Diablo IV

First published in GRIND III, pages 56–63.

AVAILABLE ON PC · RELEASE DATE 22 NOVEMBER 2022 · PUBLISHER & DEVELOPER ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

„HAIL, DAUGHTER OF HATRED.

CREATOR OF SANCTUARY.

HAIL… LILITH.”

Best Title in the Diablo Franchise, Best Action RPG and Best Game, in my own personal ranking...

Lilith – Mephisto's daughter and Lucion's sister, known in Sanctuary as “Queen of the Succubi”. Her love for the archangel Inarius gave birth to the first Nephalem.

Trapped for 3000 years in the Void, her influence continued to haunt Sanctuary, and her devotees never stopped worshipping her – always ready to give everything for their mistress. The prophecy says that Lilith will return to Sanctuary, one day.

HAIL LILITH.

BLESSED MOTHER.

We return to the present, where three adventurers and a scholar, driven off by an army of undead on their way to a cavern full of treasure, recite an incantation and make a blood sacrifice to bring Lilith back to the realm of mortals!

Lilith's reincarnation in Sanctuary will gather her disciples and give birth to new cults that will bring paranoia, disease, darkness and death among people. The reconquest of Sanctuary has begun! But… The Wanderer's fate throws Sanctuary into his path, where he discovers first-hand Lilith's influence and power over its inhabitants. Thanks to Lorath Nahr – one of the last Horadrim, returning from Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. The Wanderer learns about Lilith's prophecy and her relationship with Inarius: for the latter to return to Heaven, he must fulfil his destiny and kill Lilith.

THE WANDERER

The Wanderer is, as you'd expect, the player faced with the choice of 5 character classes, male or female, each with their own characteristics/abilities, weapons and items of “attire”. Then you pick whether you want to be helped or not – that is, whether you want to start at difficulty level Tier 1 (Adventurer) or Tier 2 (Veteran).

BARBARIAN

Massive, brutal and specialised in close-quarters combat, Barbarians use the Weapon Arsenal mechanic, where their abilities require a specific type of weapon (e.g. two-handed, hammer).

DRUID

A hybrid class that can transform into various animals. They also command the power of earth, wind and storm, unleashing nature's fury to devastating effect.

NECROMANCER

It doesn't even need an introduction any more. A favourite among Diablo fans, the Necromancer raises the dead and brings them over to his side, explodes corpses and excels at ranged attacks using “poison”.

ROGUE

They're agile and do well in both close-quarters and ranged combat, using the Imbuement mechanic, which combines attacks with elements of nature (e.g. poison, cold, shadow).

SORCERER

Mages specialising in the use of the elements (e.g. ice, fire) and using the Enchantment mechanic, where active abilities can be equipped as passive advantages.

Once your preferred class is chosen, and after we watch the introductory cinematic sequence, which is absolutely bonkers – in the style Blizzard has accustomed us to in the Diablo series – we take our first steps in the snow with our customised character and get used to the interface, which differs slightly between the PS5 and PC platforms. The controls are adapted to each: either DualSense, or keyboard and mouse.

From the “WoW-ian” graphical look of the third game to a more serious design that returns to the “roots” of the first two games.

The interface is busier now, still with the utility bar down at the bottom and its two Orbs for Life and, respectively, Mana, Fury and so on, depending on the class you pick. They're no longer laid out on either side of the utility bar; this time they sit next to each other, on the left, on the right and at the top. Further on you'll find the mini-map and the objectives, and at the bottom a kind of log of conversations and events will appear.

In the utility bar we no longer have the “little bottles” with potions or items, as was the case, for example, in the first game, and each active ability has its own customisable button. There too we see the passive actions and their duration, alongside the experience/levelling bar. We have dedicated buttons for Town Portal and health potions, plus one for Sprint.

The inventory is more complex, but it features the same characteristics as in the other

GAMEPLAY

games. We see the character dressed and armed to match their armour and weapons, we can put rings and necklaces on, and at the bottom we have the storage space split into categories, one of them for Aspects – a clothing category where you can choose to wear what's on show, or put together your own… fashionista outfits. Here too we see the character's stats, which change with level, weapons and armour, and at the top we also have a tab for Abilities, where Paragon and Skill Tree are present (which lets you unlock another ability tree with experience points, offering the option of resetting all attributes for a fee, if you want).

