Diablo IV is undoubtedly one of the event games of the year. Fourth chapter of one of the most loved and well-known sagas in the world of video games mainstream, Blizzard’s backbone and new iteration of a brand capable of making millions of dollars in its mobile version equipped with microtransactions, despite the negative reactions of the public and critics, Diablo IV it was also a title with a troubled gestation and a decidedly peculiar historical context.
When the scandal for sexual harassment and decidedly inappropriate conduct broke out in 2021 which involved Activision Blizzard and which led to dozens of layoffs, compensations, the cancellation of almost all promotional activities for at least two years and the beginning of the acquisition process by Microsoft, even the development team of Diablo IV has lost important piecesincluding the game director and game designer.
However, this has obviously not diminished the expectations for the game by many fans who look forward to it the release, scheduled for June 6, 2023. In anticipation of that day, however, we had the opportunity to peek behind the scenes participating in the beta phase which took place last weekend and which involved 3 classes of characters for about twenty levels.
Scenarios
The 2023 of video games: less mobile, little VR and a lot on Xbox and PlayStation 5
by Emanuele Capone
The first thing to say is that obviously this time is not enough to get an idea of a vast and structured game like Diablo IV. A title that unfolds for hours and hours and that allows many different approaches to the game based on the class, how you decide to structure it and all the changes that Blizzard will make over the years.
If we take for example Diablo IIIthe game in the first months of release was very different from what you could try a year, two years or even 3 years laterbecause many youthful flaws were fixed patch after patch.
For those who really have no idea what kind of game it is Diablowe are talking about a title that since 1997 has greatly influenced the world of real-time role-playing video games and the game design of many titles that have followed: the essence is made up of dungeons to explore and thousands of monsters to defeat by exploiting the characteristics of the character like spells, special hits, area spells and attacks stunned. Obviously after each fight the player is rewarded with increasingly powerful weapons and equipment and experience points that allow you to unlock other skills.
The beating heart of Diablo is all here: in the ability to create a loop of gameplay made of exploration, monsters to eliminate and equipment to upgradetowards the next adventure, towards the next cave to clean up.
The first impressions on this new chapter, however, they offer a slightly different experience than usual: it is undoubtedly early to analyze the general progression of the experience and there are many details that can still be improved in the finishing work that will be done in these months. but at first glance This Diablo IV it seems a little less like the click fair wild in search of hordes to slaughter and a more pacing experience broken by narrative interludes and dialogues.
Also, the more open structure which was already guessed in the previous chapter has been further enriched by large freely explorable areas in which to find crypts to be reclaimed, secondary missions and some particularly fearsome wandering monsters to bring back to more mild advice. This is undoubtedly the most important novelty regarding the game structure which, while indicating a main mission, leaves much more space for the exploration of large areas of the map and not just narrow corridors. But be careful not to find yourself in the midst of creatures that are too powerful for your level: this is warned a certain aftertaste of World of Warcraftand if you want you can also buy a mount (which, however, was impossible in the beta).
The only perplexity concerns perhaps the variety of what we can do: who loves Diablo especially wants stand there grinding monsters and loot and little more and repetitiveness is part of the experience. However, beyond the intricate and interesting dungeon structures, it will be interesting to understand how Blizzard will keep the progression interesting even to the less zealous. Even because Diablo IV you level up based on your experienceYes, offering areas where it will be almost impossible for novice adventurers to approach, but no area of a level lower than your own. So killing creatures that are our equivalent will always taste the same.
And yet, Diablo relies heavily on the fun of its loop and from this point of view it remains an extremely rewarding experience. Unfortunately there was no time to properly use the 3 available classes (barbarian, cutthroat and enchantress), of which gender and appearance can be decided before starting, exploring the gameplay differences but the experience does not seem very far from what we have seen in the past. With the barbaro the game is all about jumping headlong into the fray in a flurry of blades, damage bonuses and stunning blows; L’enchantress use the elements to freeze, electrocute and inflame opponents while trying not to ever get touched; The cutthroat use bows, poisoned daggers and all sorts of dirty tricks to always come out on top. One aspect that we thought could be improved is the skill tree, which is unlocked as we accumulate experience points, but it is displayed in a way that often prevents us from having a complete overview to understand how the character is developing.
The backstory
Why are Microsoft and Sony buying all these video game companies?
by Lorenzo Fantoni
Perhaps the most interesting part of Diablo IV is that playing on PC or console the experience changes radically: in both cases the level of challenge was very tame, also because the developers for the beta increased the percentage of high-level equipment, so it was easy to create armed and armored characters in no time.
However, on PC the game feels less frantic, richer in enemies and situations in which it is important to position yourself well, while on consoles the enchantress transforms into a real magical machine gun and dodging attacks with the barbarian is much simpler and more immediate. Already with Diablo IIIBlizzard had done a great job in adapting the game for consoles but today, and it seems absurd to say it for a title with DNA so deeply linked to the PC world, the most enjoyable experience for Diablo IV consoles seem to offer it. Or, simply, a controller connected to the PC.
Another interesting aspect is the general atmosphere of the game, which will appeal to those who appreciated the second chapter. Diablo III it was all in all a colorful and cheerful game, given the general atmosphere of a title where you have to literally kill the root of all evil, this fourth chapter is definitely not. Sure, we haven’t seen everything, but only the first game area but the impression is that everything is much more cruel, rotten, dirty, bloody and decadent.
Per defeat Lilith, the main antagonist that can be seen in the beautiful introductory film, we will have to face corpse-eating monsters, gloomy villages, unmentionable cults, cellars full of innards. And if you love the saga, you can’t wait to do it.
In short, we tasted a slice of Diablo IV and even if we still don’t know if we want to eat the whole cake, if the flavor will always be this and how the cake will change over time, we are sure that we want more. And that it will be hard to wait for the next few months.