Hell, it’s great.
I had my doubts.
- and I’ve had questions about the need for a big new Diablo at all.
I like the tone, I like the mechanics, I like the world.
Curiously, it’s the world that really stays with me most about it.
It’s grim and unsettling.
It’s dour and desaturated.
A harsh world of harsh realities.
It feels like that.
Honestly, I never normally pay any attention to these in Diablo games.
They’re just flavour against the backdrop of mass slaughter.
But it feels like Diablo 4 wants us to spend a bit more time with them here.
What struck me about it was how unhurried it - and he - was.
But Diablo 4 doesn’t do that, it lets things breathe.
None of this is to say that Diablo 4 is boring - far from it.
This has a lot to do with the new World Tier difficulty options available.
(World Tier levels can be changed in-game from World Tier statues in towns, by the way.
If you’re grouped, the party leader determines the world state.)
It’s not just a difficulty thing, though.
It feels like Diablo 4 understands better how to make enemy encounters as a whole more exciting and challenging.
This understanding extends to how Blizzard fills the open world.
You’ll find small mini-dungeons for short bursts of action, layered alongside larger mini-zones for longer delves.
It’s enemies, enemies, enemies, loot, loot, loot.
It’s Diablo at its best.
After 10 hours, at level 22, I feel like I’ve barely seen any of it.
This place is massive, and you’re going to be here for a very long time.
Enticing you to explore the world is a new system in the game called Aspects.
These are unlocked from a Codex of Power for doing things like conquering a dungeon you find somewhere.
Versatility can be seen plainly in the skill system in the game too.
It’s much deeper than Diablo 3.
Namely, the shared world, which other players run around and play in alongside you.
I didn’t see any world bosses either, and these are a Big New Thing for Diablo.
They are like organic raids - huge encounters that will serve like a magnet for pulling people together.
I remember encountering one at BlizzCon 2019 and it was a proper spectacle.
What I have tried, though, was a reassuringly single-player Diablo experience.
