Board 8 > Diablo IV Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://opencritic.com/game/14353/diablo-iv

50 years after the events of Diablo III the minions of HELL are back and they're being led by BIG MOMMY that I guess is the daughter of Mephisto from Diablo II. Based on my time with the betas it felt like they tried to take the style of Diablo II and the mechanics of Diablo III and tried to mash them together for IV. I had a lot of fun with what I played, but I didn't LOVE it. For the record though D2 is one of my favorite games of all time and D3 I only really played once then never really touched it again. Still excited to see what this game has in store for me though.

So far we're at an 89% through 47 reviews so far which is pretty much in the same realm of both D2 and D3. I guess you can say they're consistent! As you check out some of the reviews below I think it's pretty funny that some publications love the story and others completely hate it. Good thing the story of a Diablo game is something you just experience once then you're spending the rest of your hundreds of hours skipping it anyway.

GameSpew - 10/10
We had high expectations for Diablo 4, and we're so happy to say that Blizzard has smashed them. This is a title that takes Diablo 3's meaningful quality-of-life improvements and expands upon them with aplomb, while also bringing back the much-loved look and feel of Diablo 2. All the while, it's not too focused on the past, taking the series into open world territory and making it more story-led than ever before. And what a story it tells: we never expected to be so invested. But more importantly, we can't wait to start a new character and jump once again into the endgame. Diablo 4 is devilishly good the best Diablo game yet, in fact, and it only stands to get better.

The Enemy - 10/10
Diablo IV is an action RPG game that aims to redeem Blizzard's reputation - and nails it. With an engaging story and well-developed characters, the game presents a gripping plot and intelligent dialog. The quest to prevent Lilith from obtaining the power of Hell is accompanied by other characters with their own ambitions. In addition to the main story, the side missions are also captivating. Diablo IV retrieves the magical essence of the series and delivers an immersive experience from start to finish, showcasing Blizzard's care in crafting a satisfying and exciting tale.

COGconnected - 9.4/10
Diablo IV is the true successor to the second game, returning the franchise to its dark, gothic roots with a wild, operatic narrative and bold characters. Gameplay is as addictive as ever, and the sprawling campaign is only the start of a massive amount of content to experience. While Blizzard keeps nudging Diablo's design towards MMORPG-style multiplayer and co-op, there's no lack of fun for solo players, even if some bosses are better with friends. With off-the-charts production values and compelling characters and combat, Diablo IV is just about as good as the genre can get.

IGN - 9/10
Diablo 4 is a stunning sequel with near perfect endgame and progression design that makes it absolutely excruciating to put down. The story is a pretty big disappointment despite still being a noticeable improvement over Diablo 3 and there are some annoying bugs that need squashing, but the combat, the loot game, and both the sights and sounds of this world are impressive enough to smooth over those rough edges. Diablo 4 takes the strategy of refining things the series already did so well rather than giving it a more substantial overhaul, and that careful and reverent path has shaped this massive sequel into one of the most polished ARPGs ever created, which makes slicing through the legions of the damned a hell of a good time.

Wccftech - 8.5/10
Diablo IV is a return to form at a much needed time for Blizzard. It delivers incredibly fun hack and slash action combat, a greatly improved skill system, and a ton of things to do, not to mention the best story told in the franchise yet. It also looks awesome, sounds great, and runs well (except for rare instances of traversal stuttering)...That said, it sticks a little bit too closely to the rulebook, which works against it in a few areas. The open world is not as dynamic as one could have hoped, with events getting repetitive rather quickly. The side content doesn't provide any real narrative juice, and the endgame replayability may not be as deep as needed due to limited randomization and lack of certain features.

Gamespot - 8/10
Diablo IV, at this time, cannot escape comparison to the past of the franchise it belongs to, but it's thankfully a game that has been crafted with a strong awareness of what made each one either revered or reviled. It represents a measured approach to combining the many elements from previous entries that worked into a system that feels like the new standard-bearer for action role-playing. Coupled with a new benchmark for storytelling in the franchise, and a solid narrative foundation for any potential new adventures, it's easy to see Diablo IV as something I'll regularly check-in on for a long time to come.

Siliconera - 8/10
Diablo IV feels like a worthy successor to the franchise. It has all of the hallmarks of a Diablo game, but adopts more modern contrivances that feel almost unnecessary in a series that has thrived off of paid expansion packs accompanied by free updates. Embracing this MMO-lite formula gives Diablo IV a lot of potential for growth in terms of what can be added to the game over time, and Im genuinely interested in future story related updates given how the main narrative ended. But its slow pace and limited character builds could be a turn-off to some, especially those looking for more variety. It feels like time will tell with Diablo IV and whether or not it will thrive among other live service games of its kind that have carved out a niche in the series absence.

Blizzard game.

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1663543807949029379?s=19

Just remember the cash shop is offline until the game launches so reviews don't represent that

I'm still not happy with how they implemented always online and that's probably enough for me to skip it as much as the actual gameplay was fun

Taking Friday off

xenosaga posted...

Taking Friday off

Taking Thursday Night off so I can be there in the evening when D4 launches and midnight when SF6 goes online

I thought it launched on Tuesday.

azuarc posted...

I thought it launched on Tuesday.

If you digitally preorder anything higher than the base version it's out Thursday

It'd be more wise to take the following Monday off when you can actually get into the game.

Unless waiting in a 2 hour queue and then playing for 15 minutes before being disconnected and thrown back into the 2 hour queue again is your thing! Then more power to ya!

Nice to see good reviews, but its blizzard so Im sure theres about to be a huge backlash for something somewhere. Definitely gotta wait and see first

while the closed beta had a rough start, there were zero issues for the open beta so I would be shocked if it had issues at launch despite blizzards history

SHINE_GET_64 posted...

so I would be shocked if it had issues at launch despite blizzards history

Oh you sweet summer child.