An online-dedicated scheme has also been introduced, from which you can choose to greet someone, invite them to a Party, chat and so on.

A kind of wheel pops up, from which you select whatever you're interested in doing at that moment. You start with a map on which you identify your location and the nearest objectives. Further on, you'll find the points of interest marked: mostly the cities and their corresponding Waypoints. There too we see the main and secondary quests displayed, with the option to actively choose what you want.

Travel is done on foot and can include the “Sprint” acceleration command, a consumable but regenerable resource that helps most in fights. If the situation gets crowded and the blood is running out, survival demands an urgent escape manoeuvre! Travel is also done on horseback, yes, with the option to ride and to choose, for a fee, your preferred equine companion.

Town Portal, standing for the waypoints discovered in cities, is always at hand. So if you complete a quest in a cavern, you can teleport straight to the nearest city to avoid an annoying but still emblematic trek for the dungeon crawler genre.

Money… oof, moneyyyyy, yeah. In-game coins feel almost useless, at least to me – a player who smashes every barrel, picks up every poor dried-up thing off the ground and opens every treasure in the world. The money collected is very little, always. Not little in quantity, but insufficient: prices at merchants are very high when it comes to armour and weapons. In most cases, the items available at the stalls are weaker in quality than what you find and equip along the way. And the prices are always steep. Fortunately, after a certain period new stock is brought in, and you have fresh reasons to drool over the shop windows.

And now on to the “real money”: yes, we have a clothes shop where we can buy all sorts of things, for cosmetic/fashion purposes or not, but for which you have to fork out “real” cash. The prices here aren't exactly “budget” either.

The story is divided, as before, into several Acts – but not in the way the game was portioned out in Diablo III. We basically have an open world bounded by character level, which gives you the option of roaming wherever you want, with zones where you're warned that the monsters there are higher level. Theoretically, it's well thought out. But, being used to previous titles, I tended to adapt my slaughter to monster levels: I'd run from high-level beasts but come back to them later, once I'd trained my muscles in easier dungeons. Well, in Diablo IV that's not quite how it works: monsters scale to your character's prowess, and this change in dynamics makes farming almost impossible. Pointless. I found myself abandoning the main epic thread and sinking into side-missions, all of them interesting, which makes the world feel even bigger and more interesting. You can return to the main narrative thread whenever you like. Or, if you prefer, you can skip the side-missions, though in many cases you come away with something: beyond experience, you have a better chance of finding more or less legendary weapons, armour and sets. Up to level 20 you feel you get there relatively quickly, but the hard part starts between 20 and 30. And from 30 onwards, how you build your skill tree, armour and weapons matters a great deal. On the mission to annihilate Lilith, your paths will cross, letting you watch your progress in parallel. And the big showdown becomes even more epic precisely because of the tension that builds along the way!

Side quests are hugely varied and full of surprises. I'll give you two examples: the first involves a woman who asks you to find her unfaithful husband, who ran off into the forest with another woman and became the subject of a situation that's about as... terrifying as they come; the second involves an exorcism which, as you'd expect, doesn't end the way it should.

Weapons are an absolute sensation in Diablo IV! Playing my favourite class, the Barbarian, we have knives, axes, hammers and swords in the arsenal, plus the ability to dual-wield any combination of them. I also had abilities I knew from the previous titles, along with some new ones – active or passive, neatly arranged to unlock at certain points in the character's progression. Damage in the game is devastating, at least visually speaking, with Blizzard managing to give graphic expression to the effects of the weapons, which you as a player will feel too. The Barbarian's skill tree, at least, is dense, and it gives you the freedom to pick the path you want to follow (with your preferred weapon type, active or defensive).

What I found difficult, and still haven't really made my peace with, is that system for using active skills according to weapon type. That is, in your inventory you already have every weapon type stored and organised (swords/knives/spears/axes/hammers) and you can only choose to use a few of them exclusively in accordance with the selected skill. For example, if you pick Punch (among the first skills unlocked), you can only use the hammer with it. If, say, you come across a fancy sword, you're forced to find a skill that lets you use the sword. Personally, I'd have preferred it the way it was in the earlier titles: namely, being able to choose what to use and when, with the skill left as it is.

