We’ve spent some time with Hell on Earth (middle) of Diablo IV in early access and open beta: here’s what we think in preview
We apologize if our preview was long in coming, but the tyranny of time has put other things before our first impressions of Diablo IV. We have divided our gaming sessions into due weekend. During the first one, two weeks ago, the game was in early access. Next up was last weekend, where the stock was in open beta. We do not bring up the difference lightly. Server downtime allowed the development team to churn out an update between weekends, reminding us (and we’ll talk about it again) that the work of Activision Blizzard it is not finished yet.
To guide you through the underworld this time is an editor who is not new to the concept of being new to the gaming underworld, but who, for what it’s worth, was mostly positively impressed by the test sessions. The franchise, after the return in great form of the predecessor with the various ports on consoles (including one for Nintendo Switch, with the equipment of the evil king Ganondorf for the player), has had an unhappy period with the arrival of the saga on mobile . After ImmortalHowever, the time has come to return for the numbered chapters as well. Here’s what we have to say after the game stays on our own PS4.
Heavy mythril – Anteprima Diablo IV (PS4)
The plot of Diablo IV is perfectly usable even in the preview phase. The game draws heavily from the third chapter in terms of action, however reuniting it with the demonic lore seen in the second episode. Our avatar’s adventure begins when the latter (or the latter, as the case may be) finds himself without a mount in an icy corner of Sanctuary, the game world of the series. Finding yourself face to face with a disemboweled equine is not the best, but finding yourself as a human sacrifice for a satanic ritual must certainly be worse. The protagonist ends up in the sights of the apparently mild inhabitants of the village Nevesk after having cleared a dungeon.
Difficult to fraternize with such stinkers, but the people of Nevesk have been properly twisted by the demon Lilith. The daughter of the lord of hate intends to bring out the worst in humanity. After a horrific vision of the local priest’s demise by his own former faithful, we head to Kyovashad, which will be the central hub for all the adventures foreseen by the plot. Side quests aside, every narrative hint is part of the mosaic started by Lilith: avoiding the inglorious end of those who let themselves be seduced by her words is impossible, but this won’t stop us from trying to make a difference.
Class Isn’t Water – Diablo IV Preview (PS4)
The classi available during the trial period are three out of five: the brutal Barbarothe elegant Enchanter and the stealthy Cutthroat. For Necromancers and Druids we will talk about it on day one, but also in terms of available classes we are pleased to note a distillation of the previous episodes. Even before finalizing our choice (direct, during the scrutiny phase, to Barbarian and Enchanter; time is running out, as we have already said), the game welcomed us with options for customization much more in-depth than we anticipated. Jewelry, tattoos, facial appearance, eye color and much more: given the isometric view of the gameplay, there is very little to complain about.
Being diametrically opposed in the range of their attacks, the Barbarian and the Enchanter have allowed us to properly dissect the combat system of the game. Aside from the sprawling potential ofskill tree, the only rudiment of gameplay that unites each class are the shared commands. A sneak dash (which depends on stamina and takes much longer than expected to recharge) with ○/B, a basic attack with ✘/A and the possibility, after the prologue, to teleport to Kyovashad for a strategic retreat with ↓ on the d-pad. With L1/LB it is possible to use a potion to heal oneself, with an initial maximum of 4 to carry around and the hope that the enemies will drop more.
I Remember Broken Mountains – Diablo IV Preview (PS4)
Once players set foot in Kyovashad, the main hub, they have all the freedom to explore at will Shattered Peaksi.e. the first zone. This fourth chapter will be a pleasant surprise for anyone who hasn’t tried Diablo Immortal yet. However, there are linear areas in the map, a bit like in the first episodes of the saga, but however isometric the view may be, the map maintains a markedly level design open world. The leap in quality, compared to what has been seen so far in the series, is truly considerable, especially considering certain feats on the part of the graphics engine.
To be a mere glimpse of the game world, the mountainous area accessible in preview boasts quite a lot variety, both in the overworld and dungeons. Greyness abounds in the first game sessions, but as you progress, castles, clearings and river banks find their place in the outside world, while the dungeons range from Mephistophelean settings between sulfur and lava to crystalline caves interspersed with blood sacrifices requested by Lilith. All this, of course, is accompanied by a soundtrack which often underlines the gloomy and oppressive atmosphere, worthy of the condition in which the inhabitants of Sanctuary find themselves.
Damn the Gold Saucer – Diablo IV Preview (PS4)
The freedom introduced in the game also helps, and we use the verb “aiutare” very freely, to get distracted with all the secondary activities. There are over thirty side quests, some of which got between us and the first storyline in Kyovashad. Objectives can range from helping citizens save their loved ones to defending forts from demon onslaught. Of course, there are also secondary dungeons and public events in PvE, where you can face hordes of enemies to take home that little bit of extra loot. In that sense, things aren’t all that different from Diablo Immortal.
The thing can be (and for us it was, given the amount of things to admire in just two weekends) adouble edged weapon. There’s the map option to figure out where you are (or where you were before being sent back to the title screen, as we’ll see shortly). As surprising as it may be dispersive the game world, however, the effect that has come about is more that of a plaster than anything else. Of course there is the possibility of storming a fortress ourselves, freeing a certain location from monsters. Those who succeed are rewarded by the transformation of these open-air dungeons into cities and, therefore, focal points.
Band of Friends – Anteprima Diablo IV (PS4)
We haven’t quite understood where the MMO component stops (with the complicity of the need to be connected to the server, Battle.net account included) and where the adventure begins, but these events and features make the game feel very much alive. We have repeatedly explored the hostile taiga and seen other players face our own enemies. This contributes to one component semi-co-op in which sometimes it was us who came to the aid of other heroes, and other times vice versa. The level of the enemies adapts to ours (get how to do it?), which is why we assume there is a limit to the players who can appear in the same world as us.
Speaking of which, this is where we take the opportunity to take off one of the very few pebbles left in our Sanctuary sandals. In the first weekend, two weeks ago, we had almost no connection problems. Of course, it took us some time to become familiar with the controls (which over the years have increasingly adapted to controllers, compared to their origins on PC) and with the rudiments of gameplay. Our skill tree turned out to be quite sprawling and not always necessarily intuitive. The problem is another. The open beta phase, on the other hand, it knocked us out of the game every two by threeresulting in some quests being repeated all over again.
“Git God”
In this preliminary phase of the game, with the undoubted complicity of enemies capable of growing with us, the combo between “up to level 25” and limited access to the map did not give us much room to experiment with the skill tree. The adaptability of the enemies, which increases exponentially for daredevils who raise the level of difficulty, makes that of grinding a very relative issue, but unless some players opted to have some skills refunded there was no means to unlock everything. The skill points needed for the tree of the same name, on the other hand, are obtained per level.
Despite the limitations, whether they are imposed on accessing the game or derived in our case from one localization still in progress, the first taste proved promising. We know that it sounds paradoxical to talk about limited access and then declare yourself unable to thoroughly dissect what is offered, but if nothing else it should give an idea of the greater ambition shown by the development team. There are occasions where Diablo IV’s approach to its own vein seems particularly dogmatic (one of all bosssimple mixture of long vital bars and patterns), but in general theair of novelty it is not missing.
Now it’s up to you to tell us yours: what expectations do you have about the game? Let us know below, and as always, don’t forget to stay on tuttotek for all the most important news for gamers and more. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Kinguin.