” series in the past was the monetization of the game after the release. “Diablo Immortal” for mobile platforms has been harshly criticized for requiring players to invest immense sums of money to get the best loot. In the case of “Diablo 3”, this was the cause of strong criticism and was discontinued after a relatively short time.
The game is a tribute
“In ‘Diablo 4’ only cosmetic elements should be sold for real money,” said Rod Fergusson, general manager for “Diablo” at Blizzard, the dpa. “There’s the Battle Pass with Seasons and the shop.”
Both are only about appearances. “You can’t pay for strength, there is no pay-to-win.” However, whether future content might have to be paid for remained open at first.
“Part of Diablo 4 is a homage to what came before,” says Fergusson. “The dark mood of ‘Diablo 1’, the progression system of ‘Diablo 2’ and the exciting combat of ‘Diablo 3‘. And then the innovations like the shared open world and freedom of choice in Diablo 4.”
Mounted through the forest in Diablo 4: Mounts are a boon in the big, wide world of Sanctuary
Source: dpa-tmn/—
And that pretty much sums up the new game. “Diablo 4” has become a great, modern, large-scale action role-playing game that further fills the fascinating game world of the “Diablo” series with life (and death). It feels like everything really has been thought of:
– a quick access to the game
– An interesting story
– varied character
– an already extensive endgame
Maybe it lacks a bit of innovation due to the approach of combining the three predecessors. But: It’s really a lot of fun to fight your way through the countless monsters and demons.
“Diablo 4” appears for PC, Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series, costs from 70 euros and is approved for ages 16 and over.
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