There is indeed also a system (Expertise) in which you can level up your weapon handling. If your character mainly uses hammers, they'll gain more experience with that weapon type and, by extension, be the braver for it.

On the monsters/enemies front, DIV is loaded with all sorts of creatures placed according to the regions on the map. We have chieftains, we have bosses, we have specials, we have monsters returning from the previous titles, we have Lilith's underlings, we have everything. Vampires, spirits, critters, undead, and the list goes on. Weapons and powers generally need to be adapted to the monster types – because every enemy type has its own resistances and weaknesses.

The fights themselves are clearly the game's main attraction, because we're talking about an action RPG here. As a result, they've been given maximum attention, and it clearly shows. Everything revolves around them, and thanks to Town Portal and Waypoints, which let you quickly traverse the caves/locations where you've finished your mission, plus the addition of horses as a means of transport, you can just get on with the brawling. Of course, you'll find the inventory far too cramped, and you'll end up picking up only the 'golds' and the legendaries... because uniques are rare.

Towns come small and large, some with everything you need (stash and wardrobe, jewellers, armourers, etc.) and others where you have access to fewer interactions. If you do want to lose a bit of time in the towns, though, you'll find people who need your help – and if you talk to the locals, you'll pick up more information that somehow sinks you even deeper into the game's universe. Sanctuary and the world of Diablo IV are vast and full of different zones, with striking natural phenomena, weather changes and plenty of details that will make it even more interesting. From snowy, blizzard-swept, dark areas, you'll reach arid regions, swamps and forests. You'll scale mountain peaks and explore dozens of gloomy caverns. In the mountainous areas you can see what's happening down below you, monsters and environmental elements included. And more recently, your character can clamber up and down at certain points – which lends an extra layer of tactical complexity.

Diablo IV is an 'always online' game – that's because it brings other players into even your campaign sessions, nudging you to co-operate with them. From what I tested in the beta, the collaborative approach feels really cool. Going through the story alongside your friends is a very good idea, and the game will reward you for it. You'll come across zones with events created specifically for certain activities, or in most cases you'll have to take down a powerful enemy and you'll need a bit of help. Looting becomes interesting, and hopes are high that something good will 'drop'. Although I've seen cases where people complained they couldn't connect, or that the wait to get into the game was long, or even that they were kicked out of the game because of the connection, personally I had no problem at all, on either PS5 or PC. Plenty of Challenges are waiting for you too, introduced periodically. Progress in these challenges is tracked, recorded and, of course, rewarded. You're encouraged to make yourself a clan, or enlist in one, give it a name, pick a 'banner'. Together with all the members, you'll set off to traverse the world far and wide: whether at special events, or working through the main story, or on the mission to reach Paragon and become the strongest of them all.

Crafting matters too: you have materials and gems to hand for making clothing items and unique weapons. Slot-machine enthusiasts can even save the money in their wallets by gambling with the resources earned from grinding in-game! Blizzard has managed to introduce so many elements that it has turned Diablo IV into a proper RPG (even if the emphasis is still on action). Many good hours will pass quickly, and the story is really cool.

PC VS. PLAYSTATION 5

Testing both at once on PlayStation 5 and PC, I was able to enjoy Diablo IV on both platforms without needing to start the game separately on each. With excellent Cross-Play support, I could start the game on PS5 and then carry on with it on PC. Depending on how I felt and the situation I was in, I could switch between the two platforms. Unfortunately, it isn't the kind of game you pay for once and then use on any platform you own (and on which the game is available); instead, you have to fork out for each one separately.

The controls are arranged so that every button for the activity you want is within reach – in both cases you can sort everything out yourself however you like.

There are clear differences between PC and console, because a mouse is always faster and easier to use than a controller. With a mouse, everything is solved with clicks, while the PS5 experience challenges you to memorise how to use the

L1-R1 and L2-R2 button combinations... after which you pick the ability or option you want from the directional pad and press X. Then again, having tried both and being familiar with Diablo on PlayStation, it was easy for me.