Having a split launch is probably a smart move for Blizzard here. Less server hammering on launch day, since there are two launch days.

I'm getting it on the 6th, and don't expect to be able to reliably play it for at least a few weeks, probably longer.

RuneterranSnap posted...

Just remember the cash shop is offline until the game launches so reviews don't represent that

I'm still not happy with how they implemented always online and that's probably enough for me to skip it as much as the actual gameplay was fun

Wait.

After Diablo 3 theyre still going with always online???

redrocket posted...

Wait.

After Diablo 3 theyre still going with always online???

It's even worse, because now it plays like an MMO - you run into players all the time.

When I was playing the beta, at least half of the scripted encounters I came across were already started by another player, and you see other players running around the world constantly.

RuneterranSnap posted...

It's even worse, because now it plays like an MMO - you run into players all the time.

When I was playing the beta, at least half of the scripted encounters I came across were already started by another player, and you see other players running around the world constantly.

So what actually separates this from an MMO now. The fact you can solo it? Anything else?

Cant wait. And if it sucks theyll fix it with an expansion :)

RuneterranSnap posted...

It's even worse, because now it plays like an MMO - you run into players all the time.

When I was playing the beta, at least half of the scripted encounters I came across were already started by another player, and you see other players running around the world constantly.

oh wow, its like Marvel Heroes now

RuneterranSnap posted...

It's even worse, because now it plays like an MMO - you run into players all the time.

When I was playing the beta, at least half of the scripted encounters I came across were already started by another player, and you see other players running around the world constantly.

wut.

https://twitter.com/Doctor_Cupcakes/status/1661018556803457026

MoogleKupo141 posted...

oh wow, its like Marvel Heroes now

You know I actually really miss that game

But there it made sense for there to be other heroes running around

and now we see how many attempts it takes me to log in

Currently on attempt #2 (both 4 minutes). First time it said no valid Diablo IV license found

Able to log in without any issue, kind of shocked.
Although may have noticed something that could ruin the Rogue class: every so often when you attack the character makes a sound that sounds just like Mario.

That sounds like a bonus

Im gonna be attempting a werewolf Druid when I get home from work.

will it be good? Probably not

after 75 minutes I'm finally in

Probably starting Necro but i imagine it will be hard to get logged in

Shine promised me earlier that logging in wont be a problem so it should be all good!

I didn't have a problem getting in once I'd updated my drivers. Not skipping the story this time since I did during the beta, so I'm not very far

I logged in easily but yeah had to also update drivers. I got a new laptop after the beta so its not unexpected I guess

Have had a smooth experience, switched over to playing a sorc definitely not for any Mario related reasons.

Decided to ignore the story a bit and wander in the opposite direction, the open world feels like a really good fit for Diablo so far.

xenosaga posted...

Able to log in without any issue, kind of shocked.
Although may have noticed something that could ruin the Rogue class: every so often when you attack the character makes a sound that sounds just like Mario.

What lol

Monitoring this thread for a probable Tuesday purchase. Not thrilled with the idea of other people being in my game automatically, though.

They don't even affect you that much. Loot is exclusive to your game and different loot drops in their game so you never have to worry about them stealing any. Other than that the only other time I've interacted with them is when a special event pops up on the map whether it's the timed quests that randomly pop up or the the world boss raids and you work together to clear those real quick and then you all go your separate ways.. I don't think I've ever seen anyone pop up in a dungeon unless they were already in my party

azuarc posted...

Monitoring this thread for a probable Tuesday purchase. Not thrilled with the idea of other people being in my game automatically, though.

I played right at launch last night for about 3 hours and saw two other people only in town.

Dungeons are instanced so other players can't appear in then with you unless youre partied. So you'll see people in town and wandering the world map.

It's kinda fun randomly meeting someone and then following each other around for a few minutes to do an event then "okay bye" and never see them again.

My niece is visiting this weekend, so I won't be able to play much. I was playing when she walked into the room, I warned her that the game might be too scary and violent for her to watch but she didn't seem to care. When some deer wandered in front of my Necromancer she yelled at me not to kill the deer, after I told her I can't hurt the deer, I walked past a dead deer and said "I didn't do that".

RySenkari posted...

Necromancer she yelled at me not to kill the deer, after I told her I can't hurt the deer, I walked past a dead deer and said "I didn't do that".

goddamn I lold

Will my i7-8700/1080 ti PC be able to handle this or would playing on PS5/XSX be better?

*Doing the final act and going into likely the final area of the game.*

*Loading...*

*Loading for 10 minutes.*

*Restarts game because it won't load the final area.*

*Put into a 20 minute queue*

And now I finished the queue and it just keeps saying Start Game Pending...

Just what I wanted out of my experience with the final bits of the story and plot! Oops!

Oh right the game is actually out today so now everyone else is slamming the servers

I chose a bad time to try and finish the game.

Guess I'll have to finish the story tomorrow morning when I'm completely out of the mood. Oh well!

dilateDChemist posted...

Will my i7-8700/1080 ti PC be able to handle this or would playing on PS5/XSX be better?

https://www.pcgamebenchmark.com/diablo-iv-system-requirements

This is what I used to figure it out. My video card is really old (GTX 960) and I didn't buy a new one when I rebuilt my system because they're so damn expensive, and ended up going with PS5.

I thought about picking it up today, but maybe I'll wait until Friday if the servers are currently dying.

I might get it once Kotick is gone and just suck it up RE the always online

RuneterranSnap posted...

I might get it once Kotick is gone

This is happening?