Diablo 4 Review: Perfect Darkness

I've been a Diablo fan since the original's release in 1997. It is one of the titles that got me deep into gaming, specifically ARPGs. When I got word I would be reviewing Diablo 4, spending ten days in the world of Sanctuary pushing back the legions of the Burning Hells and cleansing various regions from Lilith's followers' influence, I ran outside and praised the Mother of Hatred.

After 87 hours with Diablo 4, completing the game's campaign, and diving deep into its endgame systems, I'm ready to deliver my verdict on everything the game has to offer, bar the story, as this is a NO SPOILER review. I will touch on the story we've seen in the Open Beta.

Diablo Returns To Darkness: Story No Spoilers

Diablo 4 is as much a return to darkness as a refinement of systems, taking everything that made the original and Diablo 2 so iconic. The bold story features the Daughter of Hatred, aka the Mother of Sanctuary, Lilith, and her return to the mortal realm.

Lilith quickly gathers followers, and in the prologue, Blizzard throws out a nice twist for fans to digest. After slaying some demons for a small town in Fractured Peaks, they celebrated my success, and we had some drinks.

However, I was quickly drugged and hauled off to be sacrificed. These cutscenes are portrayed with the player character (and your customized look), so you always feel connected to the story.

The main story and the side quests are grim, showing the world of Sanctuary years after the events of Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls expansion and Maltheal's decimation of most of the world's inhabitants. Thanks to excellent environmental storytelling, cutscenes, and voice acting, Diablo 4 shines in story, lore, and worldbuilding.

That's my experience in Fractured Peaks and Act 1. 

While I won't go into any story spoilers for Act 2 and beyond, I can say that the game surprised me occasionally and that the story is exceptionally well-paced and grim...

Diablo 4 Gameplay

The general gameplay loop in Diablo 4 kills demons, loot, head to town, and repeat. This goes for dungeons, events, side quests, and everything else. It is an addictive loop that any Diablo fan should know well.

I played Diablo 4 on World Tier 2 difficulty (change to the lower difficulty at any time), and it was both a challenging and rewarding experience. By no means did any fight feel overturned at the recommended level as I went through the Diablo 4 review period. It is important to note that due to the limited time of the Diablo 4 review period, I could only take one class (an Ice Sorcerer) to the max level, unlock Nightmare (World Tier 3) difficulty, and more.

However, I tried Hardcore Mode with a Barbarian and died, its corpse rotting in the Dry Steppes as I type this Diablo 4 review. This was one of the most exciting experiences of my gaming career, and the death came swiftly, but due to my own failures and not any bug or latency issue, of which I found none.

The most important thing about combat is that it feels impactful. It is challenging to describe, to be honest, but every swing of a weapon from my Barbarian felt like it hurt, almost like a "thud" as I smashed demons. On my Sorcerer, enemies shattered into icy pieces, and it felt, looked, and sounded amazing. This type of impactful combat is accompanied by a diverse skill tree, allowing players to enjoy the game with their power fantasy of choice. 

The freedom to reset all your skills and test out a new build (for a hoard of Gold), combined with powerful shrines out in the world and a large variety of elite monsters to overcome, made every encounter feel fresh. Zone events add a layer of depth and complexity to the world, while dungeon bosses have a variety of mechanics you need to learn to succeed and get all the shiny loot.

Arguably one of the best experiences in Diablo 4 has to be the world bosses, with three available at launch. I joined the event on a Saturday evening with 11 other players and faced the massive boss Ashava as the camera panned out to accommodate the scale of the fight. With a 15-minute timer, Ashava fell with just eight seconds to spare. It was, by far, the most exciting and nerve-wracking experience I've ever had in a Diablo title...

Throughout the Diablo 4 review period, I am happy to report that there was never any grinding required to get to the next part of the story, as it all progressed naturally. This includes plentiful item drops, and with every quest completed, or every dungeon purged of evil, I had a few upgrades in my ever-trusty inventory.

There's much to do and see throughout each main region of Sanctuary. Exploring is worth it because the Altars of Lilith are hidden across the huge open-world areas. Then, there's the multitude of side quests with unique stories to complete.

I spent hours just exploring a region, completing a diverse lineup of events as they spawned, participating in the Gathering Legions mega events with some fellow reviewers, and completing dungeons as I encountered them. The dungeon layouts have improved since the beta, and there's now much less backtracking to complete objectives.

Diablo 4 doesn't force you into doing one activity you don't particularly enjoy.