Waking up today was hellish – but in a nice way.
All across our glorious interwebs, there is a massive influx of hot Diablo IV preview content from the blessed few that got to handle it. So, how is it?
For the last few days, press and content creators played the first few hours of Diablo IV. You’ll be seeing a lot of great articles, but let me share just a few headlines. Very happy to see that people seem to like Diablo IV very much 🙂 pic.twitter.com/6KF0GJGexq
— Maxim Samoylenko 451 (@bad_attitude_en) December 7, 2022
Darker. More visceral. Narratively brilliant. These terms and more are painting a picture of a Diablo experience that likens more to Diablo II than its more modern counterparts.
Perhaps one of the most interesting quirks of the Diablo experience is how it is presented in the mind’s eye. As a property it has existed since the late 90’s, meaning that a large portion of its fanbase is quite mature and worldly. I personally am in my late 30’s, and vividly remember Diablo II as a dark, gothic experience that hasn’t really been emulated by similar games. Except the remaster, of course. Diablo IV has quickly established itself as portraying a mood closer to Diablo II, with a dark and desperate story.
This isn’t to say Diablo IV is not recognising Diablo III, a title more than worth recognising in its own right – but also rife with its own share of problems. Diablo III had a troubled beginning, but Blizzard was quick to realise that a signature franchise like Diablo should not have an atrophied limb; and the game received a ton of improvements and iterations to really ingrain itself as a fantastic gameplay experience. In fact, the release of Diablo III on consoles did a great deal to uncover the potential of Diablo games being played with a controller –something that will of course be supported when Diablo IV makes its unified launch on both PC and Console in June next year. Hell, developers have even confirmed that two player couch co-op is available right out of the box when you slap it into your console of choice. With crossplay promised, this means you will be slaying demons with your mates no matter how they choose to play.
And the class archetypes within Diablo IV are all immediately familiar and exciting. From the preview build, only the Sorcerer, Rogue and Barbarian were available and each delivered precisely what you’d imagine they could be capable of. Class progression is done by way of branching skill trees, where the return of investment comes from what path most appeals to you – very similar to Diablo II, but obviously with a modern and creative twist. An immediate appeal came from the inclusion of class-specific elements that form the core of player choice – such as digging deeply into a bleed-focused Barbarian build, or a trap-centric Rogue playstyle. These are tenets of what made my experience with Diablo II so memorable, elevated by developer inclusions such as the ability to augment skills with either more power or utility.
The player fantasy also feels incredibly oppressive. The visuals of your player character trying not to freeze to death in a cave, while a chilling wind carries the howls of something far more concerning than a wolf is hard to ignore. People adore the narrative growth of their character almost as much as their own personal power, and storytelling within Diablo IV has been elevated to assist with this. We already knew that cutscenes would shift away from being pre-rendered, and the newfound presence of yourself within the games set piece moments will do a lot to elevate your tale beyond simply experiencing. Even the mention of nonlinear narrative paths does a tremendous amount to encourage player agency – while core story beats will always eventually find you, how you get there will remain up to your choices.
Couple this with the world of Sanctuary experiencing yet another dark chapter. Its position as a bystander to the eternal conflict means that a menace will always be looming, and quite often it will carry a horrible threat of eternal agony and suffering; but this time is different. For one, Blizzard has shied away from the familiar mug of our favourite Lord of Terror – introducing the Lord of Hatred, Lilith. While Diablo lore is deep and runs wild with its tale of celestial intrigue, a character such as Lilith has never really crept into the spotlight. Far from a brutal oppressor, Lilith openly refers to herself as ‘Mother of Sanctuary’ – referring to her role in creating the space that we inhabit. It’s unique to encounter a Diablo tale where you can’t immediately nail the antagonist’s ambitions, providing an exciting mystique to what outcome awaits you.
It’s been a curious development time for Diablo IV. Announced so long ago, and with so many huge Blizzard events during its timeline; you’d be forgiven for perhaps choosing to sit on the fence until more concrete information became public. Well, with such a variety of gaming outlets flexing their gothic girth at what it could offer you – it is far more than a little encouraging. A core Blizzard franchise like Diablo forms a pillar of what the company is capable of, and what they can offer their audience. This is an audience that stretches across literal decades of gaming history, with each player holding on to unique memories of what their first Diablo experience may have been like – and what their expectations look like for their next one.
At this point, things are looking very positive for all. Except for the citizens of Sanctuary of course, but it’s hardly the first time.
Are you a Diablo diehard, desperate to decapitate demons? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
Diablo IV will reportedly be released June 5, 2023
Shoutouts to IGN, Destructoid and WoW Head.
