In the world of video games I amor few franchises that can boast of having revolutionized the world of video games, Diablo it is one of them. Since 1996 the world of Sanctuary and its “mythology” have bewitched millions of players and magic (or rather, the curse) is repeating once again with Diablo IV. 11 years after the third chapter, which met with conflicting opinions, Blizzard wanted to go overboard and give gamers the Diablo they’ve been waiting for. But is it really so? Has this new chapter met the very high expectations? Let’s find out in this one Diablo IV review, absolutely no spoilers.
Our review of Diablo IV
Diablo IV takes place a few years after the events narrated in Diablo III. The world of Sanctuary, born as a refuge from the incessant eternal conflict between Angels and Demons is about to meet a terrifying new threat. A group of explorers has in fact evoked, Liliththe daughter of Hate and creator of Sanctuary itself. The demon’s rise to earth will bring with it atrocities typical of the demon world but his plans for conquest go beyond Sanctuary.
The protagonist hero of this chapter will come into contact with the demon and a mysterious entity in the form of a demonic wolf and they will project it in the center of the Diablo IV events. These will feature a variety of characters, new acquaintances and old institutions that fans of the franchise will recognize. The Sanctuary church, devoted to the angel Inariusexpelled from paradise, will try to defend the population from the Darkness with the help of his army but Lilith’s plans are as ambitious as they are mysterious.
Thus begins our adventure made of discoveries of the past, of rituals, sacrifices and all the charm that the world and the history of Diablo can offer.
Demons, magic, classes…We are ready!
Like the previous chapters, Diablo IV is an action game with role-playing game (RPG) elements and an overhead isometric camera. At the beginning of a new adventure we will have to create our character and customize it by choosing one of the five classes available: Barbarian, Necromancer, Enchanter, Cutthroat e Druid. Each class brings with it a different style of play, a personal skill tree as well as unique mechanics and spells as in the most classic RPGs. Whichever class you choose, the gameplay will always be the classic, adrenaline-pumping action we’ve come to love in Diablowith hordes of enemies to defeat, a vast map to explore, and rich lootboxes to loot.
By killing enemies, exploring the map and completing missions, we will earn gods points experience which will increase the level of our character. With each level up, our stats will improve and we’ll gain skill points to spend. The Each class’s skill tree is extensive and full of skills, both active and passive and it will be impossible to develop every spell. this means that we will have to choose a personal build that resonates with our style of play. But fear not, it will be possible to redistribute the points to balance, adjust or start planning our skill branch again.
Unlike the other chapters, Diablo IV uses a typical MMO gameplay formula to play together with other players and participate in events and world bosses. In fact, the game requires a constant internet connection ma can be completed safely in single-player. Another novelty concerns the game map, no longer procedurally generated but pre-set and divided into five main regions. The main story will lead you to explore each of them, characterized by its own biome and a precise story, where side quests, dungeons and much more are scattered.
Less GDR more democracy
Character development, like any self-respecting RPG, is one of the focal points of the game. Becoming more and more powerful and being able to defeat increasingly threatening bosses will be a source of joy and pride for us. In addition to the levels and skills, which we have just analyzed, we will be able to choose the equipment for our hero. In total we have 10 equipment slots including armor, weapons and enchanted jewels. As usual, the equipment brings improvements to our characteristics and the rarest and most precious ones can also have important buffs on statistics and skills.
Unlike the other chapters, however, we will not be able to act directly on the character’s statistics. These are Strength, Intelligence, Will e dexterityto which they add Offensive power, Armor e Vita. At each level we will not have points to spend and balance but we will be able to alter them only with certain passive skills or with the Excellenciesat the end of the game.
This takes away an important element of role-playing games in favor of fresher and more immediate gameplay, also suitable for those who don’t know the genre.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time here
The amount of elements to discover, places to explore and missions to complete are really a lot. Regardless of main campaign, which will keep you busy for about 35 hoursthey count over 200 side quests to which they are added dungeon, random events and other items to discover on the map. The situation improves after theendgame which will see the addition of a series of new events such as the The Infernal Sea eh Whispers of the dead. Again this (then we’re done I swear) also adds the possibilities offered by “world level”.
Indeed, in Diablo IV they exist four world tiers that represent the difficulty of the enemies and the rarity of the rewards they can give. At the beginning we will have the first two levels available and once the main campaign is over and certain missions have been overcome, we will unlock the new levels. These greatly increase the difficulty level, giving us long and demanding fights against the bosses but also ever richer and more interesting loot with which to improve our hero.
It all translates into hundreds and hundreds of hours of gameplay to which we are sure will be added (ok we weren’t done) update patches and expansions, which would fit perfectly into the endgame.
The allure of evil
Passing on the technical and graphic point of view, Blizzard has done an outstanding job. After the parenthesis of Diablo III, the gloomy and gloomy atmospheres that only Diablo’s lore can give us. Every area of the world, every dungeon and every city is permeated with that misery from which Sanctuary will perhaps never free itselfgiving us a truly remarkable degree of immersion. During our experience we have never encountered bugs, glitches or other problems related to the Beta version are now a distant memory. From texture details to individual map elements, from character animations to boss and enemy design, everything is as it should be and more.
The sound sector of the music is also excellent which fully reflect the atmosphere we have been talking about. From the melancholy tunes of ruined cities to the more rhythmic and evocative of boss fights. Every element was perfectly where it needed to be. Likewise, we greatly appreciated the Italian dubbing of every single sentence from both the main characters and NPCs around the map that contribute, once again, to bringing the world of Diablo to life.
And the flaws?
At this point in the review, Diablo IV would seem like a perfect game, obviously it’s not. Among the doubts about the GDR elements, which we have spoken about, we cannot fail to indicate a certain distrust of the skill system. Some of these (depending on the chosen class) disappear in the face of the power and effectiveness of many others which completely eliminate the noble intention of selecting those most suited to one’s style of play, obviously preferring those “that do more bad”. It is no coincidence that dozens of class guides have already appeared on the net indicating the same set of skills to be developed. This makes the rest of the skills completely useless and will require a lot of balancing work and constant updates from Blizzard to bring them back into consideration.
Other doubts concern most of the side missions. We have seen that there are so many and that they will keep us glued to the screen for a long time, but of these the percentage of really interesting ones, which expand the plot or tell engaging stories, is very small. Similarly, we also found some of the main quests tedious and unnecessarily long while we would have preferred more details on the plot.
Added to this is also the endgame which does not properly put an end to the story. Although this, as anticipated, gives way to new future content, some may not appreciate the doors left open too much.
Diablo IV review in a nutshell
At this point in the review, there is no doubt that we loved Diablo IV. The premises of the Beta version had left us with many doubts, many of which were eliminated by the excellent technical and update work of Blizzard before the official release of the game.
If you are a fan of the Diablo franchise, this fourth chapter is what you’ve been waiting for; the perfect conjunction between the old school of the previous chapters and a modernization that does not distort the nature of the franchise at all. If you are a new recruit…