Diablo IV

This is a hard review because on one hand the graphics, controls, gameplay, music, and story is great. The game just feels good to play.

The main issue is the "always online" requirement that Blizzard implemented. The issue with this is that for some reason your character will suddenly get stuck in invisible walls, you literally cannot move, suddenly you either get teleported all over the map of if there are enemies around you, your hit detection doesn't work and they just stand there. Eventually when the server is finally able to catch up to you, you are DEAD, DEAD, DEAD!!!

Blizzards explanation is somewhere along the lines of "the server is trying to catch up with you that is why there are invisible walls." They basically said to fix this teleport out and re-teleport back in. Seriously? Is this how we can fix this issue?

I hope one day there is enough demands that Blizzard releases an off-line mode. There is literally no reason as to why you must absolutely remain online at all times except for Blizzard to spy on you like the Chinese Government.

Anyways at this state with the servers and the invisible walls and the no hit detection issues, this game is pretty much borderline unplayable. I don't what to give this but when the game is working, it is a 10/10, but because of the issues with server and stuff I just mentioned, I don't know, maybe a 1/10 cus it is unplayable at this STATE.

The game is not worth the 70 price tag.

The positive: The design is awesome, Lilith is perfect, the game feels great to play, it is responsive and the attacks have weight behind them. The cinematics.

The negative: The history could have been epic and it really felt epic until almost the end... then it just felt like they missed the mark, or were eager to end it.

The builds, the way the skill tree is made there is like 5 builds possible max per classes which is very very disappointing.

The constant stuttering is something unbearable.

The "AI generated fetch quests"... most side quests feel like they were made by AI.... go fetch this and go to the other side of the map and come back, which never was the point of a diablo game.

The gear system is so basic it's disappointing, stripped of everything that makes a Diablo game with the excuse of "we will bring stuff later" but still charging full price for an incomplete game.

This is the best diablo. Not only that but it may be the best top down ARPG ever!

Let me give you the rundown of positives and negatives.

Positives

• You don't play diablo for the story, but this diablo has an awesome story that I did not expect to be this good. The cutscenes go HARD. I was very impressed with the story this time around.

• The voice acting. It is superb especially Lilith and Lorath.

• Map: the map is massive and diverse. Many different Biomes. The over world events are all diverse and different, never repetitive. The strongholds are a blast and each have their own mechanics and stories. So much to find and do.

• Runs at a smooth 60fps on series X, and the graphics look stellar. Very next gen feeling game despite being top down.

• Gameplay: this is why you are here and let me tell you it is the best it has ever been in a ARPG. Addictive, fun, satisfying, and challenging!

• Character progression and builds: its amazing. I am addicted. It is such a deep rpg. Each class is so different I will never hit the bottom. So mucch depth. Build lovers this is your safe space.

• quality of life stuff: you can respec whenever with little to no penalty, you can teleport in and out of any place including dungeons to sell loot etc with ease, short load times, and without losing progress.

• co-op is a blast. I played about half the campaign with a friend and it is seamless and a blast!

Negatives The quest markers mess up sometimes. Thats pretty much it.

I know many had connection issues but I have never had a single connectivity issue. I get into the game immediately, and have never disconnected or even had much lag. I think its a wifi issue not a diablo issue people are having.

So far this is my game of the year for 2023! Get it now!

I like this game. I played Diablo III for 6 years. I've been waiting for this game for a long time and recently finally got access to it.

Advantages: +Graphics +Large amount of content +Characters

Neutral: +- Story +- Large map

I don't like:

• Gameplay

Why did I write the story in "neutral"? As I said, I played Diablo III for 6 years. I played through this game many times, where at the end Malthael broke the black soul stone, inside of which was Diablo's soul. (I played Reaper of souls) At the end they even say that Diablo is free. This is where the game ends. I thought that Diablo IV would have Diablo himself, but... he just isn't there. He is replaced by a certain Lilith, about whom I am hearing AT ALL for the first time. But I like the plot itself. That's why I wrote the story in "Neutral".

So, what's next? Ah, "Big Map".... Question: "What's wrong with this? This problem is related to the gameplay, which I don't like at all, and the gameplay is the main component of the game. So what's wrong? Lilith infuriates me. No, no, don't get me wrong, the GAMEPLAY with Lilith is terrible. The fact is that we are following in the footsteps of Lilith, but we NEVER MAKE TIME! NEVER! We constantly find bloody petals, and watch wonderful cartoons of Lilith killing someone. This is okay, but we are constantly going from one end of the map to the other. And at this time we are accompanied by small, but damn strong demons, and it becomes boring to beat small demons for the second hour without moving forward in the story. This is precisely the reason for which I abandoned the passage of Diablo IV.

Result: 7/10.

It's done well, for the most part. The writing harkens back to Diablo's original two outings; a gothic, low fantasy miasma of hopelessness and intrigue. Most impressively, this version of Diablo's world feels, well, like a world again; a place with history and tension, rather than a collection of maps strung together to facilitate dungeon delving.

Diablo 4 adopts a muted aesthetic and a slow-burn narrative that seems desperate to mimic Game of Thrones or Sony's God of War reboot, but it's constantly in tension with how massively unsubtle the series' worldbuilding has always been. "It was probably demons," would have been an exceptionally useful dialogue choice to have for every person who asked me if I could investigate what happened to their loved ones. And, I'm sorry, I can't take it seriously when a sad quest where I end the life of a tortured man tied to a tree ends by giving me the spear I used as a temporary weapon upgrade.

So far, nothing has convinced me the endgame is so brilliant that it's worth stripping everything out of the initial leveling process. The thin storytelling doesn't help either-thankfully you can skip it on subsequent characters. Diablo 4 is a live service game that puts an insulting amount of effort into trying to convince you it's not. It's backwards; trying to build up to the most robust part of itself instead of starting with it. The moment entering a fresh dungeon feels more like a chore than a ride is the moment Diablo loses me, and I've been worryingly close to that feeling in my time with it so far.

Diablo IV went from a drudge completed only in service to my professional responsibilities to a pleasure I sought. There's something in Diablo IV that will appeal to you, if you know enough about yourself to find it. I don't know what that is yet, but in the coming weeks, I hope to find out and share it with you.