Sound-wise, I absolutely loved listening to a soundtrack with chords from the first Diablo, especially when, at one point, I ended up in an area from the first game. The music is very atmospheric, and I'd have liked it not to sit quite so far 'in the background', so that it could take a more melodic approach.

And as for the audio effects, on headphones compatible with the 3D Sound standard, the gameplay experience is intensified by the extremely complex portfolio of sounds and effects. Of course, you can enjoy the auditory richness of Diablo IV through the speakers of a good audio system as well – but it's the kind of game I recommend in the dead of night with a pair of headphones on. Only then will you truly understand the atmosphere.

The menus differ, both the game's menu and the in-game inventory one being adapted for mouse and keyboard (PC) and DualSense (PS5) respectively, but with the option, for instance, to play it on PC with a DualSense, which I tested, and it's almost the same gameplay experience as on PS5. But whichever platform you pick, there are multiple possibilities for customising the control scheme.

Where Accessibility is concerned, Blizzard has introduced new elements to help those who need them, but the complexity is greater when it comes to the graphics settings on the PC version: here you can set the resolution, and the performance menu offers the option of choosing NVIDIA DLSS and NVIDIA Reflex – both bringing performance boosts if you're using an NVIDIA RTX-series graphics card (more power!!!). As for image quality, there are several preset tiers running from Low all the way up to Ultra.

RTX

Playing on a PC with an NVIDIA RTX 4080 graphics card, I used 4K resolution and Ultra image quality settings.

Throughout the gameplay I enjoyed a minimum of 60 fps, with the monitor's highest refresh rate and NVIDIA Reflex enabled to optimise response times. There was no felt need to enable NVIDIA DLSS 3, with the game running flawlessly on these settings. I did want to test the situation with the feature enabled as well, though. With the frame rate unlocked, the pleasure of playing Diablo IV without a care in the world With the frame rate unlocked, the pleasure of playing Diablo IV without a care in the world was achieved!

From a graphical standpoint, Diablo IV looks excellent, and I'm sure it will also get ray tracing support somewhere down the line.

It really deserves to be embellished with extra detail. The physics feel tremendous (including in the DualSense's force feedback): every explosion, spell or natural phenomenon has an impact on the surrounding environment. That does an enormous amount to intensify the game's atmosphere. In the swamp you can practically feel the damp. In arid zones you get the impression the room itself has turned torrid and you have dust between your teeth. In forests and on mountaintops, the rain overwhelms your senses. And in caves, you'll hear the echo and reverberation of every sword strike. In the mission with the man stolen by a woman, at one point there's a transformation with a “boom” whose shockwave is reflected in the trees, in the grass around, and even in the clothing of the wife desperate to get her husband back.

Although Diablo IV is fluid and runs very well on both PS5 and PC, the graphics somehow look better on the latter. I could pick out a difference between the two; everything just seems clearer. One example that highlights the PC's superiority is being able to use the mouse's scroll wheel to look more closely at each character. The detail is absolutely delicious! As for the cinematics, I've said it before, they're simply superb, and you can see them if you

ON get past certain important parts of the story. Their job is to link the gameplay and give it continuity, and using the game's engine uniformly across sections serves that cause nicely. Loading screens are rare over the course of the adventure, but when they do appear they surprise you with short, gorgeous illustrations that make the wait worth it.

Since launch, a few minor problems have been flagged: restrictions on connecting to Blizzard's servers, and a handful of common bugs, none of which stopped me enjoying the game.

But the situation with the too-small inventory and the far-too-many gems genuinely needs attention from the developers. That said, you do have a stash where you can drop stones of the same kind to put together a bigger gem, you have “sockets” in weapons and armour where you can slot these magic rocks, and if you really do have too many, you can always sell the surplus in a town (or just drop on the ground anything you decide isn't worth a place in your inventory).

I've said it any number of times, both in articles about Diablo on our site and in the second issue of GRIND magazine: the Diablo franchise is my favourite, and I feel that however much I write about it — and, by extension, about Diablo IV — it's never enough. There are always more angles worth setting out, and Diablo IV really is a huge game that deserves the whole gaming community's attention. I've given more of a summary than anything else, and I hope I've hit the most important points that bring out the following truths: it's the best game in the Diablo series, the best Action RPG, and the best game released so far... according to my own preferences, of course!