It’s hard to believe that Diablo IV, the latest entry in Activision Blizzard’s action role-playing game series, has been around for over a year now. In that time, Diablo 4 has proved again and again that it might just be the best entry the franchise has ever seen, with an excellent iteration on the core gameplay loop fans love that has only gotten better with consistent post-release updates . Next week, the game’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, will release, giving fans even more reasons to dive back in. But if you haven’t bought into Diablo 4 just yet then now’s the perfect time, as Steam has a 40 percent discount on the game until October 7.
The fourth Diablo remains true to the core of what makes the series so popular. Its Gothic setting is atmospheric as hell and fun to explore, combat is tightly designed to make every click turn into a satisfying action, and hunting after new loot never gets old. One exceptional improvement over the franchise formula that Diablo 4 introduces is a new variation on the skill tree. After early criticism that the skill tree was too rigid and essentially locked you into a set playstyle, Blizzard created a much more freeing take on the system.
The current skill tree in Diablo 4 allows you much more freedom in how you build your class, meaning that not every person who plays as a Druid will have the same toolkit. And you can start your skill tree over at any point, which encourages experimentation with your builds. You might hit on a perfect build early or spend your entire playthrough trying out new things when the mood strikes. With a sprawling world that’s filled with a number of procedurally generated dungeons, that freedom of choice offers an incredibly satisfying combat loop, urging you to try just one more dungeon, or seek out just one more piece of loot.
Diablo 4 also has an incredibly engaging story. Sure Diablo has always had a narrative that stretches from game to game, but it’s often melodramatic and shallow. Diablo 4 is a more grounded emotional affair with one of the best villains in Blizzard’s rogue’s gallery: Lillith. We spend Diablo 4 following her trail, always one step behind her villainous plans, and as we progress we piece together her motivations and history. At its core, Lilith’s story is about hatred and the cycles of violence the world of Diablo is trapped in. And Lillith is a more human villain than any in the franchise’s past, posing questions about what we as players think we know about the conflict at the heart of Diablo.
To me, Diablo has predominantly been a game about killing monsters and mindlessly collecting gear , but Diablo 4 transforms that solid gameplay loop into a vessel by which a compelling narrative is delivered. The game’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, releases on October 8, which means if you pick up Diablo 4 on sale right now you can probably finish it over the week (with enough caffeine that is). Sounds like a good time to me.
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